824 
FOREST AND STREAM 
[May 22, 1909. 
Portland Y. C. 
At a dinner to celebrate the fortieth anni¬ 
versary of the Portland Y. C., given in the club 
house. Commodore Fritz H. Jordan, in a 
speech, gave an interesting history of the club, 
as follows: 
“My theme is to speak of the long and hon¬ 
orable record of the Portland Y. C. 
“To relate all of interest and value that could 
be said of its several commodores from the 
bluff but genial old sea dog who is first on the 
list to the skilled seaman and yachtsman who is 
now in command, to speak of the able and 
efficient officers who served it in different 
positions, and of the long roll of thoroughly 
good fellows who have been members and who 
have sustained the credit and standing of the club 
wherever they have been, to speak of the dif¬ 
ferent yachts, of the regattas, the cruises, the 
meetings, the dinners, the smokers and the in¬ 
formal talks, of the amusing episodes, of the 
accidents and the shipwrecks, the time from the 
rising to the setting of the sun would not be 
sufficient, and in the brief time allotted to me I 
can give but an outline of its history. 
“The first Portland yacht of which there is a 
record is the venerable Laurel, built in 1820. 
Other yachts were Quakeress and later Chero¬ 
kee, owned by Edwin Churchill, and American, 
owned by Harry McLellan. In 1868 there were 
owned in Portland the schooners Laurel, Net¬ 
tle and Sparkle, sloops Ray, Spy, Whisper and 
others, and a cruise was arranged. Capt. Abiel 
M. Smith, of Ray, was acting commodore and 
Capt. B. J. Willard, of Nettle, acting vice-com¬ 
modore. The cruise lasted three days and was 
so successful that it was determined to organize 
a club, ^nd the next year, on April 26, 1869, 
forty years ago this day, the Portland Y. C. was 
formed. 
“There was much interest in the club from 
the start, and before the close of the season, it 
had sixteen yachts and 131 members, and a 
constitution, a club flag and a uniform had been 
adopted. James M. Churchill, a retired ship¬ 
master and at that time a prominent merchant 
of Portland, was elected commodore. 
“The first flagship was Ethel. Originally a 
sloop she had been cut in two and lengthened, 
and she was then a schooner of 34 tons. She 
had a standing foregaff and a lug foresail. Ray, 
Vice-Commodore Smith, is the same yacht that 
appears in the picture of the regatta of the 
New York Club in 1854, which hangs on our 
walls. She was afterward enlarged, rebuilt and 
rigged as a schooner. She later was sold, be¬ 
came the Woodmansee and now as the yawl 
Stalwart is again on our rolls. Sparkle, Capt. 
Senter, was built in 1S61 and was for years a 
noted Portland yacht. Others were: Whisper. 
John B. Thomas; Spy, Capt. Wm. Taylor, and 
Clarence. Capt. Benj. W. Jones, all famous 
yachts. The largest yacht was Juliet of 50 tons, 
owned by H. H. Furbish. 
“The club went to Bath on its first annual 
cruise and was received with much honor by 
Mayor Patten. 
“In 1870 the annual cruise was to Boothbay, 
the first regatta was held and Spy and Whisper 
took prizes. 
“In 1871 the present club flag was adopted and 
Ethel and Ray took prizes. 
“In 1872 the club hired a room on the end of 
Custom House wharf. The room had balconies 
and a fine lookout on the water. Among the 
ornaments of the room was a fac-simile of the 
club flag painted on the ceiling. In the re¬ 
gatta of 1872, Alarm, Capt. Preble, took the 
prize. In 1873 Vice-Commodore Smith was 
elected commodore. Ray and Alarm took 
prizes in the first class and Spy and Clarence 
in the second class in the Fourth of July re¬ 
gatta. 
“In 1874 the club went on a week’s cruise to 
Boothbay and other ports. This year Alfred 
K. Paul built a yacht destined to be famous in 
the annals of the club. The report that she was 
to be named Apostle proved unfounded and 
she was named Viva. In 1875 there were many 
regattas and Viva took and held the first prize. 
Interest in yachting had, however, fallen off 
and the club had but 86 members. In 1876 
John P. Thomas became commodore. He and 
others had previously bought Sparkle, and she 
became the flagship. She was sold in 1877 and 
the sloop Princess was bought and became the 
flagship. 
“In 1877 the annual cruise was to Wiscasset. 
In those days there was too much enthusiasm 
to wait till June for sailing, and I recall a very 
delightful cruise to the eastward of Boothbay 
in Princess April Ti to 14, 1878. In 1878 the 
club was incorporated and the meeting at which 
the act of incorporation was accepted was a 
very amusing one It then had thirty-five yachts 
and 147 members. Viva still held the first 
prize. 
“In July, 1879, Alfred K. Paul, of Viva, was 
elected commodore and in October Wm. Sen¬ 
ter, Jr., of Gracie, succeeded him. Commo¬ 
dore Senter held the position with much honor 
till 1887. During his term of office the mem¬ 
bership increased to 200 and the present club 
house was erected in 1885. Many of the large 
yachts had, however, been sold and most of the 
yachts being small the cruises were usually in 
the waters of Casco Bay. 
“In 1887 Charles W. Bray was elected com¬ 
modore and held the position till 1907, with the 
exception that John F. A. Merrill was commo¬ 
dore in i8g6, Lincoln C. Cummings for a short 
time in 1900 and John W. Bowers in 1897 and 
part of 1900. Commodore Bray’s flagship was 
first the sloop Tempus, then Viva and after 
1890 the steam yacht Maitland. Viva was Com¬ 
modore Bowers’ flagship also, and she was, 
therefore, the flagship of three different commo¬ 
dores. During Commodore Bray’s long and 
notable term of office many important events 
occurred. Improvements were made in the club 
house. There were many regattas, cruises, 
dinners and smokers. On New Year’s eve the 
commodore, assisted by the vice-commodore, 
gave receptions. The membership increased 
to 324 and the number of yachts, including 
motor launches, to 142. 
“Our present commodore, Reuben K. Dyer, 
was elected in 1907. During his term of office 
the club house has been enlarged, membership 
has still further increased, and there are now on 
the rolls 367 members and 164 yachts of all 
classes. 
“Time does not allow me to refer in detail 
to the different officers and members, but 
among the many who have served it faithfully 
and taken active interest in its welfare may be 
mentioned Vice-Commodores Geo. C. Owen, 
Wm. Willis Goold and Edw. Woodman, Fleet 
Captain Philip 1 . Jones, Secretaries John A. 
Emery, Ceo. H. Holden, Geo. L. Rand and 
Chas. F. Flagg, and last, but not least. Treas¬ 
urer Carl F. A. Weber, who has held the office 
since 1890. Through his great financial ability 
the bonds issued to erect the building have 
been paid off, land has been bought and the re¬ 
cent enlargement of the club house has been 
made possible. 
“The club has been served by very efficient 
regatta^ committees. There has always been 
much rivalry in the different classes, cups have 
been offered by the club and by public spirited 
members to be competed for by the cruising 
yachts of the club, and in recent years by the 
one-design and dory classes. 
“Equally efficient have been the entertain¬ 
ment committees under whose charge the smok¬ 
ers, dinners, etc., have been given. The most 
notable of these were the dinner and dance at 
Cape Cottage on the loth anniversary, 1879. 
dinners at the Preble House on the 20th and 
21 St anniversary, dinners at the Falmouth on 
the 25th and 30th anniversary and at the Con¬ 
gress Square Hotel on the 35th anniversary. 
“On the list of honorary members of the club 
have always been the Mayor of the city, the 
collector of the port, the inspector of the first 
lighthouse district, the captain of the revenue 
cutter and others. 
“While some yacht clubs have restricted the 
use of their club houses to their own members, 
the Portland Y. C. has always welcomed visit¬ 
ing yachtsmen and granted them the use of its 
club house and landing stage. Receptions have 
been given to visiting clubs and the yachts of 
the club have met at the mouth of the harbor 
many visiting ships and squadrons. 
“During the forty years of the life of the club 
there have been great changes in the model and 
rig of yachts. Steam yachts have come more 
into use and power yachts have been introduced. 
The tall, graceful spars and clouds of canvas 
have been supplanted to some extent by the 
motor engine and instead of the pure air of 
heaven one breathes often the odor of machine 
oil or gasolene. Other and perhaps greater 
changes are to come, but I have faith that the 
love of the sea and the spirit of good fellow¬ 
ship will endure for all time and that the Port¬ 
land Y. C. will exist and flourish for many years 
to come.” 
Yachting at New Orleans. 
New Orleans, May 14 .—Editor Forest and 
Stream: On Saturday, May 29, the sixty-second 
annual regatta of the Southern Y. C., of this 
city, will formally open. It means the begin¬ 
ning of the yachting season for sailing boats 
owned by various parties residing between New 
Orleans and Mobile, and there are scores of 
these embracing many enthusiastic boatmen and 
lovers of sports and contests on the water. It 
is reported that the members of the Southern 
Y. C. and others connected indirectly with the 
organization are somewhat tardy this year in 
getting their various craft in readiness for the 
coming great events. Chewink III., owned by 
Commodore Al. Landry; Cadillac, owned by 
Captain Lawrence Heaslip, and Hiawatha, 
owned by Peter Donnes, are practically ready 
for the regatta and will enter the big class of 
cabin boats. 
In_ the open sloop class are Sinner, Siren, 
Juanita and Rascal, known as the knockabouts. 
Schemer and Eros are being put in condition. 
Among the racing machines in the open sloop 
class are Seawanhaka and Wahkita. It is 
rumored and not officially confirmed that the 
Southern Gulf Club and Yachting Association’s 
executive committee will meet either at Pass 
Christian or Gulfport, Miss., the latter part 
of this month for the purpose of rearranging 
the classifications and altering the distribution 
of the prize money. It is said several other 
matters of importance in reference to the re¬ 
gatta in waters between New Orleans and 
Mobile will come up for consideration. It is 
believed the prizes in connection with the 
largest sloop class will be arranged, and if this 
is done, it is thought that Commodore John A. 
Rawlins’ champion Cricket will take part in the 
races. 
The motor boat races will take place off West 
End in Lake Pontchartrain one week after the 
sailing boat regatta—that is, on Saturday, June 
5. The southern speed champion. Mystery, 
owned by Captain Houlton, is being put in con¬ 
dition for the motor boat regatta. It is prob¬ 
able that the new motor boat imported from 
the coast of Maine by Messrs. Jahneke and 
Keep will be a contender for the prizes offered. 
It is said that this craft is 27 feet long and a 
24-29-horsepower machine, and can make 28 
miles an hour. Other reports are to the effect 
that this great wonder has only a 15-horse¬ 
power machine, and her trial spins on the 
Tchefuncta River have been disappointing. All 
the reports in regard to this mysterious wonder 
are lacking official confirmation. Another 
strong contender is P. Q. D., recently purchased 
by Joseph Hyland from Captain Duvic. She is 
undergoing repairs, and when in proper con¬ 
dition ought to show her heels to many of the 
fast ones. Another motor boat, about which there 
is some mystery, is Br’er Fox, the 40-footer. 
This boat was brought down the Mississippi 
and Ohio rivers by Captain Dean, and Captain 
E._ H. Keep. She is credited with doing 28 
miles an _hour_ down the river. This boat is 
from Cincinnati. The owners will be invited to 
take part in the regatta. Captain George 
Brewster’s Ferro, the champion 18-foot motor 
craft of the United States, will probably take 
part. _ Ferro is being thoroughly overhauled, 
and it is said her 17-horsepower high-speed 
motor of three cylinders will be replaced by 
a 20-horsepower machine. F. C. G. 
