^OV. 2S, WS.J 
“You can call dese sea boats if you like, but deb'e taiii 
bad ones.” Nevertheless, as shown above, we shipped no 
solid water, and we were doubtless the only racer that 
could boast thus, with the probable exception of Val- 
halla, more than ten times our tonnage. 
Through the bad weather, whether running or lying 
to, the easy motion of Ailsa was the most astonishing 
attribute of the boat; instead of knocking us about with 
battered shins and mangled joints, we found the rolling 
and pitching so pliant and comfortable as to astound 
us who were prepared for the worst moments in our 
experience. As a matter of fact the rolling and angle 
of heel, at their utmost, could not approach that of a 
large sailing ship either running her easting down or 
hove to in the Southern Ocean. The height of the 
largest seas was probably from 40 to 45ft. from crest 
to trough, about 30ft. shorter than the Cape Horn 
seas in which the writer was once hove to in a wind- 
jammer for a considerable period; but every one of 
these Atlantic seas broke heavily, with a curved edge, 
from which it was very difficult to get away, and their 
sides or flanks were almost vertical. The longer the 
sea, the easier to ride, of course, even though pro- 
digious the height; the big regular Cape Horners by 
very reason of their size run but flve to the mile, and 
the back or ridge of each individual sea often exceeds 
a mile in length. These break also, but without the 
hollow arch of a steep sea; they seem rather to roll 
along with a tumbling, thick crest. Indeed, had it not 
been for the “wave” oil, a compound of heavy oils, 
black and glutinous, which proved almost miraculous 
in its ability to smooth the crests, we would have had 
many disagreeable visitors. When we had arrived at 
Southampton, Lord Brassey, who had finished just 
ahead of us in Sunbeam, came aboard and declared that 
it v/as the worst sea that he had seen in twenty years. 
He also discharged the opinion that crossing in Ailsa 
was but little short of suicide; but had the Baron seen 
twenty-nine summers instead of sixty-nine, it is proba- 
ble that our passage would have appeared to him in 
more brilliant hues. 
“You’ll have to drive her hard, win or lose,” was a 
frequent counsel that we heard many times before the 
start. But as a matter of fact, driving a 90ft., modern, 
racing single-sticker with an emasculated forebody in 
such weather as we had for three days, before a strong 
gale and ugly sea, is an impossible theory begot in the 
minds of those who have perhaps never been out of 
sight of the land in a bulb-fin racer. In short, it is 
an anomaly. When a yacht or sailing vessel of any 
sort, large or small, has a hull under her fit to run 
•with — that is, to drive — she can be driven to the ulti- 
mate moment; when she is often pooped and destroyed 
by the combers astern. But you cannot drive a vessel 
that has no forebody, practically no keel, whose mast is 
stepped so nearly in the middle of her that she cannot 
carry sail far enough forward to keep her ahead of the 
seas, and whose every inclination is to turn around 
against her rudder and look at you. She cannot be 
driven for the reason that she is out of control, and 
broaches in the crests and loses way, refuses to go 
ahead, and at any time is liable to lose boats, gear and 
men in a single sea through broaching. The build of 
every other vessel in the race enabled her to run ouL 
this gale, including Fleur-de-Lys, a smaller boat than 
FOREST AND STREAM, 
Ailsa. Pdeur-de-Lys’ dcck.s were full of heavy water 
for long periods; yet she was driven through it because 
she was capable of being driven — was built to buck 
against or to run before a North Atlantic gale. Un- 
couth as Ailsa was when running, when hove to she 
rode as high and dry as a swan, shipping hardly a mist 
of spray. Not a little further misapprehension exists 
in the minds of many yachtsmen concerning the position 
of a sailing vessel when laid to. The notion is abroad 
that they “breast” the combers; while the truth is that 
they lie very nearly broadside to the sea, forging ahead 
about a couple of knots an hour; and this is as true of 
the sailing ship as of the yacht, except that the former, 
loaded almost to the deck, is swept by every heavy sea, 
which the yacht’s buoyancy keeps her clear of. Only 
steamers head the gale when lying to. 
One of the greatest misfortunes in the whole matter 
of this ocean race_ was that not a single naval architect 
of recognized ability crossed in one of the contestants. 
The excuse that they were too busy ought not to have 
prevailed in the face of the enormous amount of in- 
formation they would have acquired on the passage, 
and in no other way. Watching the^ performance of 
one of his creations in a breeze of wind on the quiet 
sound, or even along shore, gives a designer no idea 
of how she behaves in a heavy sea more than a thous- 
and miles from land, particularly in the matter of run- 
ning and standing gear. No sailing yacht ever goes 
to sea in an easterly gale, which is the Only possible 
condition under which, near land, the strains of a 
vigorous sea on hull and spars could be observed by 
the designer or naval architect; if he could but have 
been persuaded to cross in this race, he would have 
observed the countless points, great and small, that 
otherwise he would never see. No designer who had 
been there before would have sent Ailsa to sea with 
so preposterous a square foresail and yard. The trysail 
was the perfection of what such a piece of canvas should 
be — heavy boltrope, massive cringles and gear in gen- 
eral able to withstand the wear of the sea. But the 
square foresail was hardly fit for a joke._ The quality 
was all there, but the size and shape of it would have 
been laughable if the conditions had not been serious. 
The business of such a foresail is to enable a vessel to 
keep ahead of a heavy, breaking sea when running, and 
ought to be nearly if not quite as long on the foot as 
on the head, to lift her over the seas and prevent bury- 
ing when hustled on by the crest; instead of which we 
tottered along beneath a squaresail cut so nearly to a 
point on the foot that it looked like an inverted isosceles 
triangle. Had we possessed a squaresail commensurate 
with the size of the boat we might have even made a 
show of. running out the breeze of. wind and finishing 
-fourth or fifth instead of eighth. As for the yard on 
which this fragment was stretched, it must have been 
conceived for a 70-footer to use off the Hook in 
August. 
Concerning the yawl rig, it is our opinion that it is 
the most overestimated one that appears in all the 
seven seas for any purpose except that of the British 
fishermen, and even they have rejected it almost entirely 
for the lugger and ketch. Many yachtsmen speak of 
the yawl rig as the very essence of everything desirable 
for a sea-going vessel; in their eyes it seems to have 
almost preternatural gifts in heavy weather; when 
43S 
herculean tasksi aboufid there is iiothJttg to compare with 
it. “John is going up to -Nova Scotia this fall,” they 
say, “but then he’s got a yawl rig, you know.” The 
naked truth about the yawl is that the rig in the first 
place breaks up the sail area and reduces it for racing 
purposes; and in the second place it does not seern to 
be of any use at sea. When running, the little fright 
in the .stern is out of commission entirely, and when 
hove to it is a positive danger when set, for well- 
designed boats crave the wind anyhow, and if the jigger 
were carried when laid to the boat would come all 
the way around on the other tack and create incredible 
confusion; and in moderate weather, close-hauled, a 
cutter will outpoint and outfoot any yawl of her size 
ever built. The proposition that a yawl heaves to at 
sea under head sails and jigger is a mere myth. As for 
the jigger’s shortening up the main boom so that it is 
lifted well clear of the seas, it is equally untrue, for the 
jigger mast’s presence does not in our case take more 
than 8ft. from the main boom, provided the latter were 
cut off level with taffrail, as of course it generally is 
for sea work. The Alice and Minerva are perfect 
illustrations of the fact that yachts as small as 40ft. on 
the waterline can cross the Western Ocean under sloop 
and cutter rig, without converting them into the ugly, 
useless and sluggish rig of the yawl. 
The rest of our voyage lay in moderate weather with 
a long, rolling southwest swell, however, that kept us 
under the trysail much of the time, though we did 10 
knots right along, with almost the steamer’s regularity; 
and it was in this vicinity that we exhibited the peculiar 
spectacle of a yawl churning along under six canvas 
triangles; three head sails, trysail, jigger staysail and jig- 
ger. We made our best hourly run about this time too, 13 
knots in 60m,, and passed the Lizard at about 4:30 in 
the morning of June i, 14 days and ii hours from 
Sandy Hook, beating the time made by other yawls, 
Vigilant and Navahoe, establishing a new transatlantic 
record for this rig, and also beating the passages of 
Yampa, Coronet, Dauntless, and Ingomar. Although 
we arrived eighth out of eleven starters, we made ati 
excellent showing for a smooth-water racing machine 
even in heavy seas, and our passage across ought to 
illustrate the fact that a racing “ninety” can be handled 
and sailed even in wild Atlantic weather. With this 
as an established fact it seems more lamentable than 
ever that the hulls of our crack racing craft should be 
so over-pressed with canvas that even the larger ones 
dare not face a 20-mile easterly breeze and sea in our 
summer racing, lest they stretch their sails out of shape 
for the next race. That is, the very surface to which 
the motive power is applied must not be exposed to any 
but certain benign breezes, and that in smooth waters. 
A pity it certainly seems that we cannot arrive at a 
more moderate and reasonable sail plan, so that our 
racing yachts could exhibit their ability in strong winds 
and chop of a sea without the probability of maiming 
some feeble bit of timber. Perhaps, though, on the 
other hand, by virtue of their almost limitless experi- 
ence in handling vessels in strong winds and freshening 
seas, the deep sagacity of our regatta committees is 
after all justified in calling off a race when some of the 
boats, having made an offing, are perceived to be in a 
state of unusual agitation. How can we maintain a 
defense in the presence of such godlike wisdom? 
JUST PUBLISHED. 
HOUSEBOATS AND BOUSEBOATINC 
BY ALBERT BRADLEE HUNT, 
Yachting Editor of Forest and Stream. 
A volume devoted to a new outdoor field, which has for its purpose three objects: 
First — To make known the opportunities Amerxan waters afford for enjoyment of houseboating life. 
Second — To properly present the development which houseboating has attained in this country. 
Third — To set forth the advantages and pleasures of houseboating in so truthful a manner that others 
may become interested in the pastime. 
The book contains forty specially prepared articles by owners and designers of well- 
known houseboats, and is beautifully illustrated with nearly 200 line and halftone reproductions 
of plans and exteriors and interiors. A most interesting chapter is devoted to houseboating in 
England, where the sport is one of the most delightful features of outdoor life. 
The book has been carefully prepared by Mr. Albert Bradlee Hunt, a well-known 
authority on the subject. See review of volume on a preceding page. 
The work is printed on extra heavy coated paper, and is bound in olive green buckram. 
The price is $3.00 net. (Postage 34 cents.) 
The book will make a unique and most attractive holiday gift. 
FOREST AND STREAM PUBLISHING CO., 346 Broadway, New York. 
