702 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Nov. 3, 1906. 
OUTLOOK FOR CUP RACING. 
Since the arrival in this country, some weeks 
ago, of Sir Thomas Lipton, yachtsmen have 
picked up their morning papers witli an interest 
altogether peculiar. The pages of the press daily 
contained some references to the Irish Baronet, or 
to the conditions under which he might challenge, 
and opinions—more or less misleading—were 
printed of what the New York Yacht Club would 
do in the event of a challenge. Whether it 
would be under the old rule, which governed 
the later races for the America’s Cup, or under 
the club's new rule—the Universal Rule—has been 
the main theme of discussion. 
None of the statements, guesses or surmises 
have been of a definite nature, and their perusal 
left one on a quicksand, ever shifting. Sir 
Thomas Lipton's visit here has been but a suc¬ 
cession of meetings, dinners and a participation in 
the many ways in which hospitality may be shown. 
The Baronet’s powers of diplomacy and finesse—■ 
necessarily employed in warding off a subject so 
interesting as an international race—must have 
been severely taxed, but Sir Thomas has gained 
much and lost nothing in popularity during an 
absence of three years. No one will dispute the 
fact that an America’s Cup race upsets American 
yachting, and the seasons of such events have not 
been known as successful. At this time, when 
the Universal Rule is holding all our interest, is 
rehabilitating our sport, and owners are begin- 
ming to build in earnest, an America’s Cup race 
is not desirable. 
The informal meeting of Sir Thomas and the 
members of the New York Y. C. is understood 
to have been a most satisfactory and agreeable 
function. This disproves many of the weird 
paragraphs that were foolishly written in the hope 
of forcing an issue. 
The understanding now is that a challenge will 
be issued in 1907, for a cup race in 1908, and the 
races will be sailed under the Universal Rule, 
William Fife, the designer of two Shamrocks, has 
reconsidered his refusal to design a new vessel. 
He will design for Sir Thomas the fourth Sham¬ 
rock—as we suppose the new challenger will be 
named. The year 1908 will be a fitting time for 
an international race. By that year yachting 
under the new rules will have run long enough 
to permit the gaining of a good knowledge of 
their workings, and a confidence which is ab¬ 
solutely new to the sport will have been estab¬ 
lished among yachtsmen, naval architects, 
builders and the host of others who live by their 
work and labor in this field. This confidence 
means the development of yachting in strides un¬ 
dreamed of heretofore. 
Gentlemen, place your building orders. The 
rule is all right and—-except for the time allow¬ 
ance scale—no changes are in sight that will have 
any effect on the boats themselves. Insist that 
your designer give you a yacht of good scantling; 
give him restrictions, but do not hamper him; 
let him design to the spirit-of the rule, and the 
scantling question, when it is settled, will not 
bar the new boats of 1907. 
Boston Letter. 
The last Sunday in October is always a lonely 
one in the lower harbor. To be sure fleets of 
smelters may be seen in every cove, in the lee 
of many islands and fringing the edges of all the 
grass-grown channels and gullies. But the boats 
which are sailing for the mere sport of sailing, 
as distinguished from those in use as vehicles 
for transportation to and from the fishing 
grounds, are very few. And yet it has been a 
wonderful day. One with a smashing W.N.W. 
breeze, an almost cloudless sky of that deep blue 
hue which autumnal days alone produce, a warm 
sun, and an atmosphere so clear that Marble¬ 
head’s town hall tower was plainly visible from a 
point just below Long Island head. With a good 
glass one could read the time by the tower clock. 
My “year’s end” sail embraced four hours; 
banging around the harbor, hither and yon, 
thrashing to weather up the long stretch back of 
Peddocks island where the ebb tide kept the sea 
down; in the Westway where the same tide kicked 
up a nasty slop; out Hull Gut again while the 
wind rebounding from Fort Revere tested the 
rigging with trip-hammer blows, reaching through 
Long Island Gut where the current inevitably runs 
in the unexpected direction, and where always 
you are met and crowded by a long tow. Four 
aimless hours of puss in the corner. And dur¬ 
ing that time I met-—well, how many sailing 
yachts? Holly II., Scapegoat and Inch Worm, 
two 21-foot and one 25-foot catboats, a 30-foot 
topsail sloop and the cutter Minerva of the South 
Boston Y. C., looking very businesslike and com¬ 
fortable under Staysail and storm trysail. 
“But oh, the little power boats, 
A-plyin’ up and down;” 
Their numbers are still undiminished, their 
racket is still unspeakable, their odor is still un¬ 
mistakable. I am free to confess that I love 
them not, woo them only in glassy calm. And 
then they love not me. But I admire their 
owners for the tenacity with which they cling to 
their sport, for the long season they crowd in 
between reluctant spring and sport-killing winter. 
To them time, tide, temperature, weather, even 
daylight, mater but little. During my four hours’ 
sail I met nearly, if not quite, as many power 
launches as one would see in the same waters 
on an August Sunday. The only ones missing 
were the simon pure speed launches. 
Back to the home moorings to confront a 
hated rite, the inexorable clause of my marine 
insurance—“doth warrant said yacht will be laid 
up and out of commission from noon of Novem¬ 
ber 1st,” etc. A task postponed to the last Sun¬ 
day afternoon to become a wild rush; a slash¬ 
ing of lashings; mad scrambles aloft for blocks 
and madder descents for the forgotten knife; 
jumps below for marlinspike or monkey wrench 
with which to coerce a shackle or an eye bolt; 
and so on ad infinitum. 
All this has no appropriate cause for publica¬ 
tion as a Boston letter. I recognize my fault. 
But there is a dearth of news this week. You 
and I would weary were this tale to restrict 
itself to such items as—“One of our most suc¬ 
cessful designers has an order from a prominent 
yachtsman for a new boat for class Q, but he may 
build a sonderklasse boat. For good reasons, de¬ 
tails cannot be made public.” I know, and you 
know, that nine out of ten such items ace space 
devouring fabrications. A designer is no more 
secretive over his orders than is a hen over her 
fresh laid egg. Both know that advertising pays 
and both cackle accordingly. 
Such items are, however, all the local news 
produced this week, except for the details of 
the Lipton yachting dinner. And as those details 
will be history before this is printed news I re¬ 
frain from publishing them. Sufficient that by 
the grace of God and the generosity of friends 
the editor-in-chief and I will both be at the 
dinner. What more can you—or Sir Thomas— 
desire? 
William Lambert Barnard. 
Our Supplement. 
The fine supplement in this'issue is, from the 
point of view of the sailor, very interesting. It 
is a finish and an exciting one, presupposing no 
time allowance. However, this is very fair 
weather sailing, with no sea. But picture to your 
mind our good old defender Vigilant, now a 
yawl, and that fine schooner Queen—neck and 
neck in a 25-mile an hour breeze and a rough 
sea-—then the possibilities of the new rule would 
be a little more apparent. 
Exit Power Boat News. 
As we recorded, some years ago- the advent of 
the Power Boat News, from the Rudder Pub¬ 
lishing Co., so also must we now record its with¬ 
drawal from circulation. The cause is given as 
lack of good enough copy on which to run the 
paper. Be that as it may, power boating is as 
yet in its infancy and its import is not widely 
realized. The gasolene engine is a legitimate 
commercial product, but not one which as yet 
is of such importance—we doubt if it will reach 
the point—as to claim for itself the justification 
of being represented by a weekly exclusive organ. 
YACHTING NEWS NOTES. 
On the night of Oct. 23 the plant of Messrs. 
Brown & Sons, at Tottenville, Staten Island, was 
destroyed by fire. The loss is estimated at $60,- 
000. The yard at the time was full of lumber and 
many boats were on the slips and ways. There 
was a wind blowing and the firemen could not 
get enough water to stop the fire. Brown & 
Sons have long been established at Tottenville 
and have built a great number of wooden yachts 
and other vessels for mercantile purposes. 
* * « 
The steam yacht Kehto, Mr. Roswell Eldridge, 
New York Y. C., has returned from a cruise on 
the Chesapeake and was at Twenty-third street, 
East river, last week. She proceeded to Fletcher's 
to be overhauled for her trials which will take 
place in a few days under the direction of Cox 
& Stevens, naval architects, who designed the 
yacht. 
at « at 
The Jamestown exposition committee announ¬ 
ces the condition for the King’s Cup, presented 
by King Edward, which will be raced for off 
Jamestown at the end of September. The races 
are open to yachts of the Q class or 22-footers 
under the Universal Rule. This will permit boats 
from France. Germany, Spain and England to 
compete as the boats may readily be shipped on 
steamers to this country. The class has grown in 
America in the past ten years and has been most 
successful. The races at Jamestown will include 
elimination races, for competition in a series of 
three races, or finals for the cup. At this time 
the motor boat racing fixtures are not settled 
upon. 
»S It 
North Star, steam yacht, Commodore Cornel¬ 
ius Vanderbilt, New York Y. C., has proceeded 
to the Clyde for an overhaul, after which she will 
proceed to the Mediterranean where her owner 
and family will join her for a short cruise in 
February next, returning to America in May. 
