Yachting Fixtures for 1908. 
JULY. 
4. Larchmont Y. C., annual. 
4. Hartford Y. C., annual. 
4. Atlantic Y. C. 
4. Brooklyn ocean race. 
4. New Haven Y. C. 
4. N. Y. Bay Y. R. A., power boats to Poughkeepsie. 
4. Colonial Y. C., race around Staten Island. 
4. Detroit Y. C., special race, all classes, 5-mile river 
course, twice around. 
6 . Motor boat elimination trials. 
10-11. Elimination trials for boats entered in International 
trophy race. 
11. Edgemere Y. C., 16-footers. 
11. New Haven Y. C. 
11. N. Y. Y. C. Glen Cove. 
11. New Rochelle, Stratford Shoal, club race. 
11. Riverside Y. C., annual. 
11. R. Y. C. L.Y.R.A. cruising race to Port Dalhousie 
and 14ft. dinghy class. 
11. Bensonhurst Y. C. 
18. Columbia Y. C., relay race to Sturgeon Bay. 
18. New Haven Y. C. 
18. R. C. Y. C. Lake Erie Cruise. 
18. Atlantic Y. C. 
18. Motor boats, Marblehead to New Rochelle. 
18. Bayside-Port Washington, race at Bayside. 
18-26. Larchmont Y. C., race week. 
10-25. Annual meet of Interlake Y. A. 
25. R. C. Y. C. Lake Erie cruise. 
25. New York Canoe Club. 
25. New Rochelle, club race. 
27. New Haven Y. C. 
Block Island Race. 
The New York Athletic Club’s fifth annual 
event was well attended this year and turned out 
to be a far more successful race than any held 
before. Last year several yachts failed to find 
Block Island, owing to the heavy fog. This 
year fine weather and fair winds made the race 
a howling success. Spinnakers were set as the 
yachts crossed the starting line off Whortleberry 
Island at New Rochelle Saturday night, June 
20, at 5 :40, when the starting gun sounded, and 
except to shift them over from side to side were 
carried, all night and all next day until they were 
taken in as the yachts hauled in between the 
breakwaters at Block Island. Running free with 
fair winds all the way made a most enjoyable 
sail for the two hundred odd men who partici¬ 
pated, and the first boat to finish, Nutmeg, made 
the ioo-mile run in seventeen hours and twenty- 
seven and one-half minutes. 
The start was purposely made late to allow all 
who wished to race at Larchmont that day time 
to finish and then start in this race. Many took 
advantage of this, but others, satisfied with one 
race a day, lay anchored in Echo Bay getting ice, 
dry goods and wet goods aboard, and putting 
finishing touches to their yachts’ gear. 
About 5 o’clock, as if by magic, yachts gath¬ 
ered like swarming bees about a launch that 
had come out from the New York Athletic Club 
with the judges, photographers and reporters 
aboard. From all quarters they came, big and 
little—sloops, cats and yawls, racers, cruisers, 
has-beens and would-be’s, representing all the 
scales of the yachting game. Every one, too, 
seemed to know everyone else, all were yachts¬ 
men of the true blue grade, and all sorts of re¬ 
marks were hailed from boat to boat as the fleet 
circled about awaiting the gun. “Good luck old 
man ; hope you win, if I don’t”—“Hello Bill! 
going out in that hay wagon?” “Well, I’ll tell 
the people at Block Island you are coming,” and 
all sorts of good natured. banter was exchanged. 
There were Herreshoff boats, Lawley boats, 
Purdon boats, boats designed by Mower, Hunt¬ 
ington, Gielow, etc., and boats'that like Topsy 
just “growed.” 
Two boats had come all the wav from down 
East, Nutmeg, a black sloop, owned by A. C. 
Jones, that won first prize, and Little Rhody II., 
owned by C- F. Tillinghast, that also took a mug 
home with her. There were two or three of the 
New York thirties and a couple of Buzzard Bay 
thirties. The yawl Tamerlane, Daniel Bacon 
owner, the little sloop Okee, that won the race 
two years in succession was there; Chaperone, 
a handsome new Q boat, built by Robert Jacob 
for himself, but sailed this race by her designer, 
C. D. Mower; several raceabouts, and so on 
down to that veteran little cutter I. O., owned 
by C. A. . Marsland; the double ended little 
oddity Exit, sailed by Larry Huntington, and 
even a catboat, Frances, owned by G. W. Robin¬ 
son, who amazed everybody by winning first 
prize on her time allowance, more than half of 
which she did not need. 
At s 430 the preparatory gun set all the skip¬ 
pers setting their watches’ minute hands to agree 
with the gun. At 5135 the second hand was 
noted, and then five minutes later, with the for¬ 
ward men setting balloonjibs that were broke 
out as they crossed the line, the signal to start 
was given at 5 140. 
It is impossible to describe that start as the 
yachts crossed in bunches of from two to a 
dozen all in the space of a few seconds. It was 
like trying to see all that was going on simul¬ 
taneously in a three-ring circus. Aboard the boats, 
too, each skipper had to study his position and 
sail according to the boats surrounding him. 
The breeze was quite light from the west, and 
the tide had started to ebb about an hour before. 
Several yachts stood inshore and seemed to get 
an advantage of stronger tide and better wind, 
while those that squared off for Long Island 
got left in a very soft spot with little or no wind. 
The leaders off Mamaroneck were Marguerite 
with Little Rhody II. inshore of her, followed 
close by a New York thirty, Nutmeg,' Notus and 
Jolly Tar. Outside of these came Duchess, an¬ 
other thirty; Chaperone, and then the fleet 
stretched out diagonally astern over toward 
Sand’s Point where they had gone looking for 
a breeze, making a marine picture in the calm 
evening light that would delight any yachtsman. 
Spinnakers appeared about this time one by one. 
Each yacht added this sail, while several boats. 
Notus, Nutmeg and Tamerlane set club or sprit 
topspils. There was no - limit to the sails one 
could carry, or the manner of carrying them, or 
the number of men in the crew, as long as the 
boat was steered by an amateur. 
At 6:15 the leaders were off Milton Point, 
and several of them not liking the hazy calm¬ 
looking streak ahead, hauled over toward Long 
Island and gained by doing so. Marguerite at 
one time leading must have got left in a bad 
calm spot, for Notus and Nutmeg, by holding 
down the middle of the Sound, passed her, and 
Duchess, Bobtail and Little Rhody, running 
along the Long Island shore, were close behind 
passing Port Jefferson about 11:30 P. M. 
Off Horton’s Point at daylight next morning, 
Sunday, there were five boats in the first fleet, 
Nutmeg leading with Notus, Redwing, Little 
Rhody and Duchess in the order named. Notus 
and Redwing went through the race, the others 
going through Plum Gut all with a fair ebb tide, 
and as the sun shone on the sails of the fleet 
astern sixteen sails could be made out astern 
of the first five on the western horizon. 
Nearing Block Island, which for once was 
free and clear of fog and visible a long ways 
off, the . breeze gradually hardened, so all five 
were going nicely as one by one they bore down 
with spinnakers still set for the breakwaters that 
guard the entrance to the salt pond, just in the 
entrance of which the committee sloop was an¬ 
chored to time the boats as they finished. 
As usual it was blowing three times as hard 
in the pond as it was outside, and with a beam 
wind it made a very spirited dash into the mark 
boat. Nutmeg was timed first at 10:52 A. M. 
Sunday morning with Notus right behind her at 
10:58; then Bobtail 11:01, Little Rhody 11:07 
and Duchess 11 :07j4. 
This fleet came to anchor and made all snug, 
while the man who manipulated the galley 
started to cook dinner, and the rest watched the 
inlet for the next arrival. An hour went by 
before, a sail was seen over the lowland, and 
Bedouin finished at 12:14, followed by Jolly Tar, 
Marguerite, Fearless, Alera, and then they came 
in bunches too fast to keep track of them all. 
0 *ie boat, which turned out to be the sloop Old 
Glory, had a balloonjib boomed out ahead, and 
as she hauled up the inlet and struck the strong- 
wind which always howls across the inland pond, 
snap went the boom, and with the sail balloon¬ 
ing far off to leeward she held on across the 
finish before she took it in. 
Tamerlane, that little ex-Bermuda racer, stood 
up to the wind even with a topsail set and 
handled like a pilot boat. That odd little double 
ended sloop Exit came bowling in with Larry 
Huntington at the tiller. I. 0 „ that shippy little 
cutter, came in like a battle ship and luffed up 
to an anchorage amid the cheers of all the as- 
