June 6, 1903.] 
46a 
and the entire absence of smoke and dust makes the 
heavenly bodies to seem much more numerous and 
brilliant. As we sail along we admire the great con- 
stellations, and in the north the glow of the aurora, 
which is often seen in great splendor on the north 
shore, even in summer. 
[to be continued.] 
English Letter. 
The weather has been so bad on the Clyde that since 
her new mast was stepped the challenger has been prac- 
tically idle, and it has now been decided to send the 
two boats over to the States at once. Such sailing as 
has taken place has been purely informal, but from 
it one can only judge that the new boat is now sailing 
better than ever. The new mainsail is a vast improve- 
ment on the old one, but that does not account for the 
apparent improvement in her speed off the wind. The 
trials, such as they have been, have been partly sailed 
in the narrow water from Greenock down to the To- 
ward Light, and one can never trust this course as a 
fair test. The best Clyde course is that of the Royal 
Northern, which is square, and with no very high land 
close by. 
On Saturday, May 9, the two boats got under way 
and dodged about the Clyde, the new boat being mani- 
festly kept in hand. Later on in the day they started 
from Gourock with spinnakers set, and ran down the 
river to the Cloch Lighthouse, where they had to stow 
spinnakers and reach with a quarterly wind on to the 
Skelmorlie buoy, coming back up to Greenock and 
then to the anchorage at Gourock. By the time they 
got back abreast of Gourock, the new boat was 14m. 
ahead, the water being dead smooth and the breeze 
with some heart in it. When the challenger came into 
the bay at the finish she was about two miles ahead. 
This was almost too good a performance to be true, 
for the distance sailed was not more than fifteen 
miles. Be that as it may, the new boat went just as 
well on the tollowing Monday afternoon. The two 
boats were merely "sprinting," no set course being 
sailed. Still in a nice breeze the new boat in a turn 
to windward of about nine miles, beat the old one by 
at least two. Reaching over four miles she left the 
old boat a mile, or nearly so, astern, and returning over 
the same course she repeated this performance. As I 
say this astounding speed seems far too good to be 
true, but the old vessel seemed to be sailing nicely, too. 
On Tuesday they were out again, but the wind was 
very light and fluky. However, when they got a 
breeze the new boat went away as fast as ever. 
I think you will find that the challenger is simply in- 
vincible in a moderate breeze, or what we would call a 
light breeze, as opposed to "a light air of wind." At 
Weymouth, when she had this wind, she sailed as fast 
as on the Clyde, and can, I believe, give the old boat 
not far off 25m. over the cup course in that particular 
weather. She seems, also, to be considerably faster 
now in stronger breezes, which may be due to her bet- 
ter sails. 
No doubt yachtsmen on your side are surprised that 
no such interest is taken in these trials as that excited 
by your matches. But the cases are quite different, for 
whereas, yours are set races sailed regularly for the 
purpose of selecting a defender, these are simply sailed 
as a necessary preparation. Nothing depends upon 
them, the challenger having been long , since chosen. 
As a matter of fact, only one set trial has been sailed, 
and it was spoiled by a fluke. The value of the old 
Shamrock as a trial ship, will be best seen in America. 
Those in charge of the new boat^wiH be able to tell if 
they have got her in the same' .form as she is in now, 
whereas, if the second Shamroplcvwere substituted that 
would remain doubtful. ^z^; 
From such reports as have been cabled over about 
Reliance, it looks to me as if she will be a source of 
much heart-searching. The increase in her sail points 
to dissatisfaction with her light-wind speed. It means 
more time-allowance, too, and I feel certain that no 
amount of sail will make that boat the challenger's 
equal in a light wind, while it must tell against her 
in a strong one. From her shape she must be a boat 
of very great initial stability, and that is dead against 
light-wind speed — at least with the wind forward of the 
beam. I believe you will find that Columbia and Con- 
stitution will often beat her. At the same time I have 
no doubt that, of her type, she is a grand vessel — she 
looks it in' all the photos I have seen. But there will 
be trouble in the selection of the defender; that seems 
almost certain. 
Our season, such as it is, will open in a fortnight. 
Yachts in this country may almost be said to be di- 
vided into two classes — cruisers and Lipton boats, for 
we have no big class racers, nor 65-footers. Khama, 
which started a few weeks ago for the States, fell in 
with bad westerly gales and ran back to the Clyde, 
where she lies at the time of writing. 
E. H. Hamilton. 
Columbia Y. C. 
CHICAGO, LAKE MICHIGAN, 
Saturday, May 30. 
The race given by the Columbia Y. C. on Decoration 
Day was one of the most exciting in the club's history. 
A twenty-five knot N. E. wind held throughout the con- 
test and it was accompanied by a heavy sea. The Class 
B boat. Nomad, finished with a broken gaff and would 
undoubtedly have won had she not broken down. The 
summary : 
Class lA— Start, 2:05. 
Finish. Elapsed. Corrected. 
Vencedor 3 2S 45 1 23 45 1 21 45 
Neva 3 44 45 1 39 45 1 39 45 
Class 3A— Start 2:05. 
Columbia 4 26 30 2 21 30 2 18 30 
Widsith 4 52 00 2 47 00 2 47 00 
B Classes— Start, 2:00. 
Vixen 4 22 30 2 22 30 2 14 45 
Nomad 4 18 15 2 18 15 2 16 24 
Jeannettie 4 24 00 2 24 00 2 24 00 
The winners were Vencedor, Columbia and Vixen. 
South Boston Y« C» 
SOUTH BOSTON, MASS., 
Saturday, May 30. 
In a very light air, from the southeast, the Y. R. A. 
open race of the South Boston Y. C, was sailed off 
City Point on Saturdaj', May 30. In the 25ft. class were 
Chewink III., Chewink II. and Bobs, one of the Bar 
Harbor 25-footers. Chewink II. and Bobs went over 
the line about the same time, but the wind was so 
light that Chewink III. was badly handicapped, and did 
not get across until just before the 22-footers were 
started. Calypso, the champion of the class for two 
j'ears, had been sailing about the starting line, but as 
the wind was so light, she did not enter. Chewink II. 
got all the wind on the first reach, but on the second 
and on the beat to windward the new Chewink con- 
stantly gained on her. On the broad reach she still 
continued to gain, but she was not up to the older boat 
until two-thirds of the course hkd been sailed. Th^ 
two got into a luffing ma'.ch at the fourth mark, in 
which Chewink got the best of it, After rounding and 
setting spinnakers, Chewink III. steadily gjii-ned to the 
finish. : :''-> " 
The work of the 22-footers in the light air was won- 
derful. They sailed over the same course as the 25- 
footers, and the leading boat beat the leading 25-footer 
by 3 minutes. Four of the 22-footers came up to the 
starting line, and they got away well together. For a 
short time they held together, and then Opitsah V, 
commenced to gain and soon walked out ahead of the 
other three. She held her lead without difficulty and 
won easily. 
In the i8ft. knockabouts there were ten starters, all 
of which were well bunched at the start, with the ex- 
ception of Yo San, which was about 3 minutes behind- 
the others. Miss Modesty, a new Crowninshield cre- 
ation, took the lead soon after the start and held it to 
the finish. 
The one-design dories were not quite as close as 
usual at the finish on account of the lightness of the 
breeze. There were also two races for sailing tenders, 
a club race in the morning and an open race in the 
afternoon. The summary: 
Class D. 
Elapsed. 
Chewink III., F. G. Macomber, Jr 2 16 42 
Chewink II ....2 18 29 
Bobs, E. V. Alvord 2 33 22 
22-footers. 
Opitsah v., S. H. & H. I. Foster 2 13 42 
Medric, Herbert White ,.2 17 11 
Helen, J. R. Neal 2 18 58 
Chief, S. C. Winsor : 2 2111 
Class R. 
Harriett 2 25 00 
18ft. Knockabouts. 
Miss Modesty, B. S. Permar 2 03 54 
Question, J. S. Hunt ;....2 04 05 
Mirage, T. B. Olmstead -,.2 06 14 
Miladi II., F. R. Adams 2 06 26 
Wink, L. B. Goodspeed 2 07 26 
Kittiwake, H. M. Jones.. : ..2 07 40 
Dominoe, C. C. Clapp 2 08 01 
Patrice, A. W. Finlay i,:i2 10 20 
Biza, Alfred Douglass 2 10 24 
Yo San, R. J. Randolph, Jr ..-2 10 59 
Millian, F. L. Woods .2 15 01 
Class D — Sailing Tenders. 
Elapsed. Corrected. 
Merrill 1 06 15 1 05 51 
Stickney 1 06 51 1 06 33 
Borden 1 09 05 1 08 53 
Colson 1 10 05 1 10 05 
Landers 1 09 11 1 08 11 
Cherrington 1 U 39 1 10 12 
Trotman 1 14 13 1 14 03 
Robinson 1 12 38 . .. .. 
One-Design Dories. 
Vera 2 23 24 
Amorita 2 24 34 
Hobo 2 28 01 
Lurline 2 32 52 
The following is the summary of sailing tender race in the 
morning: 
Stickney 0 53 11 0 52 53 
Merrill 0 53 55 0 53 31 
Trotman 0 56 52 0 55 49 
Colson 0 59 45 0 59 45 
Weeman Withdrew. 
Indian Harbor VT* C* 
GREENWICH^ LONG ISLAND SOUNDj 
Saturday, May 30. 
The spring races of the Indian Harbor Y. - C. were 
sailed on Saturday, May 30. The boats sailed over a 
ten-mile triangular course. The preparatory signal was 
made at 2 o'clock, and the boats in the 30ft. class were 
sent away five minutes later. At the time of the start the 
wind was light from the E., but it soon hauled to the 
S. and W., which gave the boats a reach almost all the 
way over the course. , 
Oiseau started first in her class, followed by Alert and 
Flosshilde, and the boats retained these positions all 
through the race, and Oiseau won by a comfortable mar- 
gin. _ In the handicap class for yachts 36ft. and under, 
Robin Hood won, beating Dart. 
The day proved to be an unsatisfactory one, as the 
wind was light and flukey, and the results were inde- 
cisive. 
The Regatta Committee was made up of Messrs. Frank 
Bowne Jones, chairman; Charles E. Simms, T. J Mc- 
Cahill, Jr.; E. S. Wheeler, and H. C. Nash. The sum- 
mary follows : 
30ft. Class— Start, 2:05. 
M . T 117 Alt Finish. Elapsed. 
/Mert, J. W. Alker 5 02 25 2 57 25 
Oiseau, H. L. Maxwell 4 56 17 2 51 17 
Flosshilde, W. D. Hennen Withdrew. 
Handicap Class. 
^ ,^ „, , , Start. Finish. Elapsed. 
Dart, Mr. Washburne 2 20 00 Withdrew 
Robin Hood, G. E. Gortland 2 38 00 8 19 20 5 41 20 
The winners were Oiseau and Robin Hood. 
Orient Heights ¥♦ C 
EAST BOSTON^ MASS., ' 
Saturday, May 30. 
The first club race of the- season for the Orient Heights - 
Y. C. was sailed off the club house on Saturday, May 30. 
There were 9 starters and a good race was sailed. The 
summary : 
Magnolia, J. F. Gunnerson 1 03 09 
Louise, H. K. Brown , 1 03 10 
Ruth, L. Innell 1 07 29 
Alinder, C. H. Hubbard 1 07 38 
Elsie, Martin Cahill 1 07 50 
Gladis, C. E. Rich , 1 07 51 
Harsp, John Watson ., .116 37 
Orient, J. B. Martin , 118 04 
Mollv, J. S. Donnell , 157 14 
WoIIaston Y. C. 
QUINCY, MASS., 
Saturday, May 30, 
The first club race of the WoIIaston Y. C, the first of 
the series for the Chase cup, was sailed Saturday, May 
30, in Quincy Bay, in a very light air. Wawenock, an 18- 
footer, was first across the starting line, and she increased 
her lead all around the course, finishing 14m. ahead of her 
nearest competitor. Neptune entered a protest against 
Wawenock for not being measured before the race, which 
the regatta committee will consider later. The stmimary: 
. ^ ^ . Elapsed. Corrected. 
Neptune, A. E. Lumell 1 51 05 1 29 30 
Sheila, L. Hewitson ..1 50 20 1 30 29 
Pocahontas, Dr. W. J. Merrill 2 01 00 Not taken, 
W awenock, Walter Combs 1 35 30 Not taken 
Williamsburg' Y^ C, 
FLUSHING, LONG ISLAND, 
Saturday, May 30. 
The annual regatta of the Williamsburg Y. C. was 
sailed over the club's course in Flushing Bay on Decora- 
tion Day. A long list of entries gave promise of a good 
race, but the fresh E. breeze that blew at the start died 
out and the boats were barely able to finish the race 
The wmners were: Class B, Saracen; Class C, Pearl; 
Class E, Pastime; Class F, Imp; Class G, Yankee Girl. 
Yacht Racing: Association of Gravesend Bay 
The third season of the Yacht Racing Association 
of Gravesend Bay will open on Saturday, June 6. The 
only change in the actual make-up of the racing fleet 
is the substitution of the new Bensonhurst Y. C. for 
the Atlantic Y. C, which resigned early in the year. 
All signs point to a good entry for the first race. 
Much work has been done in revising racing rules and 
all regulations governing the sport. The experience of 
two years suggested many beneficial changes. A new 
system of points has been adopted, similar to the one in 
use among many clubs on Long Island Sound. In 
this system a yacht gets one point for every boat she 
defeats with a premium of one point for starting and 
finishing the race. The Yacht Racing Association of 
Gravesend Bay now consists of the Brooklyn Y. C, 
Bensonhurst Y. C.-.New York C. C. and the Marine 
and Field 'GMb. ^ ^ - 
The English-built steam yacht Kittiwake, now under 
charter to Mr. Joseph Leiter, arrived at New York 
on May 31, twenty-two days out from Greenock, Scot- 
land. Bad weather was experienced, and on May 18 
the yacht put into St. Michael's for coal and made 
some temporary repairs. 
YACSTING NEWS jNpTES. 
For advertising- relatipg to this department see pages ii and iiil ' 
Mr. Thomas, W. 'Lawsoii, of Boston, has sold his 
steam yacht Dreamer, through the agency of Messrs. j 
Tams, Lem^ine &,Cd-ane, to Mr. A. C. Bedford, of New ; 
York City. ' • - 
Allure, the 6ift. gasolene launch, built from designs 
by M essrs. Colven & Bickman, by the Marine Con- 
struction and Dry Dock Company, Mariner's Harbor, 
S. I., for Mr. Alexander Stein, was launched a few 
days ago. 
«t X « 
Messrs. Sadler, Perkins & Field have completed plans 
of a power houseboat that is to be built for a Con- 
necticut yachtsman. She is ii6ft. long, 20ft. breadth 
and 6ft. draft. 
H *6 « 
The steam yacht that was nearing completion at the 
yards of the Racine Boat Mfg. Co., Racine, Wis., for 
Mr. John W. Gates, was destroyed by fire on May 31. 
The yacht was one of the largest ever built on the 
Great Lakes, and was intended for use on the Gulf of 
Mexico. The yacht cost in the neighborhood of $65,- 
000. 
H I? « 
-The eight 2S-footers built by the Holmes Shipbuild- 
ing Company, of West Mystic, Conn., from designs by 
Mr. C. F. Herreshoff, are for Messrs. C. Oliver Ise- 
lin, Paul Dana, J. Grosvenor, George Adee, Philip 
Adee, Gustave Kissell, August Belmont and C. O'D. 
Iselin. The boats, which cost about $2,500 each, are 
4(5ft.- over all, 2Sft. waterline, loft. breadth and 4ft. 6in. 
draft. They are centerboard boats, and will have about 
three tons of outside lead ballast. They will carry 
1,100 square feet of sail. 
le •« «e 
Mr. E. Pierson Beebe has sold his steam yacht 
Hope, through the agency of Mr. Frank N. Tandy. 
The new owner, whose name has 'not been made public, 
will use the boat for cruising on Massachusetts Bay. 
« K 
I 
Mmga, the steam yacht built at Morris Heights for 
Mr. Walter E. Duryea, was launched on Wednesday, 
May 20. She is 6sft. over all, loft. 6in. breadth and 3ft. 
draft. Minga was built for use on the St. Lawrence 
River, and her builders guarantee a speed of twelve 
miles. 
Mrs. J. B. Gibson died at her home in New York 
City on May 26, as a result of injuries received on May 
