542 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[April 6, 1907. 
Boston Letter. 
“In the spring the young man’s fancy lightly 
turns to thoughts of love.” Ihis being estab¬ 
lished, we have but to know his love to compre¬ 
hend whither his thoughts are turning. Ihus 
we, who love the sea, now at the call of spring- 
tide, find our passion reviving and burning more 
brightly as each warm day bespeaks the fast, but 
none too fast, approach of that day when the 
“good old ship,” or the latest child of our fancy, 
shall slip in breathless ecstasy from the winters 
beach to the summer’s mooring. 
Despite streaks of idealism we yachtsmen are 
in many ways crudely materialistic. It will not 
suffice us then that we know that the coming 
of our love is close at hand. Nor is it sufficient 
that we be assured that she brings us every de¬ 
light. We would know-—we demand to know 
even to the most minute specification, just what 
gifts she bears, the precise offerings that she will 
hold forth as incentives to our ardent wooing. 
With the advent of fitting out we forget deli¬ 
cacy in desire, we fall wolfishly upon regatta 
committee schedules and hungrily lick our chops 
for cup offerings. The latest morsel offered to 
satiate this appetite is no less tempting for hav¬ 
ing been long heralded. _ 
The Gay cup—a generous donation by Fred¬ 
erick Lewis Gay, a true patron of the local sport 
—is now completed by the silversmiths and offers 
a charming temptation to the owners of all iSft. 
knockabouts, for it is destined to stand as evi¬ 
dence to perpetuate the winning of the 19°/ 
championship in Class I. 
The cup itself is a beautiful thing—beautiful 
in its severe, early Colonial design (it is a re¬ 
production of a Paul Revere pattern), and beauti¬ 
ful in its testimony to good workmanship. Stand¬ 
ing about eight inches high it bears a proportion 
to the boats that will compete for it, while the 
symmetry of its own proportions, _ the subdivided 
but unmistakable excellence of its finish, give 
this trophy an elegance that more florid design 
or mere size could never attain. The silver¬ 
smiths, Rand & Crane, have subtly wrought in the 
purity of the metal the spirit of the donor’s gift. 
TOKALON iS-FOOTER. 
Many men of little minds, and little men of 
many minds, have proclaimed that this cup re¬ 
sembles a funeral offering, a mark of lespect to 
the departed, for that Class I is a thing of the 
past—beyond its friends’ efforts, at resuscitation. 
Such statements have the merit of apparent truth 
—and equally its superficiality. For the class is 
THE GAY CUP FOR 18-FOOTERS. 
merely dormant; it still has a numerical and 
fighting strength that is only to be appreciated 
by an examination of the roll of 18ft. knock¬ 
abouts still owned by Massachusetts yachtsmen. 
Those that should respond to a roll call are: 
Dorchen, A. W. Findlay, winner of the 1900 
championship; Cheroot, R. T. Paine, 2d; Domino, 
A. B. Freeman; Hugi, Alfred F. Chase; Janet, 
E. B. Alford; Janice, recently sold by John A. 
Douli to one who will probably race her; Little 
Miss, ex Arrow, whose owner, B. S. Permar, 
twice won the class championship; Maribou, 
Frank M. Clark; Mirage II., J. G. Olmstead; 
Moslem II., C. H. Clark; Mustang, Henry B. 
Buck; Privateer II., A. W. Pollard; Aurora, F. 
L. Pidgeon; Marquette, S. H. Fessenden; Savage, 
John S. Lawrence; Sioux, G. J. Buchanan; Toko- 
Ion, Malcolm Williams; Wallada, A. A. Rowse; 
Again, L. B. Goodspeed; Yankee, William 
Stevens; Fritter, A. P. Loring; Aspenquid II., 
A E. Whittemore; Helene II., Arthur F. 
Giazier; Jesli, W. I. Shuman, and Shrimp, Fes¬ 
senden S. Blanchard. 
In addition to these 25ft. boats there are others 
of which the present owners’ names are not im¬ 
mediately ascertainable, but which are on the 
market and offer purchasers a good opportunity 
tO' make a try for the Gay cup. These are the 
Moslem I., Otter, Rattler, Stroller, Cuyamel, Rat 
and Kittiwake IV. 
There will be at least one new boat in the 
class this summer, for Shiverick is building one 
at Kingston for a Duxbury yachtsman. Shiverick 
has ever been so. closely identified with this class 
and has designed and built so many of the boats 
that his new one should give the older boats the 
fight of their lives. 
With thirty-three boats eligible for the class any 
failure to have a hard-fought, well-attended sea¬ 
son must rest on the owners of the boats. The j 
material is at hand, the incentive has been pro¬ 
vided, and all that'needs development is the j: 
spirit. In this list of boats there are many that 
cannot hope to win the Gay cup. I here are 
many others that, although reputed to be slow, 
might yet earn a championship by slight changes 
and improved handling. 
If each of the owners would emulate the spirit 
of that indefatigable first owner of Tokolon, Mr. 
Randolph, and ' do as he did in 1902, start and 
finish in every yacht racing association race of 
the season—although knowing the championship 
unattainable—the 18ft. knockabout class would 
outstrip all previous records. Ihere is as much 
fun and excitement in a close race among the 
last four boats as among the first quartette to 
finish. If men would realize this and subscribe 
to the vow taken by the owner of Yankee—to 
race persistently throughout the season, they 
would find the sport itself sufficient reward even 
if glory be denied them. Take Savage for in¬ 
stance. You would say offhand that she is hope¬ 
lessly outclassed, but with a smooth sea and faint 
air she is to-day able to get the gun from the 
latest boats if given a little luck and a judgment 
to avoid being pocketed. Not every time, of 
course, but often enough to give zest to the 
game. 
So, “face your partners! all hands around! 
Grand right and left!” Oen the season with a 
swing that he who wins the Gay cup may de¬ 
serve it, and be glad to toot the whistle at the 
base of its handle while his defeated but joyous 
rivals carol blithely. 
“Order another drink Willie—a round, a round, 
a round.” William Lambert Barnard. 
The death of General Frank Morgan Free¬ 
man has caused a pang of regret in the hearts 
of all old time yachtsmen. He was one of the 
true-blue yachtsmen and the famous Dragoon 
which he had built by Capt. T. R. Webber _ 11- 
1899 made him a well known figure in yachting 
circles on Long Island Sound. 
In business he was a member of the firm 0 J 
F. B. Freeman, bankers and brokers, founded by j 
his father, the late Francis B. Freeman. He wa. 
fifty-six years of age and served on the military 
staff of Governor David B. Hill. 
