May 6, 1899.1 
its heel, where it will go into the Step in the boat, it is 
I9in. The masthead takes up 22ft. of the length of the 
spar, and is simply roughed out in an octagonal form, 
but the rest of the mast is rounded and beautifully 
smoothed and finished. The other spars are completely 
finished. The iron work of the spars will be fitted at the 
Herreshoffs'. 
The mast will show a measurement of between 76 and 
77ft., deck to hounds, when in place, this measurement 
being dependent on the amount of "bury" given the mast 
in the boat, or the portion of its length below the deck. 
It will probably be between 8 and 9ft., as in Defender. 
Defender's mast was 72ft., deck to hounds, and her 
topmast 58ft. long. Columbia's sail plan will therefore 
be carried about 10ft. higher than Defender's, and will 
mean not only a considerable increase in sail area, but 
also a much more effective sail plan, From this is appar- 
ent the need of the extra power and stability which the 
hull of Columbia shows over that of Defender. 
The spinaker poles of the two boats are practically of 
the same length, showing the base of the fore triangle to 
the .same. With Columbia's mast placed farther aft than 
Defender's in order to correct the fault of a lee helm 
found in the latter boat, it is not probable that a longer 
main boom will be carried than in Defender, so that all 
indications point to an increase in the sail plan aloft and 
not on the base line. 
Defender's sail area for measurement for time allow- 
ance was 12,602 sq. ft. Columbia's promises to be only 
about 700 sq. ft. more, certainly less than a thousand, 
but the increase will be aloft, where it will do the, most 
good. 
Another Herreshoff cat has escaped from the bag. 
The steel mast, on which work is now being rushed at 
Bristol, is not for Columbia, as has generally been sup- 
posed, but is for Defender, and will be put in place in 
that boat and given a thorough trial. In the meantime 
the Oregon pine mast made by the Boston Spar Company 
will be stepped in Columbia, and if the steel mast in De- 
fender proves satisfactory, there will be ample time to 
make a steel mast for the new boat. 
This is the secret of the laying aside of the parts of the 
steel boom for Columbia and the rush of work on the 
mast in order that it may be put in Defender as soon as 
possible and the boat herself put in commission and 
tried under sail. The trial of the steel spar in Defender 
will show its strength or weakness, its greater or less 
value, than an Oregon pine spar, as the case may be. If 
it should prove unsatisfactory, the old Oregon pine spar 
will be at hand to put in its place, and the expense of a 
steel mast for Columbia will be saved. 
It is a common sense way of solving the question of 
the value of a steel spar, and Mr. Iselin and the Herres- 
shoffs are very lucky in having the Defender at hand on 
which to try the experiment. This will be the first steel 
mast to be used in a racing yacht, and the result of the ex- 
periment will be watched with great interest. The sup- 
posed advantage of a steel spar is its greater strength 
and less weight as compared with a wooden spar. 
The steel mast for Defender is looft. gin. long, and is 
constructed as described at considerable length in the 
Globe of Thursday last. Defender's Oregon pine mast 
was loift. The difference between the two is too slight to 
be considered. The steel mast is close to 2iin. in diam- 
eter. The Oregon pine mast was a trifle more than that, 
but the steel on^ jcaft be made to fit the hole in the deck 
just the same. 
The Yachting World gives the following particulars of 
the mast of Shamrock: 
While reports that the new defender's mast will be 
built of steel have been coming from the other side, to- 
gether with denials and confirmations of the report, \Vil- 
liam Fife, Jr., has gone on steadily with the construction 
of Shamrock according to the plans which were finished 
down to the smallest details before the order was placed. 
The question as to whether a steel or wooden mast would 
be likely to prove the more satisfactory was fully consid- 
ered before a single line was drawn, and the designer then 
decided upon wood. This decision has never been recon- 
sidered, and, as a matter of fact, Shamrock's racing main- 
mast is now lying at Messrs. Thorneycroft's practically 
finished, and almost ready for stepping. It is a beautiful 
stick of Oregon pine, which looked well in the log, and 
has finished even better than it promised. It is without 
exception the longest spar ever stepped in a racing boat, 
and in over-all length it tapes iioft. Following the fash- 
ion which is now universal, it carries its greatest thick- 
ness at the hounds, and just under the crosstrees it meas- 
ures within a fraction of 6oin. in girth. It is reduced then 
with a long-drawn taper until half way to the deck line 
the girth is barely 5oin., and it Carries this right down 
until it is cut for the step. 
In^ view of the importance of reducing the weight aloft, 
it was thought that the principal metal work of the mast 
would be of the same manganese bronze of which the 
hull is being built. The difficulty of getting a perfect and 
absolutely reliable job in metal so difficult to work deter- 
mined Mr. Fife, however, to sacrifice this slight advan- 
tage and have the mast fittings made of iron in the usual 
way. These important fixings have, therefore, all been 
made at the Fairlie yard and sent south as finished, to 
be fitted and placed in position. Nothing has yet been 
done in the construction of the gaff or boom, but it is 
understood that they will both be of metal. 
The latest reports from Thorneycroft's point to the fact 
that Shamrock will not be ready for launching before the 
end of May. With the aid of specially constructed fur- 
naces the lead keel of the challenger, of some 80 to 100 
tons, has been successfuly cast, under the supervision of 
William Fife, and in the presence of the owners of the 
yard and a number of experts. 
According to a cabled report on April 27, Mr. Will 
Fife, Jr., is seriously ill with la grippe. With Capt. Urias 
Rhodes, who will sail Defender with Mr. W. Butler Dun- 
can as representative of the owner, will be "Lem" Miller, 
well known in connection with Volunteer in 1887, and 
later with Vigilant and Colonia, as mate. 
' ^ASfee» II.,- the new steam yacht now nearly completed 
at' Chester for Richard Stevens, has been chartered for 
Tjhe season to Wm. H, Patterson, of New York. 
FOREST AN£) STRfiAM. 
Going Astcm, 
The South Boston Y. C. has issued the following cir- 
cular to its members: 
"We desire to call your attention to the twenty-eighth 
open regatta of the South Boston Y. C. Decoration Day, 
inaugurating the racing season of 1899, in conjunction 
with the opening of our new club house. As racing is the 
life of clubs, we believe in the open-door policy in this 
branch of sport, and that there should be a distinction 
between rules for match racing and interclub racing, and 
that yachtsmen should be encouraged in racing, not leg- 
islated out of it. If new boats should not be legislated 
against, surely old ones should not. If twenty boats in 
a class is picture making, it is a sorry spectacle to see but 
three in a class in an open race. 
Therefore, in order to encourage the starting of a 
large fleet of yachts in this season's racing, the S. B, Y. 
C. will start off in arranging special classes, outside asso- 
ciation rules, with libei-al prizes — a wide open race. 
In order to get the sentiment of the racing men, we 
give you on return card three rules relating to measure- 
ment, and ask that you state your preference by putting 
a cross against the rule preferred. Any modification of 
the enclosed rules will be carefully considered by the 
committee. 
I. Waterline length with crew on board. 
II. Sailing length equals the length 3in. above and 
parallel with the waterline. 
III. Waterline length plus one-fifth overhang forward 
and aft. 
Time allowance according to Herreshoff table. 
We are in sympathy with all of those yachtsmen who 
are dissatisfied with the conditions existing in yachting 
for some years past, and also with the efforts made to 
improve them; but at the same time we regret to see 
thought and labor wasted in a task that is useless and 
fruitless. The three methods of measurement mentioned 
above are happily obsolete; they have passed away and 
have gone where they belong, to join the rope shrouds 
and lanyards, the deadeyes and the stone ballast of a past 
generation. There are many things which are uncertain, 
both in the present and future of yachting, but if there 
is any one thing that is fixed beyond question, it is that 
the "plain and simple rule" in which length alone, how- 
ever measured, or even length and sail area, are the sole 
factors, is the direct parent of such freaks as Cartoon, 
Skate and the new Boston 35-footer. If racing is the 
object, it is not possible to build anything but a freak 
under any form of waterline rule, with a heavy penalty on 
the waterline when the yacht is at anchor, and iio limita- 
tions to draft, fin or length of effective waterline when 
heeled. That good yachts have been built in the past, or 
even up to last year, under the length rule and the length 
and sail area rule, in no way proves that the designer who 
wishes to win to-day can consider anything else but the 
evasion of the measured waterline and the forcing to an 
extreme of every imtaxed element of speed. 
We do not question the good intentions of the South 
Boston Y. C, but in thus diverting the attention of 
yachtsmen from the vital questions of the day to dead and 
obsolete issues they are simply wasting their own time 
and doing harm instead of good to llie sport. There is 
no question that the best rule thus far tried or proposed 
is very far from perfect, but what is needed is an earnest 
and intelligent effort to discover a rule fitted to modern 
conditions. The mere aiiuless condemnation of every 
move in advance without any practical propositions of 
something better is both foolish and unfair. 
The Anchorage Grounds of New York Harbor. 
Yachtsmen and shipping people generally will be in- 
terested to know that the new anchorage grounds to be 
established under the provisions of a recent act of Con- 
gress for Newark Bay. Raritan Bay, and the Kill Von 
KuU have been reported on by the offi^cers charged with 
the enforcement of the anchorage laws at this port, and 
that the new regulations will go into effect in a few days. 
Two anchorages have been marked off in the Kill Von 
Kull, one on each side of the main channel. The north- 
ern anchorage is bounded by a line passing through the 
dumb beacon off Bergen Point. The red channel buoy 
dumb beacon off Constable Point and the red channel 
buoy off Bergen Point. The southern anchorage is set 
off by a line running from the power house at Factory- 
ville to Starin's dry dock. 
In Newark Bay two anchorage- grounds have been set 
aside. They lie respectively to the eastward and west- 
ward of the main channel. The eastern anchorage is 
bounded by a line passing through the Newark Bay 
lighthouse and the eastern end of the draw of the New 
Jersey Central Railroad bridge. The western anchorage 
lies to the westward of a line passing through the eastern 
end of Shuter's Island, the black buoy to the northward 
and the western side of the railroad drawbridge. 
Another anchorage has been provided off Elizabethport. 
It is set apart by a line which runs through buoy No. 4 
and buoy No. 2, and thence to the western pier-head of 
the Central Railroad bridge. In Arthur Kills an an- 
chorage has been marked off to the southward of a line 
passing through Clark's wire works building. Buckwheat 
Island, and the phosphate works. At Prawl's Island an 
anchorage is defined to the southward of a line running 
through the southern end of Prawl's Island and the old 
dock off Linoleumville. On Story's Flat there will be an 
anchorage to the southward and westward of a line 
passing through Smoking Poirit, the red channel buoy 
and Kreischerville wharf. 
Off the terminus of the Port Reading docks in Arthur 
Kills an anchorage will be afforded to the northward of a 
line passing through the Port Reading wharf and the 
entrance to Smith's Creek. At Perth Amboy provision 
is made for an anchorage to the northward of a line pass- 
ing through the western coal pier of the Lehigh Valley 
Railroad and the black and red buoy off Perth Amboy, 
and from thence to Great Beds lighthouse. Off Totten- 
ville the new anchorage ground will lie south of a line 
passing through the red buoy off that place, and extend- 
ing in a direction northeast by east. 
In Raritan Bay the anchorages are defined as being 
clear of the dredged channel. The Treasury Department 
SB8 
i r n i M i i n niii M 1 1 1 iin n i — ' i 
will shortly issue a chart and printed instructions on the 
subject of the new anchorage grounds for the information 
of mariners. The fine for anchoring in other than pre- 
scribed localities, except in case of an emergency, is $100. 
— New York Evening Post. 
New York Y. C Races. 
The regatta committee of the New York Y. C. has is- 
sued the following circular of the season's races: 
The New York Y. C, season of 1899. 
New York, June 22. — The fifty-third annual regatta. 
New York, July i. — The Columbia and the Defender. 
Course, fifteen miles to windward or leeward, and return, 
from Sandy Hook Lightship. Cup offered by the club, 
$250. 
The Fifty-fourth Annual Cruise, Aug. 7. — The ren- 
dezvous will be on this date, at a port to be selected by 
the commodore. There will be the customary club prizes 
for the squadron runs; the Astor cups will be sailed for 
over the Newport courses, and the dates and places for 
other special cups and the Owl and Gamecock colors will 
be given later. 
New York, September. — The trial races for the selec- 
tion of a vessel to defend the America's Cup will be sailed 
during the first two weeks in September. 
The Autumn Sweepstakes will be sailed in September, 
after the termination of the trial races. 
New York, Oct. 3. — The America's Cup. — As at present 
arranged with the Royal Ulster Yacht Club, the first race 
of this match — best three out of five, with one day's inter- 
val between each race — will be on this date. 
CLUB STEAMERS. 
Annual Regatta. — A steamer and lunch will be provided 
at the club's expense. Under by-law she will be restricted 
to members and the ladies accompanying them, and those 
ofiicially invited. 
The America's Cup. — Members will be provided with a 
steamer at the club's expense, and will be enabled to pro- 
cure extra tickets. All tickets will include lunch. 
Arrangements for witnessing other important racing 
events will be announced later. 
S. Nicholas Kane. 
Chester Griswold. 
Irving Grinnell 
Regatta Committee. 
Owing to the abandonment of the Bay Ridge Ferry, 
Station No. i is no longer accessible, and it will be re- 
established at Staten Island, in many respects a better 
location. 
The Quincy Cup. 
With the challenge from the Annisquam Y. C, the 
Quincy Y. C. now has four challenges for its $500 cup 
for 2i-footers on its hands, and will need all the skill its 
racing men possess to safely keep the trophy from a visit 
to another organization. More interesting than ever will 
be the races Tor the cup. wliile the addition of five new 
2i-footers to the racing fleet will be a "boom" for that 
class and for the sport itself, which should be ample jus- 
tification for the original offer of the cup for its continued 
existence as an interclub challenge trophy. 
The date for the first race has been fixed for Monday, 
July 24. W! E. C. Eustis, challenger from the Beverly 
Club, has asked that a later date be set, and the club com- 
mittee will soon call a conference of the challengers and 
will see if a date satisfactory to all cannot be agreed upon. 
At present it looks as though July 24 was the only availa- 
ble date, on account of the tides in Hull Bay, and because 
later dates, when the tide would serve, have been taken by 
other clubs, but the whole matter will be carefully con- 
sidered. 
With five boats in the match, the question has been 
asked as to how many races will be necessary to decide 
the ownership of the trophy. The question is answered 
by the deed of gift, which says: "A yacht must win three 
races of a series to win the cup. After four races of a 
series have been sailed, only winners of at least one race 
shall be allowed to compete; after six races, only yachts 
which have won two races." 
With five competitors this makes a possibility of at 
least four races to start with; if a different yacht wins 
each day. Two additional races must then be had be- 
tween these four boats, but if it should happen that a 
different boat wins in each of these races, another race 
between the winners of two races each must be had to 
decide the ownership. This makes a possibility of. seven 
races in all, although of course an earHer settlement is the 
probability. 
The latest challenger is being designed by Crownin- 
shield for Com. Hastings, Vice-Com. Bent and W. B. 
Pigeon, of the Annisquam Y. C., and is to be about 39ft. 
over all, 9ft. 6in. beam and 9,in, draft. She is to be de- 
cidedly on the scow type, although her deck line will 
round in forward in the usual way, and she will carry 
about 900 sq. ft. of sail. As compared with the other 
boats, she will be a compromise between the Heiress 
and the extremes of the scow variety, as shown in the 
Abbott boat and the Quincy defender. — Boston Globe. 
Robert Goelet, 
On April 28 the news reached New York by cable of 
the sudden and very unexpected death of Robert Goelet, 
of New York and Newport, on board his steam yacht 
Nahma, at Naples, the cause being heart failure. Mr. 
Goelet was the elder brother of the late Ogden Goelet, 
who died a little over a year ago under very similar cir- 
cumstances on board his steam yacht Mayflower at 
Cowes. The two were sons of the late Robert Goelet 
and nephews of Peter Goelet, Robert being born in his 
father's house. No. 5 State street, New. York, on Sept. 
29, 1841. With unlimited means at his command, he was 
never in business, though devoting himself to the care of 
his estate. He was a liberal patron of music, and, though 
not interested in yacht racing, he was, like his brother, a 
good friend to the New York Y. C. The body will bs 
brought home on the Nahma. 
