Oct. 23, 1909 ] 
FOREST AND STREAM 
663 
Gravesend Bay Records. 
The season of 1909 on Gravesend Bay was a 
very successful one. There are six clubs in 
the Gravesend Bay Association, the Atlantic 
Brooklyn, Bensonhurst, Marine and Field, New 
York Canoe Club and Crescent Athletic Club. 
Each club had its share of races, the Atlantic, 
of course, leading in this, being the largest 
yachting organization. Each Saturday after¬ 
noon the regular races were sailed on the bay, 
and during the season there were many special 
events. 
There is one challenge trophy held on the 
bay, the Childs' trophy. This was sailed for in 
September, the Crescent A. C. successfully de¬ 
fending the cup with Windward against the best 
of the Q boats, among them being More Joy, 
Princess and Florence. This is the second sea¬ 
son the Crescent Club has held this prize. 
In the weekly regattas 138 races were sailed. 
In these the total number of starters was 520, 
and the number of yachts competing 55. With 
special events, extra races for larger sloops and 
schooners, long distance races and power boat 
races, the total number of contests was in¬ 
creased to 171. The number of yachts compet¬ 
ing was 116 and the total number of starters in 
all these events 693. 
One thing the racing on Gravesend Bay has 
shown, is that small boats flourish there. Long- 
ago the large racing yachts were driven off the 
Lower Bay, but yachtsmen who favor that lo¬ 
cality have gone in for small yacht sailing, and 
some of the best of the small yachts in the 
country compete there. On Gravesend Bay 
there is usually a fair breeze. Not a single race 
was postponed this season because of lack of 
wind, but one was called off because it blew' 
half a gale and the wind kicked up quite a 
rough sea. The Lower Bay is no mill pond, 
and when the wind freshens there is always a 
chop, so that the yachts racing there have to 
be staunch and of good model. 
In the regular classes which raced every 
Saturday afternoon and on holidays over the 
Gravesend Bay courses, the competitions were 
very keen. These classes were usually P, Q and 
S of sloops, the two divisions of the handicap 
racing class, the Gravesend knockabouts and 
New York Canoe Club dinghies. These took 
part in twelve races for championship shields, 
which go to the yachts with the best records. 
These winners have not yet been figured by the 
Gravesend Bay Association, but will be an¬ 
nounced shortly. 
Eight yachts sailed in the 31-foot class, known 
as class P. Early in the season it looked as if 
the yawl Sakana owned by the Hqviland 
Brothers, of the Brooklyn Y. C., would have 
an easy victory, but the untimely death of John 
E. Haviland during the Larchmont race week 
caused that yacht to be put out of commission 
after she had taken part in seven races, of 
which she had won four, was second once and 
third twice. W. Bradley’s Peri after that made 
the best record, and in the season scored five 
victories out of fourteen starts, and she was 
second seven times. D. Yoffey’s Vorant II. 
was next best with three victories out of four¬ 
teen starts and five second places. During the 
race weeks of the Brooklyn and Atlantic yacht 
clubs, some yachts came from the Sound and 
other places to compete in the special races. 
Edmund Reeke’s Mimosa III. scored three vic¬ 
tories in three starts, E. Benson’s Notos won 
one race out of two, and W. J. O’Neill’s Miana 
sailing twice in this division, scored one vic¬ 
tory. The records for class P follow: 
Class P—Sloops and Yawls. 
Starts, lsts. 2ds. 3ds. 
Peri II., W. Bradley. 14 6 7 1 
Vorant II., D. Jottey. 14 3 5 3 
Sakana, Haviland Brothers. 7 4 12 
Mimosa III., Edmund Reekes... 3 3 0 0 
Notos, E. Benson . 2 1 1 0 
Miana, W. J. U’Neill. 2 10 1 
May Queen, J. C. McCoy. 3 0 2 0 
Crescent, A. G. Hill. 2 0 0 2 
Totals, 7 yachts. 45 17 16 9 
In this class there were seventeen races sailed, 
and the total number of starters was 45. 
Class Q yachts under 25 feet has for years 
been one of the best on Gravesend Bay, and 
this year it was even better than ever, although 
it started rather poorly with but three yachts 
competing. Later in the season the class re¬ 
ceived quite a boom through Commodore 
William H. Childs’ building More Joy, and 
Florence, formerly Manhasset, was purchased 
by R. A. Brown, who owned Vingt-trois, and 
Eleanor, Capsicum, Princess and Edmee, form¬ 
erly Dorothy, went down the bay from the 
Sound and made things quite lively. W. 
Gardiner designed Manhasset to take part in 
the races at Jamestown two years ago, but after 
the races there, when it had been found that she 
was the fastest of the class, she was disqualified 
because she exceeded the limitation of meas¬ 
urement, then 22 feet. She has not raced since, 
but the changes in the measurement rule let 
her into the class without being changed at all. 
Fler record this year shows that she is still 
the fastest of her class. She met More Joy 
in eleven races and in six of these she finished 
ahead of More Joy, and in five she was beaten 
by that yacht. Once More Joy was disqualified 
for fouling a turning mark, and one race 
Florence lost through being dismasted. If these 
two races are left out of the record, Florence 
still has the best of it. 
The surprise of the season was the showing 
made by F. G. Stewart’s Princess. That yacht, 
which had been beaten last year by F. T. Bed¬ 
ford’s Eleanor, captured the Thompson trophy 
during the race week of the Atlantic Y. C. 
Eleanor had won a leg on this trophy, and while 
it was expected that that yacht would make a 
good fight this year, More Joy and Florence 
were the favorites with those who watch yacht 
racing carefully. In the first race Florence was 
unfortunate and lost her mast. She was unable 
to start in the second race, but sailed in the 
third race and won. Princess had won the first 
two races, and her defeat in the third did not 
rob her of the rich prize, which goes to the 
yacht scoring the most points in the series. 
More Joy, Florence, Princess and others met the 
new 31-rater Windward in the race for the 
Childs trophy. This was won by Windward, 
that yacht proving able to give time in light 
weather and again when the wind was fresh. 
More Joy finished second, with Princess third 
and Florence fourth. The Q boats were also 
racing then for a class prize, which was won by 
More Joy. 
Early in the season W. A. Barstow’s Soya 
made the best showing. She won the first seven 
races from Ving-trois and Joy, which then was 
owned by Commodore Childs, but after July 
sailed under the colors of G. R. Le Sauvage. 
In this class eleven yachts raced and the total 
number of starters in the twenty-two races 
sailed were 88. Soya has the best record as 
wins are counted, but she scored these before 
the appearance of More Joy and Florence. The 
records follow: 
Sloops— 
-Class O. 
Starts, lsts. 
2ds. 
Soya, W. A. Barstow . 
. 20 
3 
4 
Florence, R. A. Brown . 
. 11 
6 
1 
1 
More Joy, VV. H. Childs... 
. 14 
5 
5 
I 
Princess, F. G. Stewart _ 
. 8 
2 
3 
1 
Capsicum, Sherman Hoyt . 
. 1 
i 
0 
0 
Vingt-trois, R. A. Browrn _ 
. 10 
i 
2 
5 
Eleanor, F. T. Bedford . 
. 4 
0 
1 
2 
Edmee, K. ). Schaefer . 
. 3 
0 
1 
(j 
Intrepid, G. P. Granbery... 
. 3 
0 
1 
1 
Kate, J. S. Negus . 
. 1 
0 
0 
0 
Totals for 11 yachts . 
. SS 
22 
22 
19 
Twenty-three races 
were 
sailed. 
In 
one 
Vmgt-trois was disabled and 
continue alone. 
Soya 
would 
not 
In class S, 17-footers, there were five yachts 
competing. M. and F., Gunda and Pester raced 
in the series throughout the season, and dur¬ 
ing the Atlantic’s race week Cat’s Eye, a Jewel 
S boat, and Drena went down the bay from the 
Sound to race for the special prize offered by 
Commodore F. S. Wilson. Cat’s Eye won that 
prize in three straight races, but she was only 
a few seconds faster than M. and F., a boat 
built to race two years ago. In the season’s 
racing on the bay Gunda made the best show¬ 
ing, winning seven races out of seventeen and 
taking one sailoVer, because of the points that 
counted for the championship. M. and F. was 
next with five victories out of seventeen starts. 
That yacht went to the Sound during Larchmont 
race week and won he series prize for class S 
there. The records for this class follow: 
Sloops—Class S. 
O l tU Ids told* 
Gunda, F. S. Noble. 17 8 
M.’and F., C. M. Camp. 17 5 
Pester, R. S. Childs. 42 3 
Cat’s Eye, J. F. Adams. 3 3 
Drena, H. J. Gielow. 4 0 
2ds, 
5 
6 
7 
0 
0 
3ds. 
3 
6 
1 
0 
2 
Totals for 5 yachts 
53 19 18 12 
There were two divisions of the handicap 
class, but for some reason or other the Lower 
Bay yachtsmen do not take kindly to this class, 
and there were only nine yachts in the two 
divisions during the season. In the first 
division. There were five yachts, but one of 
these started in only one race, and another in 
but two, so the racing was practically confined 
