May i6, 1903.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
English Letter. 
The only test race of the two Shamrocks that has 
been sailed resulted in the victory of the old boat on 
time. The new j^acht was set to give her ten minutes 
in 34 miles, and through a fluke she failed .to do it. 
She could, I believe, give the old boat about 12 min- 
utes over a 34-mile course in ordinary weather, pro- 
vided both always had the same wind. But as that 
time represents nearly two miles of separation, one 
can never tell how one is served by the wind, as com- 
pared with the other. On every occasion on which the 
yachts have been sailing close together the new boat 
has left the old one with the utmost ease. Up till the 
time she lost her mast the mainsail was very poor, and 
a good sail would have made a sensible difference in 
her speed to windward. Her superiority in very liglit 
winds (in which the old challenger is also very good) 
has been most pronounced, and if one of the Cup races 
should start with this weather with a freshening breeze 
toward the finish, so that the time limit will not be 
reached, there can be little doubt but that she will 
win. For the rest, no person can gauge her chances 
until Reliance is tried. It will be most interesting to 
note Herreshoft's success with a boat of her type. 
Over here she might win a lot of races if she turns out as 
I expect, but Cup conditions seem 'rather to favor a 
boat of Shamrock's type, which will keep going in the 
slight swell, even if the breeze be light, and which will 
heel easily up to a certain point. The defender, if Re- 
liance be chosen, will probably have to allow Sham- 
rock quite a longish time allowance. 
I have seen the expression of a doubt in many 
papers as to whether Shamrock I. is sailing as well 
as she did two years ago. Of course, it is impossible 
to tell, but there is no earthly reason for believing that 
she is not. Her canvas is good and well set, and 
Bevis is a thoroughly good skipper. The new vessel 
has always sailed in the same trim as when she first 
came out of dock. Nothing whatever has been altered. 
Experiments will, no doubt, be made with a .view to 
improvement, but as yet none have been tried, and 
she has been sailing under all the disadvantages in- 
separable from a new vessel, and with a rather faulty 
mainsail. On the other hand, the older boat is in her 
proper trim, and so far as those who know most about 
her are aware she is going as well as ever. 
On 17th inst., at Weymouth. Shamrock III. lost 
her mast, under circumstances with which readers are 
no doubt. familiar. The immediate cause was the part- 
ing of the foremost rigging screw on the starboard 
side. One of the men — the steward — was pitched over- 
board by the recoil and drowned, in spite of a gallant 
attempt to save him. The yacht was brought up to 
Southampton on Monday and docked, along with 
Shamrock I. No damage was received by the hull, and 
she will be under way again in a week or two. She is 
going out as a cutter, not under ketch rig. The old 
Shamrock is also going over to sail trial races with 
her. From this it will be known for certain that she 
sails in the Cup races in the trim found best over here. 
It w^ould be almost as interesting as the Cup races 
themselves if Shamrock I. were once more to get a 
chance at Columbia. Perhaps she may be entered for 
some of your ordinary regatta races, but I know noth- 
ing of that. With a skipper who knows how to lay a 
yacht on the wind, some of the doubting Thomases of 
the press would be surprised to note the result of 
such a race. At present they seem to regard nothing 
but the figures of her cup races, discounting nothing 
by the evidence of their eyes and forgetting the result 
of her real trials with Shamrock II. 
Over here we are so well pleased with the new 
challenger that it almost seems permissible to look for- 
ward to the defense of it next year in Belfast Lough. 
In the event of your losing it, I have heard it said 
that you will challenge with a schooner. From a spec- 
tacular point of view this would be charming, and it 
viiight bring a class of schooners into existence over 
here, but I cannot possibly see why you should stand 
a better chance with a schooner than with a cutter. 
It is a thousand pities that no scantling scales are to 
be in force for future Cup racers. They could only 
conduce to putting designers on even terms, and, 
whether you win or lose this time, the type of the 
future Cup racers will be so good that it will be a 
shame to make the yachts themselves ephemeral. 
An astrologer over here has cast the horoscope of 
the new Shamrock, with the most discouraging results. 
Curiously enough, he did not think to do it before she 
was dismantled. However, now that it is done, it ap- 
pears that the vessel was launched when the planets 
were exercising some highly disturbing influences. 
There is something about a scorpion in it, and other 
unpleasant things, but in view of the great success 
achieved by St. Patrick (on whose day she was 
launched) over the snakes in Ireland, one may fairly 
expect his influence to counterbalance tl.at of any 
celestial bug. 
E. H. llAMiLTUN. 
Boston Letter. 
BosTONj May u. — The Regatta Committee of the South 
Boston Y. C. has arranged the programme for its Y. R. A. 
open race to be sailed oft City Point on Memorial Day. 
This will be the twenty-sixth year that this club has 
opened the racing season in Massachusetts Bay. Classes 
are provided for 25-footers, 22-footers, 21-footers, i8- 
footers, and 15-foot sailing tenders. The 21-foot class 
provided for will be class R, recently formed by the Yacht 
Racing Association, and governed by the general rule.s 
applying to class S, with a few additions to keep the sail 
area of freaks low encnigh to give a normal boat a chance. 
The manner in which classes are provided for the first 
races of the season has considerable bearing upon the 
programmes of other clubs, and so' it would look as 
though there would be nothing doing in class S this 
season. The sailing tender class is one in which great 
interest is taken by the members of the South Boston Y. 
C. and other clubs in Dorchester Bay. In the South Bos- 
ton y. C the rating is obtained from the oyer all length, 
plus the extreme beam. There is no limit on sail area, 
and only mainsails and spinnakers are used. The crews 
consist of two men only. Time allowance is figured at 
the rate of two seconds per inch per mile. 
The Regatta Committee has announced that the follow- 
ing Saturday races will be given : 
May 30 — Y. R. A. open. 
June 20 — Club race. 
June 27 — Sailing tenders. 
July 18 — Sailing tenders. 
August I — Club races. 
August IS — Sailing tenders. 
August 22 — Sailing tenders. 
August 29 — Club race. 
Three of the new 22-footers designed and built by 
Messrs. Burgess and Packard and built by Messrs. Hodg- 
don Bros., at East Boothbay, will start on an ocean race 
to Marblehead Saturday. The total distance sailed wi'l 
be about iro nautical miles. The boats are Opitsah V, 
owned by Mr. Sumner H. Foster; Tetsu, owned by Mr. 
S. W. Lewis and Mr. F. B. Talbot, and the third is owned 
by-Mr. H. H. White. They will start as early as possible 
Saturday morning and will endeavor to make Cape Por- 
poise on the first day's run. The next day they will sail 
from Cape Porpoise to Marblehead. Mr. H. H. White's 
steam j^acht Wild Goose, will convoy the trio and will 
tow their tenders while they are racing. The 22-footer 
designed by Mr. Fred D. Lawley and built by James Bur- 
gess, of Duxbury, had a trial in Duxbury Bay last week, 
and it is said to have shown great speed. Another 22- 
footer, designed by Mr. Lawley for Mr. J. C. Neale, is 
being built by the Hanley Construction Company. 
At the Hanley Construction Company's shops, Quincy, 
the i8-footer Yo San, designed by Messrs. Burgess and 
Packard for Mr. R. J. Randolph, Jr., is nearly finished. 
An i8-footer by the same designers for Mr. B. D. Barker 
is in frame. The 28ft. yawl designed by Mr. Isaac B. 
Mills for Mr. B. D. Amsden, has been given a trial. She 
proved fast and able. A 90ft. gasolene yacht is being set 
up. A machine has been built at the yard for weighing 
yachts of the restricted classes. 
The 27ft over all scow designed by Mr. E. A. Board- 
man for Mr. Bacon won her first race at Chicago last 
week, beating a fleet of new boats by three minutes. The 
Chicago yachtsm.en said she was the best boat they had 
seen on the wind in pointing and footing. Mr. Board- 
man has sold the 25-footer Chispa, owned by Mr. W. E. 
Dexter, to Mr. T. L. Gilliatt, of Beverly. The 18- footer 
designed for Mr. Reginald Boardman has been finished 
by White, of Manchester. The Malcolmson iS-footer has 
been launched and will be called the AUanda. She will 
start for Providence Thursday. Mr. Boardman had a lit- 
tle brush in his i8-footer Arrow with Mr. A. A. Packard 
in Nic-Nac last week, in which it is claimed the Arrow 
had a little the best of it. 
Commodore Franklin L. Codman, of the South Boston 
Y. C, has announced in general orders No. i, that Mr. 
Joseph H. Corrigan has been appointed fleet captain. 
Commodore Codman has announced that he will call a 
cruise to the eastward some time in July, if sufficient num- 
ber of yacht owners respop4 to warraiat issuing the otdss. 
The 36-footer designed by Mr. B. B. Crowninshield for 
Mr. W. E. Rogers and built by Lawley was given a trial 
last week which proved quite satisfactory. She will be 
used on Lake Champlain. A 25-footer designed by Mr. 
Fred D. Lawley for Mr. J. Swift, Jr., of New Bedford, 
was launched last w^eek. A cruising ■21-footer, also de- 
signed by Mr. Lawley, was launched last Friday. She will 
leave in a few days for Kennebunk, Me. The steam yacht 
building in the west shop for Mr. C. G. Emery, N. Y. Y. 
C, from designs by Mr. A. S. Chesebrough is expected to 
be launched in a couple of weeks. In the east shop the 
cabin is being finished on the 40-rater for Col. R. H, 
Morgan. The Y. R. A. 25-footer, Sally VIL, for Mr. 
Lawrence F. Percival is partly planked. The cabin joiner 
work is being fitted in the 25-footer for Mr. F. E. S^veet- 
?.er. The cabin work is being finished on the 64-rating 
schooner for Mr. John M, Richmond. A 22-footer for 
Mr. Whittier is planked, and the keel is out for the 
Walker 22-footer. The 43-rater designed by Mr. B. B. 
Crowninshield for Mr. Trenor L. Park will be launched 
this week. 
A meeting of the Beverly Y. C. is to be held at the Ex- 
change Club Tuesday afternoon, at which a new constitu- 
tion, by-laws and racing rules will be acted upon. 
John B. Killeen. 
The Manhasset Bay Challenge Cwp* 
Under the declaration of trust governing the match 
for the Manhasset Bay challenge cup, challenges of clubs 
wishing to enter for this season's match to take place on 
June 29 and 30 and July i, must be filed with the club 
secretary not later than May 15. 
So far four challenges have been filed, these coming 
from the Indian Llarbor, Shelter Island and Atlantic Y. 
C.'s and the yachting department of the New York Ath- 
letic Club. In adition to these, two other challenges are 
pending. 
The representative j'acht of the Indian Harbor Y. C. 
will be the Oiseau, the best known of all the 30ft. class, 
which will be sailed by her owner, Mr. Henry L. Maxwell. 
The Shelter Island Y. C. will in all probability be repre- 
sented by the new 30-footer now building for Mr. Oscar 
B. Weber at Greenport. This boat was designed by B. B. 
Crowninshield and should make a hard competitor to beat. 
Her entry is dependent upon the builder completing her 
in time, and in the event of her not being ready the club 
will probably be represented by Kalmia, designed by Wni. 
Gardner. 
The 30-footer, Bagheera. formerly Astrilde, will enter 
from, the Atlantic Y. C, and is owned by Mr. Hendon 
Chubb. She is one of the Bar Harbor class of last season, 
and was designed by Clinton H. Crane. 
The New York Athletic Club will be represented by 
Flosshilde, owned by Mr. W. David Hennen. She was 
designed by Crowninshield, and sailed last season in the 
30ft. class of the Shelter Island Y. C. 
The Manhasset Bay Club will have as cup defender the 
sloop Alert, which is owned and will be sailed by Mr. 
Jauies W. Alker. She was the champion of the Bar 
