FOREST AND STREAM, 
£39 
Royal in 1880, and was incorporated in 1888. The largest 
yachts on the club's register in 1876 were the Petrel of 
20 tons, and the Mystery of 14 tons ; the rest of the fleet 
were almost entirely small half-decked craft of from 20ft. 
to 25ft. waterline, sloop rigged with inside ballast. In its 
first season the club's programme consisted of four races 
only with a couple of harbor cruises. The amount of 
racing done did not materially increase for several years. 
The young club received a blow in its first year which 
rearly caused its death. In the race for the Mayor's cup 
in September, 1876, one of the yachts, the Cygnet, cap- 
sized and sank with the loss of two amateurs, and on the 
same day another amateur was lost off another competing 
yacht, the Petrel. Two such disasters in one day gave 
such apparent confirmation to the popular belief in the 
danger of yachting that the continued existence of the 
squadron was in doubt. The upset was, however, mainly 
due to a very bad boat combined with somewhat careless 
handling. Since that date the club has fortunately been 
free from accident, and the modern boats of ample free- 
board and outside ballast have often demonstrated their 
ability to face with perfect safety any weather likely to be 
encountered in summer time. 
From the outset the club determined that in one respect 
it would leave nothing to complain of, namely, the con- 
duct of the races. Thanks to an enthusiastic and inde- 
fatigable secretary, Mr. F. C. Sumichrast, now professor 
of French in Harvard University, the management of the 
races was conducted in entire conformity with the rules 
and suggestions of the British Y. R. A. The "two post" 
starting line and the "one gun" start have always been 
the practice of the club, and in every other way the 
"business" part of the races has been made as smart and 
up to date as possible. 
In the early years of its existence, the racing fleet of 
the club grew but slowly. Outside influences had little 
effect in determining the type of craft. Yachting litera- 
ture, with its host of up-to-date designs, was not then 
in existence, and Halifax is too remote from the yachting 
centers of the States for the types prevalent there to have 
much influence. For many years the principal additions 
to the club's fleet were the creations of Mr. J. E. Butler, 
who modeled, built, and raced his own boats. They were 
all small boats, ranging from 21ft. to 26ft. waterline, with 
very short overhangs and a beam of about one-third of 
their waterline length. They had fairly sharp sections 
and good ends, with plenty of body and very moderate 
sail areas, and were probably fast for the day, although, 
in the absence of any outside competitors, that must be 
a matter of speculation; every boat is proverbially fast 
when sailing by herself. Their great defect was their ex- 
tremely low freeboard even for those days. They cer- 
tainly required more careful handling than a modern 
keel boat. However, whether it was the handling or the 
boats, or both, they never met with a mishap, although 
sailed and raced in all kinds of weather. In Mr. Butler's 
hands they were most successful as prize winners. The 
Hebe in particular, a sloop of 25ft. waterline by 8ft. 4in. 
beam, and about 5ft. draft, was the crack of the squadron 
for several years. Her lines show a nice, clean boat, with 
a good entrance and a V-shaped midship section that was 
a good compromise between the flat bottomed American 
boats of the day and the deep craft of enormous dis- 
placement that the British "1730" rule was then turning 
out. She was during the several years in which she was 
owned and sailed by Mr. Butler only beaten once, and 
that was by a schooner four times her size in a race 
sailed in half a gale. 
In spite of the enthusiasm of a few members, and of 
the great natural facilities for the sport, the club made 
but slow progress, in fact for many years was at a stand- 
still. The membership remained below ipo, and with a 
yearly fee of only $5 the income was insignificant, and in- 
terest in the club and the sport seemed gradually dying 
out. The reasons ^were not hard to discover. The chief 
one was the want 'of a club house. The only accommo- 
dation which the club could offer its members and guests 
was the use of the fine wharf and premises of the Royal 
Engineers kindly placed at their disposal on race days, 
which did not at that time exceed half a dozen Saturday 
afternoons in the season. This, and the occasional privi- 
lege of following a race on a tug, and a still more occa- 
sional "hodge-podge," was all that the members obtained 
in return for their subscriptions. A further reason was 
the difficulty of obtaining new yachts. There was no 
good building yard in or near the city, no designer, and, 
in fact, no one with whom a prospective builder could 
take useful counsel. As the older yachts gradually went 
out of existence there were no new ones to take their 
places, and the sport languished. The club held its own, 
but that was all, and even the enthusiasts began to doubt 
as to its future. 
In 1887 there came a chance to give it a "boom." That 
was the year of Victoria's Jubilee, and the good old 
loyal city of Halifax proposed celebrating it with due 
honor. Water sports of some kind have always been one 
of the "Alligonians"' favorite forms of celebration, and 
the yacht club proposed to take advantage of the occasion. 
A subscription list was opened, and about a thousand 
dollars was obtained, with which a very handsome cup 
was purchased for a race in which it was hoped 
many of the leading yachts, both British and American, 
would compete. The secretary of the club went on to the 
States to look up entries, and the race was well adver- 
tised. In addition to the city cup, a number of gentlemen 
in the States interested in Canadian affairs presented an- 
other handsome cup to the club to be raced for by 
Canadian yachts. On the strength of all this a good 
deal of interest in the club was worked up, and many 
additional members obtained. In the event the racing 
was rather a disappointment, as the hoped-for competitors 
failed to turn up. ' Lt. Henn's Galatea, the well known 
challenger for the America's Cup, and Mr. G. H. War- 
ren's English cutter, Stranger, came down from the 
States, and, as good luck would have it, the old schooner 
Dauntless dropped in on her way back from her ocean 
race with the Coronet, and her sporting owner, Mr. 
Caldwell H. Colt, at once and most cheerfully acceded 
to the club's request to help make up a race. So far as 
the cup was concerned, the Galatea, with her big allow- 
ance, was tolerably safe, but merely as a race the match 
was as fine a one as was ever sailed. The course was an 
open one of thirty miles in the bay and outside. The 
night before it blew very hard from the southeast, hauling 
round in the morning to the west, blowing all day not 
less than 30 miles an hour, with a big cross sea. These 
conditions suited the old schooner to a T, and she led the 
cutter all day, except in one ten^mile turn to v^rindward, 
when the Galatea, as her owner told the writer, was 
driven into it harder than ever before_in her life. In the 
result the schooner finished first by quite a bit, which was 
glory enough for her sporting owner. The race for the 
cup presented for Canadian yachts v/as won by the 
schooner Wenonah. She was owned by a syndicate, and 
a year later on, when they dissolved partnership, they pre- 
sented the cup to the club as a perpetual challenge cup, 
for which purpose it has been held ever since. 
The races had been most successful in the object for 
Cutter Princess. — Owned by George Wright, R. N. S. Y. S. 
which they were chiefly instituted, reviving interest in the 
club and procuring additional members, but the commit- 
tee felt that this would be only a temporary revival, and 
wisely determined to take advantage of the opportunity 
to obtain a club house. 
It was no light matter for the little club to face, with 
a membership of little more than 100 and a revenue of 
only about $500. Fortunately, the club possessed in its 
commodore, Mr. A. C. Edwards, a man of great energy, 
enthusiasm, and tact, and he was loyally backed up by 
an energetic committee. A site was purchased, plans of 
a modest club house obtained, and the building, together 
with a good wharf and large boat house, erected. A 
vigorous canvass considerably increased the membership. 
Cutter Youla.— Owned by H. M. Wylde, R. N. S. Y. S. 
and the annual subscription was raised to $10. The club 
has never had an entrance fee, as it was always felt that 
it might tend to keep out members of more interest in 
yachting than means to enjoy it— the class, after all, on 
which every such club must mainly depend for continued 
success. _ The financing of the scheme was a serious 
proposition. A first mortgage was obtained from a loan 
company for $4,500; a further sum of $2,000 was obtained 
on six per cent. $50 bonds floated among the members 
of the club, and secured by a second mortgage. In addi- 
tion to these, when the club house and premises were 
finally completed and opened on the 14th of June, 1890, 
the club was liable for miscellaneous debts to the amount 
of about $1,500. 
The property was, however, well worth the expendi- 
ture. The late Mr. Hurst, for many years treasurer of 
the N. Y. Y. C, and a resident for many years in South- 
ampton, G. B., once said to the writer that he knew 
of no yachting station, not even Cowes, comparable to it 
for all-round excellence. The site is a beautiful one at 
the southern end of the peninsula on which the city is 
built, and on the edge of the fine park which includes 
all the seaward end of the peninsula. It is only a mile 
from the post-office, and the electric cars run past its 
gate. The view from the wide verandas is superb, look- 
ing right out to sea, and taking in the greater part of the 
harbor with the finely wooded and heavily fortified islands 
at its entrance. The water is deep right up to the club 
wharf, and a considerable indentation of the shore at that 
point makes a good though somewhat exposed anchorage 
for the yachts, nearly all of which lie at moorings directly 
in front of the club house. There is only a six-foot tide, 
and practically no current. A large floating stage with 
a self-adjusting ladder makes easy landing at any stage 
of the tide. The club house itself was of the most 
modest description. It consisted mainly of a large and 
airy club room on the second floor, facing directly on the 
harbor, and surrounded with a roomy veranda. There 
are no dining facilities, the only provision for the inner 
man being a room with lockers in which the members 
can keep what they please, and the club supplies the sun- 
drv fluids which are grouped under the general name of 
"soft drinks." The ground floor opening directly on the 
wharf, is given up to the storage of gear, and a dressing 
room with lockers for clothes. For those who can swim, 
a capital header can be taken off the wharf. A modest 
lawn with a couple of quoit beds, and a large boat house 
completed the club property. 
The club prospered in its new premises. Its member- 
ship rose to above 200, and kept there. A tight hand was 
kept on expenses, and it soon began to get its head above 
water. The miscellaneous debt was soon paid off; then 
the bonds were paid off at the rate of $300 a year, and 
finally the loan mortgage was reduced and converted into 
an ordinary mortgage, and the club gradually found its 
way into Easy street. 
With prosperity, however, inevitably came increased 
expenses. One of these is, it is believed, somewhat un- 
usual. It has been the policy of the club to lend every 
posible encouragement to the keeping of yachts. Now, 
yachts require some attendance, and attendance involves 
paid help. To the majority of the would-be yacht owners 
among the club the keeping of a paid hand is out of the 
question. The club stepped into the gap. It hired men, 
at first one, then two, and undertook to perform certain 
strictly stipulated duties for such yacht owners as chose 
to avail themselves of the opportunity, such as convey- 
ance to and from the yachts, hoisting and stowing sails, 
drying them after rain, pumping and keeping the yachts 
in order. For these services a monthly fee varying with 
the size of the yacht is paid to the club. The members 
who keep rowboats in the club boat house — some sixty in 
number— contribute a small yearly ' fee in return for 
assistance in getting their boats in and out. In this way 
between a half and two-thirds of the wages are recouped 
to the club. The balance the club bears, and considers 
the money well spent in the encouragement it gives to 
the keeping of yachts, especially the smaller kind, many 
of which would otherwise not be kept at all. 
From the outset the club house on race days, which 
practically means Saturday afternoons and holidays, has 
been thrown open to ladies, and they have availed them- 
selves of the privilege to the full. The club has always 
been on excellent terms with the army and navy stationed 
at Halifax, and the fine band O'f the regiment or the 
flag ship frequently performs at the club house on race 
days, making the premises one of the fashionable summer 
resorts of the city. 
The management of the club, however, never made the 
mistake of supposing that music and fashion could take 
the place of sport, and fully realized that_ if the club was 
to continue it must be through the maintenance of its 
own special branch of sport. The difficulty of procuring 
new yachts already referred to continued. In 1890 
Mr. James Eraser brought out from England the Fife 
cutter Uvira, since so well known in New York 
waters. But there was nothing of her class in 
the club to make sport, and her owner parted with her 
after one season. In the next year another attempt on 
less ambitious lines was made to induce the building of 
new boats. A company was formed, and Mr. S. Harlow, 
an excellent builder, installed as manager. From Mr. 
Fife was procured the lines of a 26ft. L.W.L. cutter, 
a miniature Uvira, and two boats were built. _ They 
were, and still are, most admirable boats, but their cost 
was still too great for the average Halifax yachtsman. 
Another capital boat added to the fleet about the same 
time was a handsome 27ft. cutter designed by Mr. H. C. 
MacLeod, since better known as the designer of many 
fast boats on Lake Minnetonka, and of the Canada cup 
defender Minota. These three boats made good racing 
for a couple of seasons, but nothing new was coming for- 
ward, except some undesirable additions in the shape of 
ex-fishing boats, and the committee again felt that a 
further step in the direction of still cheaper yachts must 
be taken. A class of one-design i8ft. knockabouts from 
the board of Mr. MacLeod, the lines of which appeared in 
Forest and Stream of May 14, 1898, was established. 
The result was most beneficial. Yachting had at last been 
brought within reach of the average pocket, the sport 
flourished greatly, and the number of members actually 
taking an active part in it was at least trebled. There 
still remained a class of juveniles to whom even an i8ft. 
knockabout was an impossibility. To catch these and in- 
terest them in the sport, the club in 1902 established a 
class of 12ft. dingheys, choosing the boat designed by Mr. 
Morse, of Toronto, the lines of which appeared in 
Forest and Stream for April 8, 1899. The class has 
proved an immense success, some twenty boats have been 
built, and it has been the means of bringing into the club 
a host of most desirable recruits, some of whom have 
already expanded into owners of larger craft. Finally, 
to complete the history of the club's attempt at promoting 
the building and ownership of yachts within reach of 
modest pockets, in the past season a second class of 
knockabouts somewhat smaller, cheaper, and at the same 
time more modern than the 18- footers, was established. 
The Hnes of a boat of 15ft. waterline were obtained from 
Mr. E. A. Boardman, of Boston (they may be seen in 
The Rudder for March, 1903), and four boats were built 
which have given great satisfaction. In the meantime, 
