S12 
FOREST AND STREAM, 
"The buiSder, Mr. William H. Brown, is to receive 
about one-third more than her value (say 24 pounds a 
ton) if she succeeds in outsailing any competitors of the 
same tonnage in England. Her construction is on a novel 
principle. Drawing loft. of water aft, she tapers away 
forward to but half that draft, and is totally without any 
gripe. 
"Aft, her keel is about 3oin. deep, diminishing in depth 
forward and gradually ascending in a graceful curve into 
cut-water and stem. Her tonnage is to be 175; length 
over all, 94ft. ; extreme breadth, 23ft. 6in., and depth of 
hold, 9ft. Her timbers are spaced a foot apart, and filled 
in on both sides with 18 pigs, or bars, of iron, which 
weigh i,20olbs. each and have small projections or shoul- 
ders which let into the timbers and prevent any contact 
with outside planking. 
"In addition, 18 pigs of i,200lbs. each are placed on 
the main keel, fitting exactly between the timbers. She 
has, therefore, upward of 21 tons of ballast, built and 
tightly wedged into her sides. As she only requires about 
as much more ballast, it is easily calculated that she will 
be able to stow it and leave plentj' of room inside. 
"She IS cross-braced inside with long iron bands, well 
secured to the timbers. 
"The intelligent foreman, Mr. Steers, as well as the 
American gentlemen who are to own her if she succeeds, 
are verj^ sanguine of success. 
"This is an original and spirited undertaking, and 
will, if successful, completely alter the present system of 
yacht architecture. 
"We do not, however, think she can compete with the 
sharp and deep English yachts. 
"Whatever the result may be, it cannot fail "of _ being 
extremely interesting and valuable for both countries. 
"As a "model she is artistic, though rather of a depar- 
ture from old-established ideas of naval architecture." 
In this account there are two or three things that are of 
great interest at this time as bearing on the real origi- 
nators of this famous craft. You will note that the first 
paragraph states that her builder is Mr. William H. 
Brown. In another paragraph Mr. Steers is spoken of as 
the foreman of the yard. And again mention is made of 
the "American gentlemen who are to own her if she suc- 
ceeds,'" leaving "the inference that if she is not a success 
they are not to accept her. 
I am aware that most of the yachting authorities of 
to-day give to Mr. George Steers the entire credit of the 
design and construction of the America. And I am also 
aware that the iournal I have just quoted, the lUustated 
London News, in a later article, says that America was 
designed and constructed solely by George Steers and his 
brother Henry. 
It seems to me that there can be little doubt as to 
where the vessel was built. That this credit should go 
to Mr. Brown, I cannot question. That he was the sole 
author of her lines. I, of course, cannot say. Mr. Arthur 
Brown, late of Fairfield. Conn., a son of Mr. W. H. 
Brown, states in a letter signed by him that Mr. Steers 
was a foreman in the moulding loft, and that he cut the 
model of America after Mr. W. H. Brown's immediate 
direction. 
In any event, America- was completed in the spring 
of itS^r. " She was tried out in a couple of races jn New 
York harbor, against the Maria, in one of which she 
was beaten by the sloop, and the other of which she won. 
The latter was outside the Hook and in a jump of a sea. 
She was then fittted up- for the ocean voyage^ and sent 
across the Atlantic to Havre, where she shipped her 
racing rig. and, taking her owner, Com. J. C. Stevens, 
aboard, she sailed for Cowes, then as now the yachting 
center of Britain. 
The English yachtsmen hardly knew how to take her. 
Her rig was somev;hat of a surprise, the absence of a 
jib-boom and a foretopmast being comparatively notice- 
able. Then, too, her hull w-as such as they had never 
seen before. 
The London News said of her as she lay just outside 
Cowes: "Accustomed as we have been to witness the 
symmetrical models of our own yachts, we confess our 
opinion falters when a model of an entirely different 
construction, so contrary in every respect, both in build 
and rig, is presented to us. In our former remarks we 
termed America to be a departure from established 
ideas of naval archhecture. which all must candidly con- 
fess to be the case. In lieu of straight lines we have 
curved and hollow lines; instead of spars loaded with rig- 
ging, top ham.per and numberless small sails, we have 
stately masts with scarcely a rope to support them; the 
propelling power being in substance rather than in sum. 
In fact we have before us. instead of 'the phantom ship,' 
a 'rakish, piratical-looking craft, whose appearance in 
bygone days would have struck terror into the soul of 
many a 'homeward-bounder.' " 
America carried on this occasion a crew of seven men 
before the mast, and thirteen all told. -A lucky number. 
The fast new English cutter Laverock had come out 
of Cowes to America's anchorage to courteously show 
her up and incidentally have a scrub race with her and 
get an inkling of her quality, as far as speed was con- 
cerned. Capt. Kenealy says that the racing fever was 
hot in Com. Stevens' veins. As soon as he saw 
Lave'rock tack and lie to with her jib sheets to wind- 
ward he could not. for the life of him, resist having a 
brush with the Britisher. Quoting_ here from Com. 
Stevens' own words as reported on his return: 
"The news had spread like wildfire that the Yankee 
clipper had arrived and that the Laverock had gone down 
to show her the way up. The yachts and vessels in the 
harbor, the wharves and even the windows of houses were 
filled with spectators watching with eager eyes the event- 
ful trial. They saw we could not escape, for the Laverock 
stuck to us, sometimes lying to and then tacking around 
us, "evidently showing she had no intention _ of quitting 
us. We were loaded with extra sails and with beef and 
pork enough for an East India voyage, and were 4 of sin. 
too deep in the -water. We got up sail with heavy hearts ; 
the . wind had increased to a six-knot breeze, and after 
letting Laverock go for about 200yds., we were ashamed 
TO wait longer, and started in her wake. 
"I have seen and have been engaged in many exciting 
trials on sea and shore. I made the match with the horse 
Eclipse against Sir Henry, and had heavy sums both for 
myself and friends on the result. I saw Eclipse lose the 
first heat, and four-fifths of the second without feeling 
pne-hundredth part of the responsibility or trepidatiop I 
felt at the thought of being beaten in this eventful trial 
by Laverock. During the first five minutes not a sound 
was heard, save, perhaps, the beating of our anxious 
hearts or the ripple of the waters upon her sword-like 
stem. The captain was crouched down upon the floor of 
the cockpit, one hand upon the tiller and his stern, un- 
altering gaze upon the vessel ahead. The men were mo- 
tionless as statues, with their eager eyes fastened upon 
Laverock with a fixity almost supernatural. Over us 
swelled the beautiful curves of her sails. It could not and 
it did not last long. Slowly but surely we crept upon her. 
Inch by inch we moved to windward of her wake, and 
in a few tacks fairly weathered her. The agony was 
over, and we came to anchor fully a quarter of a mile 
ahead of her." 
This little scrub race is said to have destroyed all the 
plans which Com. Stevens and his friends had in view. 
None of the English j-achts seemed particularly anxious 
to try conclusions with the speedy Yankee. 
After many offers to sail a match race with any schooner 
in the English fleet, and then with any cutter, Com. 
Stevens found it practically impossible to make a match. 
He then determined to enter his boat in the regatta for a 
$500 cup arranged by the Royal Yacht Squadron, to be 
sailed on Aug. 20, round the Isle of Wight, and without 
time allowance. From the yachtfng point of view, this 
was the most momentous decision ever made by a yachts- 
man. For that comparatively insignificant cup, costing 
less than an ordinary 21ft. catboat, that piece of metal, 
neither particularly well designed nor executed, has be- 
come the most famous and most coveted sporting trophy 
the world has ever known, the blue ribbon of the seas, 
the America Cup. 
America's First Race in England, 
To-day this one-time humble trophy stands at the head 
of everj'thing yachting; won in a most unusual and un- 
expected manner, and successfully defended against every 
and all challengers for a full fifty years. A record to be 
proud of for all our days. 
The interest shown in the race was something enor- 
mous. It was unprecedented in quiet, rather stolid Eng- 
land. Again quoting from the Illustrated London News: 
The race of Fridaj- furnished our j'achtsmen with an 
opportunity of 'realizing,' as our transatlantic cousins 
would sa}', what those same dwellers beyond the sea can 
do when afloat and in competition with ourselves. None 
doubted that America was a very fast sailer, but her 
prowess had not been measured heretofore. 
When it became known tliat she was entered for Fri- 
day's cont-est for the Cup. the most intense interest w^as 
developed b}'- all classes, and even Her Majesty and the 
court felt the influence of the universal curiosity to see 
how the stranger, of whom such wonderful things were 
said, would acquit herself. 
Eighteen vessels were scheduled to start, ranging from 
Brilliant, a three-masted schooner of 392 tons, down to 
A'olante, a cutter of 48 tons. Fifteen actually started. 
The preparatory gun was fired at 9:55 and the starting 
gun at 10 o'clock. 
America had provided herself with a new jib topsail 
and spread it to the breeze for the first time. A thing of 
life and beauty she was as she moved off in tlie great 
procession. 
The beauty of the cut and set of her sails attracted 
universal attention. She seemed in no disposition to 
hmvy, however. Gypsy Queen, which had the full 
strength of the tide, took the lead and kept it for some 
time, with Beatrice, Volante, Constance and Arrow hunt-^ 
ing her in the order named. 
The smallness of America's rig, as compared with the 
others, also attracted attention. Her gaff topsail, for 
instance, hoisted to the short and slender main topmast, 
looked insignificant indeed. The flying jib, hoisted to the 
foremast head (she had no fore topmast), seemed neither 
of use nor ornament. 
Steamers, shore boats, yachts and craft of all descrip- 
tions buzzed along each side of the course and stretched 
away for miles over the sea. 
It" was a sight such as the Adriatic never beheld in all 
the pride of Venice. Such a sight as, beaten though v/e 
were, no cotmtrj' on earth else could oft"er, and confessedly 
was never seen here before. America gradually forged 
ahead, and at No Man's Land buoy was fifth boat. Here 
a fresher breeze struck her, and careening gracefulh- to 
it. she soon began to drop one after another of the leaders, 
till within a half hour she had the entire fleet behind her. 
From this point to the finish it was simplj^ a procession, 
with America a sure winner, barring accidents. There 
w-as a time in the race when she ^^as fully six miles ahead 
of the nearest boat. After she rounded St. Catherine's 
Point she had only Aurora in sight behind her. and as 
the weather grew thick shortly afterward she too was 
lost to view. 
At the Needles America passed and saluted the ruyal 
yacht Victoria and Albert, with the Queen and Prince 
Consort on board. The Queen waited till Aurora reached 
the Needles and then put back to Osborne, passing Arner- 
ica in the Solent. ' At 6 o'clock Aurora, still the second 
boat, was six miles astern. As victory was now assured' 
to America, all the excursion vessels returned to Cowes. 
Thousands of people fringed the southern shore from 
West Cowes to the castle, eagerly awaiting the result, in 
spite of the gathering gloom and the threatening rain 
clouds that loomed up black along the northern shore of 
the strait. Just as darkness was settling down over the 
sea the well-known rig of the Yankee schooner was ob- 
served, and a few minutes later the boom of a gun from 
the flagship announced that the race was over, that the 
pride of the English yachts had been laid low, that the 
Cup was lost and won, and that the name of America 
had taken its place among the immortals. _ _ - , 
Aurora vras the second boat in, her time being 8:58. 
It appears that while America was bucking the tide near 
the finish and almost becalmed, Aurora got a lucky streak 
of wind and came in a comparatively good second. 
There were three points in the race that Mr. George 
Schuyler thought were worthy of attention ; they were : 
" First. That starting with a light westerly wind at 10' 
o'clock, the yachts turned No Man's Latid btipy about, 
11:30, and while beating to the westward the wind fresh- 
ened 'to a good six-knot breeze for a short time, at the 
end of which America'.^ position was two miles tp the 
windward of the nearest yacht. The wind then died away 
and the yachts beat slowly against a head tide, America 
constantly widening the distance. At 3 o'clock the wind 
again freshened, and when America rounded the Needles 
Aurora, the nearest yacht, was, by all English account, 
fully eight miles astern, and the "rest of the squadron 
were not to be seen. 
Second. That the wind again becoming light, the tide 
being ahead, America anchored winner of the Cup at 
8:34 and Aurora at 8:58. Had there been an allowance 
for time, according to Acker's scale, in use at that time, 
America would still have been a winner by two minutes. 
Third. That the ov/ner of Brilliant sent in a protest 
the next day against awarding the Cup to America on 
account of her turning one buoy from the wrong side. 
As the instructions, however, were not explicit on this 
point, the protest was not allowed. 
The day after the race America sailed for Osborne, as 
the_ Queen had expressed a desire to see her. Her 
Majesty, with the iPrince Consort and suite, spent over 
half an hour on board, and had a thoroughly good look at 
the vessel, whose praises were being simg by all the 
papers. 
The Race for the Queen's Cop. 
On the following Monday a race took place at Ryde 
' for a cup presented by the Queen, in the expectation that 
America would start. As there wasn't a six-knot breeze 
America would not start, but as the Illustrated London 
News said the next day: "Just before the vessels got in 
the rakish looking America was seen making her way 
round the Nab Light, and with a most extraordinary 
movement, made one reach from the light to Stroke Bay, 
and by another tack rounded Brilliant in grand style. To 
accomplish the same task that America had just per- 
formed, Alarm took ten tacks and Volante at least twenty. 
She had started one hour and five minutes after the fleet 
and finished but twenty minutes behind the winner. She 
thus gained forty-five minutes on the entire fleet. Had 
she started in the race the same fortunate result would 
have greeted her as at Cowes." 
There were three important features in America which 
account for her success. In my opinion the first and most 
important of these was her sail plan. Her sails were 
made in Port Jefferson by a Mr. Wilson, the father of 
the Adrian Wilson who is the senior member of the 
well-known sailmakers of Boston at the present time. 
Her sails were laced to the boom, and they were flat. Not 
flat like a piece of board, but flat as it is understood to- 
day by the best yachtsmen. There was draft in the sails 
near the luff, but the after part was very flat. Another 
feature of the sails that, in my opinion, influenced her 
windward work very materially, was the exceedingly long 
luff in each sail. They were very long on the mast This 
is a very important feature in windward work. 
The second was the marvelously well-moulded midship 
section. So well was this designed that to-day, in Co- 
lumbia, admittedly the fastest yacht yet afloat, the same 
outlines are practically preserved. 
The third was the handling of the yacht in the race. 
The sailing master. Old Dick Brown, a well-known Sandy 
Hook pilot was one of the best sailors of his day in 
this style of craft, and there is no doubt that his magic- 
touch upon the tiller was a very important factor in the 
final result. 
The subsequent history of America is very interesting. 
She was sold in England by her owners to Lord Blaquire, 
who finally took her on a long cruise to the Mediterranean, 
and there sold her to Lord Templeton. He cruised in 
her one summer and then laid her up at Cowes, where 
she remained some time. She was then sold to Mr. 
Pitcher, a boat builder of Northfieet who practically re- 
built her. The lines were, however, carefully preserved, 
and when she left the yard she was in practically the same 
condition as when launched. 
In i860 she was again sold to a Mr. Decie and taken 
to the West Indies. She was rechristened Camilla. Just 
before starting on her cruise she defeated the schooners 
Wildfire and Galatea in a race arranged by the Royal 
Western Y. C, of Plymouth. 
She returned from the West Ind'es in 1861 and in that 
year she sailed a few races with indifferent success, which 
is- not to be wondered at. as she was then over ten years 
old and was in anything but good condition for racing. 
Mr. Decie then changed the name back to America, and . 
in the following year sailed for Mobile, Ala., with her. 
Here she became a blockade runner in the War of the- 
Rebellion, having been sold by Mr. Decie to a gentleman 
who for good reasons preferred to remain unknown. 
In April of i85i she arrived off Savannah, Ga., as the 
blockade runner Memphis, her name again being changed. 
She was chased by the U. S. gunboat Wabash, and to 
avoid capture was scuttled and sunk in the St John's 
River, Fla. 
She now rested quietly in her watery bed_ for nearly 
five years. After the war the Government raised her, as 
she was an obstruction to navigation. She was found to 
be sound and seaworthy, and instead of breaking her up, 
as might have been done with a less famous vessel, the 
Government repaired her and fitted her put for a prac- ■ 
tice ship for the naval cadets at Annapohs. 
[to be continued.] 
A contract for a cabin launch has been awarded to the 
Gas Engine Co. and Charles L. Seabury Co. by Mr. 
Frank Bement, of Tom.s River, N. J. She will be 6oft 
long lott beam, 32in. draft. There will be cabins fore 
and aft with deck space all around the houses. Between 
the two the deck will be flush, and at the after end of the 
forward house the wheel will be fitted. In the stern o£ 
the boat there will be a roomy cockpit. The machinery 
will consist of a 25 horse-power motor, which will be 
placed in the center of the boat A stack will be placed 
over the engine room so as to give the launch the ap- 
pearance of being driven by steam-. The funnel will be 
used for ventilating the engine room. She will be named 
Fran e da. ^ ^ 
I? •! »t 
Former Com. Henry C. Rouse, of the Seawanhaka 
Y. C. has chartered through Messrs. Tams, Lemoine & 
Crane of this city the English built steam yacht Lady 
Godiva. She is an auxiliary screw schooner, and was 
built by the Laird Brothers at Birkenhead in 1890 fro^t 
designs by Mn St. Clare Byrne, She ^ 150ft long and 
25fti beam,. 
