SS8 FOREST AND STREAM. [Oa. 2.. 190s. 
Made Rye Neck late in the afternoon and anchored 
just off the American Y. C. The club has a very attrac- 
tive house on the end of the point, but is handicapped 
by a shallow harbor. During the evening there was a 
constant hum of automobiles and their lights flashing 
through the trees made a picturesque scene. 
After dinner read the “Cruise of the Cachalot,” a 
mighty good story. The writer always likes to have a 
few sea tales aboard when cruising, as they never appeal 
to one so much as when read on one’s own boat. 
Tuesday morning, after the usual swim and breakfast, 
took a short sail out of the harbor and then landed on 
Hen Island. Made a fire, and when there was a good 
bed of coals wrapped the fish caught the day before in 
damp newspapers, having previously seasoned them, and 
then covered them with the hot ashes. The writer has 
yet to find a person who, having eaten a fish properly 
cooked this way, does not consider that eating is, after 
all, one of the chief pleasures of life. 
After lunch and its supplement, tobacco-, went up to 
Mamaroneck and telephoned the office. Regretted to find 
it was necessary to be there the next day, so left Waia- 
derer at her moorings and went back to the city. This 
was a most fortunate thing for the writer, as on the next 
day, Wednesday, Sept. 16, occurred the great storm, and 
had he been caught out in it this cruise would probably 
never have been written. 
The storm continued very heavy on Thursday, clearing 
Friday, and that afternoon the writer went back to 
Marharoneck to see if there was .any Wanderer left. The 
harbor gave evidence of the violence of the storm, and a 
number of boats had been damaged or gone ashore, but 
Wanderer was at her mooring as bright as ever. 
After getting a new supply of provisions it was too late 
to make another harbor, so stayed there for the night. 
Saturday morning was a most perfect day, warm and 
bright, but with only a light breeze. What there was of 
it was from the E., and as Greenwich was the de.stination, 
it was a beat at the start. It kept shifting to the S., how- 
ever, so that by afternoon the desired course N. E. could 
be laid. 
There was one of the Larchmont Y. C.’s races that 
afternoon, the turning stake boat being anchored in the 
middle of the Sound off Manursing Island. She was a 
big, high-sided, open boat, sharp at both ends and looked 
as if she could ride out any storm. She presented a queer 
and lonely look out there so far from land with appar- 
ently no one on board, but on coming closer noticed there 
was a man on board who was taking things easy lying 
down. 
Was off Port Chester about 4 o’clock and had the good 
fortune to see the finish of one of the most interesting 
steam vacht races held on the Sound this season. Re- 
gretted' being a little too far off to get a good picture of 
the Norman, as she crossed the line a winner amid the 
tooting of the whistles of the yachts gathered round the 
finish. 
Anchored in Greenwich Harbor about 6 o’clock. Went 
ashore that evening to see a friend who is rnost highly 
esteemed as being the introducer to the writer of the 
W'hisky toddy. 
Sunday was another bright day with half a gale from 
E.N.E. and heavy sea. It was too rough outside for a 
small boat so kept inside the protection of Greenwich 
Point. The yawd Peggy passed at some distance headed 
for Oyster Bay and could be seen taking green water up 
to her main mast. 
Sailed past the wreck of the little steamboat Spring, 
which had gone on the rocks a short distance from E. C. 
Benedict’s house during the previous Wednesday storm. 
The harbor men were doing a fine business rowing people 
out to see her, as a wreck is an unusual thing at the 
w’estern end of the Sound. 
Went up to Riverside and anchored in the lee of a rocky 
point for lunch. The introducer of the whisky toddy and 
his wife came along in their Chesapeake Bay canoe and 
we had lunch together. There was an autumn chill in the 
air and it felt good to get out of the wind, and the warm 
sun made things very comfortable. 
The wdnd began to moderate so decided to try for 
Mamaroneck, taking leave of the Chesapeake Bay canoe. 
Kept near shore, passing inside of the_ Captain Islands, 
and was well protected from the sea till off Manursing 
Island. From there to Rye Point was exposed water, 
but the wind kept going down though the seas were still 
running prettv high. Wanderer climbed over them in 
great shape and this was one of the most enjoyable parts 
of the trip. On coming into the harbor it was almost 
calm, a marked contrast to the heavy wind earlier in the 
day and symbolic of the long rest and peace to come after 
the day’s work. Wanderer crept up to her moorings m 
the evening dusk and the cruise was ended. 
British Letter. 
Fifty-two-footers and 20 Raters. — A rather warm 
discussion has been going on in the London Yachtsman 
concerning the respective merits of the present day 52ft. 
raters and the 20-raters of ten years back. The contro- 
versy was started by a well-meant and perfectly correct 
remark made in the report of the Royal Dorset Y. C. 
regatta at Weymouth to the effect that in the develop- 
ment of the 52ft. class yacht racing had fallen on better 
times. Exception was taken to this statement by Mr. G. 
H. Ward Humphreys, the owner of the old Herreshoff 
20-rater Niagara, now called Japonica, who most in- 
geniously pointed out that his boat had sailed the same 
course as the S2-footers — a distance of 26 miles — -and only 
taken smin. longer than the winning 52-footer. Mr. 
Ward Humphreys, therefore, said on the strength of this 
one race that there had been no improvement in speed. 
He proceeded to lay down that the 52-footers are much 
more expensive than the 20-raters, much larger, and that 
they are so tender as not to be able to stand up to their 
canvas unless provided with hollow spars. To- sum up,, 
he comes to the conclusion that the present rule has not 
produced a superior type of boat to that of a decade back, 
but an inferior one in almost every respect; Mr. Ward 
Humphreys, although a clever adapter of arguments, is 
not a practical yachtsman, and his statements have all 
been well met and refuted by a corrspondent who sees 
clearly the fallacious ground on which they have been 
built. No practical yachtsman would dream of comparing 
the relative speeds of two yachts on the strength of one 
performance in which the boats were in different classes, 
starting at different times. Then, again, the day was one 
peculiarly suited to Niagara — a fresh wind and smooth 
water over most of the course — just the sort of thing to 
suit a plate and bulb boat. In moderate or light winds, 
which is the general rule in racing, the new boats would 
simply lose the old one. As regards expense, that is an- 
other absolute fallacy. It is true, that the modern boat 
costs £2,500, as compared with £2,000, but she is half as 
large again. The Thames tonnage of the 52-footers is 
about 45, that of Niagara only 30, so that the modern boat 
for her size is considerably cheaper. 
The difference in accommodation is still more strongly 
marked. Niagara has about 4ft. 6in. head room while 
the modern boats have all close on 6ft., and Sonya has a 
trifle more. Niagara may suit Mr. Ward Humphreys, but 
she would not suit many people for cruising purposes, and 
she is a bad type of boat for present requirements. The 
present Y. R. A. rule has certainly brought out a far bet- 
ter boat and one which, if substantially built, will sell for 
a cruiser when her racing days are over. In the days 
when Niagara, Audrey and Inyoni were racing together 
it was impossible to live on board of such shallow-bodied 
craft. All four of the modern 52-footers are habitable; 
in fact, as I stated in a previous letter, the owners of 
three of them lived on board all the summer. What the 
present rule has done is to produce a larger boat, but, so 
far, no complaints have been received on that score, prob- 
ably because there is so much more value for the money 
in them. 
Has the present rating rule been made the most of? 
There appears to have been too much similarity between 
most of the yachts which have been built under the ex- 
isting rule. There is a widespread belief that the rule 
encourages body at the expense of draft, and that the 
boats suffer from want of stability; yet, Magdalen, the 
first and probably the best boat built under it, was beau- 
tifully stiff, and so is Sonya. There seems no doubt that 
great improvement can be effected by more judicious use 
of the different factors. Sonya is the nearest approach to 
the t3^pe of boat the rule was intended to produce, and it 
is notorious that now and again she developed surprising 
speed and outsailed the other three on all points. If she 
could do that the soeed must be there — she certainly had 
plenty of stability— and it would appear as though her 
failure was chiefly due to want of trim. Britomart was 
a bit of a freak and the rule condemned her. It has still 
two vears to run and it is to be hoped that designers will 
do their best to get the utmost they can out of it, for it 
is Quite on the cards that it may be renewed. 
E. H. Kelly. 
North Star. Arrives.— North Star, the steam yacht 
owned by Rear Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, New 
York Y. C., arrived at Newport from England on Satur- 
day, Oct. 14. Mr. Vanderbilt crossed in the vessel and 
his guests were Secretary George A. Cormack, New York 
Y. C., and Messrs. Keck and Crane. Bad weather was 
encountered on the voy^age. 
Betty. 
A Sha%w Draft '.ittlsffig Schootief. 
Nowadays there is a very considerable demand for 
both power and sail yachts, suitable for use in southern 
waters. The enthusiastic American yachtsman, who 
wishes to spend the better part of the year on the water, 
now sends his yacht South after the season in the North 
is over and uses her there during the winter. 
British yachtsmen have long been able to keep_ their 
vessels afloat all the year and use them almost without 
interruption by sending them to the Mediterranean. 
Americans have been slower in taking advantage of the 
possibilities of southern cruising which their own coast 
affords, but of late there has been a marked change in 
this regard, and every year we find more men spending 
their winters in Florida and West Indian waters. 
Many of the yachts, however, that are perfectly 
adapted for use in the North are wholly impractical for 
southern cruising, owing to their great draft. The deep- 
draft British vessel is just as suitable for use in the 
Mediterranean as she is in home waters. Not so with 
the American yacht, except in rare instances, and for 
this reason it is necessary to have a boat designed and 
built for the particular requirements met with in the 
South. A number of ■gentlemen have had yachts and 
houseboats built for use in the South and keep them 
there the year around. Each fall they are put in com- 
mission and prepared for the coming of the owner. 
The season in the South has not up to this time been 
a long one, mainly because the stay of the fashionable 
people was limited, but this condition is gradually un- 
dergoing a change, as a more substantial class of 
sportsmen are finding their way there, and these mpi 
are looking for recreation and sport and not social 
conventionalities. Each year will find the sportsman 
making longer stays, and it will extend over a period 
of months rather than weeks. 
The shallow-draft, flush-deck, cruising schooner 
Betty, the plans of which boat we publish this week, 
was designed by Messrs. Tams, Lemoine & Crane for 
Mr. C. L. F. Robinson. New York Y. C. Betty was de- 
signed for use in Florida waters, and the designers have 
rounded up what would seem very unwieldly dimensions 
in the way of breadth and draft into a very able and 
well turned little ship. 
The ends are not long, but are well balanced, and the 
clipper stem is a pleasant relief from the spoon bows 
now found on all modern racing and cruising yachts 
of this size. 
The pole masts suggest a snug, easily handled rig, 
and the row of port holes on either side are placed 'well 
up from the waterline, which insures better ventilation 
in the cabins below. The deck being flush, gives ample 
room for handling the vessel when_ under way, and 
affords a deal of room for deck chairs, etc., when at 
anchor. The cockpit is very roomy and unusually deep. 
Betty being for use in the torrid climate, the question 
of ventilation below was of prime importance, and the 
designers have been most successful in this regard. 
There is 6ft. 6in. headroom under beams fore and aft. 
A deck house 5ft. wide and lift, long extends from 
the forward end of the cockpit to a point about over 
the center of the saloon. This house does not weaken 
the vessel’s construction any, as the deck beams are 
not cut, except in the toilet and steerage. In the sides 
and ends are oblong windows which can be opened, and 
they ventilate the toilet and saloon perfectly. 
The companionway is on the starboard side, and it 
leads to a steerage 4ft. 2in. by 4ft. 4m. The steerage 
will be used as a chart room and a storage place for 
guns, rods, etc. The toilet room, which is on the port 
side, is reached from the steerage. This room is 3ft. 
gin. by 4ft. 4in. Beside the patent closet, there is a 
linen locker and a medicine cabinet. 
Forward of steerage is the saloon, loft. 2in. long, 
which extends the width of the vessel. There is loft. 
6ini. floor room between the buffets. On either side 
are wide transoms, the one on the port side returning 
around on the after bulkhead. In the corner thus made 
is placed a swing table. Back of the transoms are 
shelves, and at the forward end of the cabin on either 
side are buffets 2ft. gin. wide. On the top of these 
buffets are shelves 2ft. wide, and back of these are 
lockers for the cabin china and glass. Underneath are 
draws and lockers for silver, wines, linen, etc. Two 
port holes are placed on each side opposite one an- 
other. These give cross ventilation. 
From the forward saloon bulkhead the centerboard 
trunk extends for a distance of 15ft., dividing the boat 
in halves. 
