3^4 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[March 6, 1909. 
Cruise of <he Trocas. 
Cruises made by yachtsmen always make in¬ 
teresting stories, and those made in small craft 
are more entertaining than those made in 
larger yachts. In the small craft each one of 
the guests has his duties to perform, and part 
of the fun of the cruise is this work, and later 
it is fun to hear about the work. On a larger 
vessel the owner has his crew and stewards to 
do what they are paid for, _ while the guests 
lazily enjoy the luxuries provided on the yacht. 
The members of the Bayside Y. C. are en¬ 
thusiasts. They enter heartily in the sport of 
yachting whether racing or cruising, and some 
of them have written accounts of cruises which 
have been published in the club magazine, 
known as the Bayside Y. C. Log Book. In 
the March issue there is a short account of a 
cruise made by Elmer G. Story in the power 
boat Trocas, which went through Long Island 
Sound as far as Shelter Island, then 
Peconic Bay and back home. It is called The 
First Cruise of the Power Boat Trocas,” and is 
as follows: 
“In the early part of August, Trocas took 
on board a goodly quantity of supplies, includ¬ 
ing liquid refreshments, and, when this delicate 
task had been safely completed, five members 
of the Bayside Y. C. stepped upon the quarter¬ 
deck, the engine was started, club burgee un¬ 
furled, and the cruise was on. 
“Each member of the party soon saw the duty 
he was best fitted to perform aboard ship, as¬ 
signed himself to the task, and no amateur 
cruising party ever had a better skipper, en¬ 
gineer, steward, cook and cabin-boy than those 
on board. As was often said of the cook, he s 
a dandy—they may tie him, but they can't beat 
him.’ 
“The objective point on the first day was 
New Haven, liut a strong south wind sprang up 
early in the day, and a high, rolling sea came 
across the Sound, which made sailing to the 
eastward very uncomfortable to those on board. 
The steward thought he would keep up his 
courage in true old salt fashion. He got out 
his corncob pipe, filled and lit it, then, puffing 
away, pulled down his sou’-wester, anil went 
forward for a quiet smoke. It was not long 
before he came aft looking quite pale, and his 
pipe was out. He quietly faded away upon a 
settee in the cabin. About this time Bridgeport 
lighthouse and breakwater were off the port 
bow, and as the holes in the water were getting 
deeper, it was decided to run into the harbor 
and spend the remainder of the afternoon and 
night. The skipper was much amused to see 
the cheerful look that came over the counte¬ 
nance of the steward and cabin boy as the boat 
passed the breakwater and ■ glided into the 
smooth water of the harbor. The steward soon 
became a changed man and told the cabin boy 
the story entitled ‘And What Did The Shep¬ 
herd Say?’ 
“The next morning, after a well-cooked 
course breakfast, some of the party visited the 
city and brought aboard fresh bread and the 
morning papers, and again the bow of Trocas 
was pointed eastward. New Haven was soon 
sighted and passed, then later the Thimble 
Islands came into view. Trocas kept close in 
shore, and the beautiful scenery was enjoyed by 
all. Just beyond the Thimble Islands is Sachem 
Head, upon which is situated the Sachem Head 
Y. C. Trocas ran into the snug little harbor 
just behind the club house and came to anchor. 
While lunch was being prepared, some of the 
party visited the club and returned with a half- 
dozen fresh boiled lobsters. Oh! what a feast! 
Nearly all of the boats of the club were away 
011 their annual cruise. During the afternoon 
the run to Saybrook, at the mouth of the Con¬ 
necticut River, was made, and just after reach¬ 
ing an anchorage in the river behind the light¬ 
house a terrific thunder storm broke. All 
hands were glad we were safely in the harbor, 
as it is a difficult one to get into during a 
storm. A power boat trying to get in was 
dashed upon the breakwater only a few weeks 
later in the season. During the evening the 
Hartford Y. C., which has a good house on the 
point, was visited. The steward told the cabin 
boy another story that night. 
“In the morning, the bow of Trocas again 
was pointed eastward, and soon many other 
beautiful sail and steam yachts were seen head¬ 
ing in the same direction, and as we approached 
New London, we recalled that it was the ren¬ 
dezvous of the fleet of the New York Y. C., 
whose annual cruise was to begin the following 
day. The lower harbor was an inspiring sight 
to the true yachtsman. A forest of masts, 
great white sails, and graceful white and black 
hulls. A number of snapshots were taken, but 
no picture or words can do justice to the scene. 
“A short sail was taken up the Thames River 
over the famed college rowing course, and then 
a return was made to the city of New London. 
The place was filled with yachtsmen in their va¬ 
ried uniforms, and Bayside Y. C. was now on 
the fringe of society. No dinner engagements 
were announced, however, that night by any ot 
the party, so fresh supplies were brought aboard 
and the cook got busy, and the steward set 
out a bottle of our best wine. He told the 
cabin boy two stories that night. 
“The next leg of the cruise was from New 
London to Greenport, Shelter Island and Sag 
Harbor. This was made without incident, the 
water being a trifle rough through Plum Gut. 
The night was spent at Sag Harbor, a quiet old 
town which seems to have outlived its useful¬ 
ness. Here, the steward, after a rather trying day, 
was feeling good again, and sang a song to the 
cabin boy, entitled, 'In the Shade of the Old 
Apple Tree,’ with Slight variations. The cabin 
boy liked it so well he is singing it yet. 
"The next day an early morning sail was 
taken up through' Little Peconic and Great 
Peconic Bays, two beautiful and almost crystal- 
clear sheets of water. South Jamesport was 
reached early in the day, and a hearty welcome 
was .given us by the commodore and members 
of the Great Peconic Bay Y. C. We found here 
several of our own younger club members, en¬ 
joying a vacation, and also a cruising party 
from our neighboring yacht club. The Knicker¬ 
bocker. A most enjoyable day and night was 
spent at South Jamesport, and we were not 
allowed to leave without solemnly promising to 
come again. 
■Regretfully, the bow of Trocas was now 
turned toward home. A short stop was made 
at Greenport, where supplies were taken in, 
and then, on one of the finest yachting days of 
the season, the run was made out by Orient 
Point, through Plum Gut, and diagonally across 
the Sound, passing close by Cornfield Light¬ 
ship, Faulkner’s Island, and thence by Oldfield 
Light into New Haven Harbor—a distance of 
over 75 miles, a good day’s run for a boat like 
Trocas, with is-horsepower Fulton motor. We 
anchored in front of the New Haven Y. C. 
about 6 P. M., in time to see the finish of an 
e.xciting yacht race, held by that club. Late 
that_ night the steward told the cabin boy three 
stories. 
“The next day was Sundajq and, after a de¬ 
lightful run along the Connecticut shore. Exe¬ 
cution Light was sighted, and soon Trocas was 
at her mooring in Little Neck Bay. The 
steward told the cabin boy another story, and 
the cruise was over.” 
15-Metre Yacht Not for Plant. 
It has been denied by British yachting papers 
that the 15-metre yacht building at Fife’s is 
for Morton F. Plant, and the British yachts¬ 
men are rather disappointed because they had 
hoped that Capt. Charles Barr was to have 
sailed the yacht against the crack British 
sailors. The 3'acht is building, though, for an 
American yachtsman, and it has been rumored 
that it is for ex-Commodore Cornelius Vander¬ 
bilt. Commodore Vanderbilt last fall sent the 
steam yacht North Star abroad, and the mem¬ 
bers of his crew were told that she would not 
be in these waters this coming season, and 
Commodore Vanderbilt intended to spend the 
summer in Europe. He has always been an 
enthusiastic racing yachtsman, and it is not at 
all probable that the yacht will fly his flag in 
British regattas. 
This 15-metre class will be one of the best 
ever raced abroad. There will be nine yachts 
racing, and the boats are of a size that furnish 
good sport rating 49,2 feet. The London Field 
has this to say of the class: 
“We have been able to inform our readers 
that three yachts of this class were building 
for Spanish owners for next season’s British 
racing, and while this information, which will 
doubtless be received with acclamation by all 
yachtsmen, is authentic, it appears that the an¬ 
nouncement that all three vessels are being 
built in Spain from Mr. Fife’s design requires 
correction. The actual situation is more in¬ 
teresting than at first stated. Of course, it is 
well enough to watch a class of vessels of prac¬ 
tically equal speed and form all from the board 
of the same great master of yacht architecture, 
but it is better still when the yachts are by dif¬ 
ferent designers. In the present cases it turns 
out that one of the vessels is by a French de¬ 
signer. Many rumors have been Circulated 
about the 15-metre class for next season. 
Firstly, it has been emphatically stated in the 
.A.merican press and in some of the British 
journals also that one of the new yachts is be¬ 
ing built for Morton F. Plant, the well-known 
owner of the huge steam yacht lolanda, who 
in 1904 sailed the Herreshoff schooner Ingomar 
in European waters. This information is not 
true. The American-owned vessel is not for 
Morton Plant. Next the rumor has been freely 
circulated that Capt. Charles Barr, who is, of 
course, the crack American sailing master, has 
been engaged, together with the best American 
crew he can get. which, we suppose, would mean 
Mr. Christiansen, his Norwegian mate, and 
some of his leading hands from Reliance and 
Ingomar, to sail the yacht which is being built 
by Fife at Fairlie-on-Clyde for the American 
owner. This rumor, like a good many others 
which float across the .A.tlantic from west to 
east, is also without foundation. We are sorry 
for this, because it would have been of extra¬ 
ordinary interest—as we have already remarked 
—to see Barr sailing on level terms against 
such men as Mr. Burton, J. R. Payne, and Mr. 
Paget. However, we hear that up to the 
present Barr has not been engaged for any of 
Fife’s yachts. 
“Now the following we believe to be a com¬ 
plete and correct list of the yachts of the 15- 
metre class which will be ready to race next 
season. Of the yachts which have previously 
raced: (i) J. R. Payne and Mr. Watson will 
either sail Gauntlet or Shimna. The former, 
the old Payne boat, is known to be a smart 
vessel in a breeze, and particularly to wind¬ 
ward. In certain weather J. R. Payne still 
holds, and surely there is no better judge, even 
though he will forgive us for saying his love 
for the famous vessel may lead him to be slight¬ 
ly biased in her favor, that Gauntlet can be 
sailed so that she will hammer any of the 15- 
metres which so far have raced against her. 
(2) A. K. Stothert will bring out last year s 
crack 15-metre Mariska. (,5) Mr. Almeric 
Paget will race the Mylne designed Ma’oona, 
which has such a famous reputation as an all¬ 
round vessel. Before coming to the new yachts 
which are being built, we must remember tha: 
W. P. Burton’s Britomart is still in perfect 
trim, and, if sold as an ‘old yacht’ built under 
the late rule like Gauntlet, beJore the scantling 
regulations were introduced, is entitled to an¬ 
other season in the 15-metre class. The new 
yachts in the class which are now building are: 
(4) A yacht at McAlister’s yard. Dunbarton, 
from Alfred Mylne’s design, for W. P. Burton: 
(5) W. Fife’s No. 564, building at Fairlie-on- 
Clyde for an American owner (not Mr. Plant); 
(6) No. 569, building at Mr. Fife’s yard for a 
Spanish nobleman, the Duke de Medinaceli; (7) 
No. 568, a 15-metre yacht building in Spain 
under W. Fife’s supervision for his Majesty the 
King of Spain; and (8) another 15-metre yacht 
for the order of a Spanish nobleman, which is 
building in the same yard as the King of Spain’s 
yacht, but which is not designed by Mr. Fife, 
but by M. Guedon, the French designer of the 
firm of Guedon and Delanoy, of Bordeaux. 
Here, therefore, we have the eight competitors 
which we mentioned in our last issue, and a 
