704 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Oct. 31, 1908. 
that any reasonable kind of concession should 
be made rather than allow this contest to drop, 
and very many who take this view express them¬ 
selves also as satisfied that the request that the 
rule should be overhauled and brought up to 
date is both fair and reasonable. Being san¬ 
guine'—as all Americans seem to be by nature 
—that their views a-re bound to prevail in the 
end, they are almost unceasing in their prompt¬ 
ing that further effort should be made for the 
conversion of the committee of the New York 
Y. C. No further effort has been made in 
public, but diplomacy seldom works by pub¬ 
licity, and it is just possible that some of the 
informal communications which have passed 
within the past month or two may have as much 
effect on the final arrangement as much of the 
full dress debating which has been done in 
public. 
“At the present moment the chief heed is, 
however, a definite declaration as to whether 
there will be or will not be an America’s Cup con¬ 
test in the coming year. The probability is that 
there will not be. The experience of last sea¬ 
son has gone to prove, however, that although 
the International may still be the only phase of 
yachting which stirs the outside public to white 
hot enthusiasm, the amount of excellent sport 
contained in the home season when all our re¬ 
sources are brought into it makes good com¬ 
pensation for the absence of the feverish excite¬ 
ment of the America’s Cup contest. It may be 
admitted, however, that the long-continued de¬ 
feat still rankles a little, and if a champion can 
be brought forward again to carry our flag 
through a fair and sportsmanlike contest, he 
will find us ready as ever to cheer him on and 
to take as lively an interest as previously in 
his chances of success. For the sake of the 
sport on both sides, however, it is desirable 
that the present position should be made clear. 
Even if matters remain in such a position as to 
preclude the possibility of a race next year, it 
will be well to have this made clear. If there is 
more to divulge there is the more reason why 
it should be so stated.” 
Marblehead and its Yachting. 
There is no place on the whole Atlantic 
coast just like Marblehead. It had kept its 
originality and its quaintness while neighboring 
towns have gone ahead and are flourishing and 
progressing. Those who know Marblehead are 
glad that it stays as it does, for it is a treat to 
visit one place that has not the hurry 
and bustle of trade and business and where one 
can really rest. 
Years ago Marblehead was a fishing and 
whaling port. Its fishermen used to go to sea 
and battle with winds and storms just as the 
fishermen from Gloucester do now, and those 
inhabitants of the town who can go back far 
in years are full of stories of the deeds of daring 
that these fishermen used to do, and they smile 
at the tales that come from Gloucester and de¬ 
clare that fishing nowadays is a pastime, and 
that the men have easy times compared with 
what fishermen did years ago. All this may or 
ma v not be so, but Marbleheaders are proud of 
their history, and they have a history to be 
proud of. 
Now Marblehead is a summer resort and a 
headquarters for yachtsmen. More yachts are 
to be found in i f s harbor .than in any harbor 
along the coast. There are yards there in which 
yachts are built, where they are repaired and 
where they are laid up when the season is over. 
There are three yacht clubs there, too, and they 
are three of the largest and most progresive 
on the New England coast. With three clubs 
and with builders’ yards and with a harbor that 
is one of the most picturesque as well as one 
of the safest on the coast, it is but natural that 
yachtsmen should congregate there, and often 
there are more than 300 vesels to be found 
safely moored between the neck and the main¬ 
land, and at times—such as when the fleet of the 
New York Y. C. visits the Eastern Y G., or 
when the German Bonder class boats race 
against the Americans—there are five or even 
six^ hundred yachts, and these will range in size 
from the small dory to the large cruising 
steamer. 
The harbor is formed by a neck of land that is 
connected with the mainland by a causeway, 
which is perhaps one mile long. This neck is 
about two miles in length, and it is studded with 
cottages of wealthy Bostonians. The ocean side 
of the neck is rugged and rockbound, and the 
seas, when the wind is high, tumble over the 
rocks and the waves dash themselves against 
the bluffs, so that the spray is thrown high in 
the air and often falls on the lawns and flower 
gardens of the cottages. This neck runs north¬ 
east and southwest, almost parallel with the 
mainland, and forms the harbor which is about 
three-quarters of a mile wide and deep enough 
to float any ship of moderate size. The eastern 
point of the neck is marked by Marblehead 
Light and outside numerous islands, sunken 
rocks and shoal spots make it rather hard for 
the inexperienced to navigate safely; but with 
a chart the entrance can be easily found and all 
danger spots avoided. 
The town itself is a quaint old place, and 
there are many houses that have histories of 
which the inhabitants are iustlv proud. At one 
end of the town is Fort Sewell, famous in the 
war of 1812 and at the other end Crocker Park, 
where visitors gather to watch the yachts and to 
get a good view of the harbor. 
The three clubs are the Eastern, the Cor- 
CORINTHIAN Y. C. HOUSE. 
inthian, which clubs are on the neck, and the 
Boston, which is on the mainland. A ferry runs- 
from the town, stopping at the Corinthian and 
Eastern clubs on its trip around the harbor. 
The Eastern Y. C. is the leading organization 
of its kind in eastern waters, and has in its 
fleet many fine vessels. It is this club that has 
arranged the next International match, and the 
German yachts will be anchored off its house 
next summer and the German yachtsmen will 
be its guests. 
The Corinthian Club is near to the eastern 
end of the neck, and this club is known every¬ 
where for its efforts on behalf of the small 
yacht owner. Its regattas are always attractive 
and yachts go from all points to compete for 
the Corinthian prizes, for the members of that 
club are liberal and will put up a prize for al¬ 
most any kind of a race. 
This club is peculiarly situated. There is no 
other club in the country that has its ad¬ 
vantages. Its house is built on the rocks, and from 
the piazza one can almost jump into the water, 
and the water is deep, too. so that the yachts 
that compete in the Corinthian Club’s regattas 
sail close to the club house. On regatta day 
the committee in charge sits on the piazza. A 
part of this has to be roped off for their use 
because there are always so many visitors at 
the club house on regatta days. Right in front 
of the house are two buoys moored in the 
water, and these mark the starting line for the 
racers. The courses are signalled to the racers 
by hanging big numbers over the rail of the 
piazza, and the men on the racing yachts are so 
near that they can see these numbers without 
the aid of marine glasses. Just underneath the 
committee on the racks are two guns, and a 
man is in charge of these. He can hear the 
order to fire easily and has two guns in case 
one misses fire. As the signal for a class to 
start is made, the number is hung on the piazza 
rail, and a gun fired, and then the committee 
men watch the racers pass between the two 
marks and on out to sea. 
When there is a nice sailing breeze, the 
yachts have no trouble getting away, but some¬ 
times when the wind is light and the tide ad¬ 
verse, there may be fouls, but these fouls don’t 
count unless the committee sees that the}' are 
in marked violation to the rules. Then the 
committee will act promptly and disqualify the 
offender. There is another mark of the course 
near Marblehead Light, and fouls between the 
starting line and that mark don’t count. The 
yachtsmen who go to Marblehead want races 
and usually live up to the spirit as well as the 
letter of the rules, and so the committee has a 
comparatively easy time. 
Last summer in four regattas there were 
more than 500 starters. This was a record as 
far as numbers was concerned, and the start in 
these regattas was most interesting. In each 
class the yachts would sail for the line well 
bunched and all get away well together, and the 
different classes were sent away at intervals of 
but a few minutes, so that there was a con¬ 
stant procession of yachts in front of those on 
the club house piazza, and so it was at the fin¬ 
ish. After the leader crossed the finishing line, 
the 125 or 130 yachts that were racing sailed 
into the harbor and crossed the line in one long 
string, and the gun was kept constantly boom¬ 
ing salutes to the winners in the different 
classes. 
The Boston Y. C. house is more of a club 
station of that club, built for the benefit of those 
members who visit Marblehead, and there is al¬ 
ways a large fleet of its yachts in the harbor. 
Another advantage at Marblehead is that it 
only takes a very short time to get out of the 
harbor, and to the starting place for races over 
deep water courses. Halfway Rock is that 
point, and it is there that the Eastern Y. C. 
starts its races, and there that the International 
races will be started. It is out in the open 
where there is very little tide to bother the 
yachtsmen, and where there is nearly always a 
fair wind. It is always possible to get a wind¬ 
ward or leeward course, and the yachts may 
race to the eastward and go on to Easton Point 
that marks the entrance to Gloucester Harbor, 
or they may go west toward Boston Light, and 
which ever way they go, they will find deep 
water and lots of room for sailing. 
Those yachtsmen who have not yet visited 
Marblehead should not let another season go 
by without paying a visit to that place. There 
is no prettier port on the coast. There is no 
place more interesting for its history, its tradi¬ 
tions, its quaintness or its general attractive¬ 
ness and the Marbleheaders are hospitable, too, 
so that one is bound to have a good time there. 
Cruising Craft for S. F. Rothschild. 
Simon F. Rothschild, of Brooklyn, who has 
a summer home at Bayshore, has ordered a 
cruising craft for use next summer on the Great 
South Bay and adjacent waters. This boat has 
been designed by Henry J. Gielow, and is to 
be built by Willard F. Downs at Bayshore, and 
to be ready for delivery by May 1. 
The principal dimensions of this yacht are: 
Length over all, 50ft.; length on load waterline, 
43ft. 3m.: extreme beam. Toft.; draft, 26m. The 
vessel will have a flush deck toward for a distance 
of 12ft. 6in.. and aft of this for an additional 12ft. 
6in. there will be a low cabin trunk of mahoganv 
T2in. inboard from the sides of the vessel, with 
sliding windows on each side and the top flush 
with the flush deck. Aft of this will be a cock¬ 
pit loft, in length fitted with awnings and side 
curtains. 
This yacht is intended chiefly for day cruising 
but in emergency four will be able to sleep in 
the cabin. The collision bulkhead is 8ft. 6in. 
from the forward side of the stem. Aft of this 
