Jan. 7, 1911.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
23 
at the service of the club. The Canadians have 
‘expected that such a challenge would be sent, 
and at the annual meeting discussed the defense 
of the trophy. Next to the Canada Cup this is 
the most important prize held on the Lakes. 
Seneca caused the hitch over the Canada Cup. 
It was built before the present scantling restric¬ 
tions were adopted and consequently has other 
yachts in her class at somewhat of a disad¬ 
vantage. New yachts must be built more 
staunchly and consequently heavier. Seneca was 
sold to the Hanan Brothers, and after racing 
in salt water for a season, was re-sold to the 
Lakes and the Canadians argue that having 
been out of fresh water she was not eligible to 
compete for the cup. 
The Detroit Y. C., at its annual meeting on 
Jan. 9, will elect officers. These nominations 
have been made: For Commodore, G. H. 
Bury; Vice-Commodore, H. C. Kendall; Rear- 
Commodore, VV. W. Baird, John Gregson, H. 
B. Gunnison, Robert Kerr; Secretary, Louis 
W. Shimmel; Treasurer, A. C. Kramer, A. C. 
Pressland; Fleet Surgeon, Dr. O. E. Fisher; 
Fleet Measurer, Walter A. Oades; Directors— 
O. Barkenowitz, George Berriman, John 
Gregson, Robert Kerr, Dr. McClellan, M. 
Leonard, A. R. Smith, O. J. Volkman, L. H. 
Weitz, Charles Zink. 
The South New Jersey Yacht Racing Associ¬ 
ation is working for uniform rules and other 
things for the betterment of the sport. Among 
other matters that of money prizes has been 
discussed and efforts are being made to do away 
with silver cups as trophies. One yachtsman 
voicing the sentiments of others has this to say 
about cash prizes: 
“Silver tups valued at fancy prices are be¬ 
coming less popular every year among yachts¬ 
men. The cups make pretty ornaments, but 
they are not worth anywhere near their stated 
value. For instance, a cup valued at $1,000 con¬ 
tains no more than about $98 or $100 worth of 
silver, the remainder of the value of the cup is 
made up in the workmanship, in the designing 
and engraving. The Bermuda cup, one of the 
finest ever offered and probably the heaviest of 
any of the so-called $1,000 cups, contains only 
102 ounces of silver. What most of the yachts¬ 
men want nowadays is money prizes which will 
go toward defraying the expenses of racing. 
“The best thing to boom yacht racing would 
be to adopt the system used in horse racing, 
charging an entrance fee for each boat with an 
additional starting fee. To this sweepstake 
the club could add the amount of money which 
is now donated toward the purchase of silver 
cups. This would allow three or four prizes of 
enough money value to make it an object for 
the yacht owner to start his boat. 
“Under the present conditions the announce¬ 
ment is made that eight or ten yachts have 
entered for a certain race, but when it comes 
to the time for starting there are only as many 
boats in the race as there are prizes offered. 
With three or four good money prizes condi¬ 
tions would be entirely different. The eight or 
ten boat owners, who had paid an entrance fee 
of say $25 or $50 would surely start, figuring 
that they had a chance to win one of the prizes, 
which would at least pay for the expense of 
racing the boat. Instead of having two or three 
starters in a race, there would be a big field 
and better sport would be the result. Boat 
owners, no matter how wealthy, favor this 
scheme and believe that if it is put into effect 
will prove the greatest boom yachting has ever 
experienced.” 
Walter P. Bliss has purchased the steam yacht 
May, which for many years was used by Mr. 
and Mrs Alexander S. Van Renssalaer, of 
Philadelphia. The May for some years was the 
flagship of the Corinthian Y. C., of Phila¬ 
delphia, and before that was owned by E. D. 
Morgan and used by him when he was com¬ 
modore of the New York Y. C.. Mr. Bliss is 
having some changes made on the yacht at 
Cramps, where jt has been laid up. The May 
is a foreign built yacht, but her register was 
changed several years ago by an act of Con¬ 
gress and therefore escaped the penalty which 
is now being imposed on foreign pleasure craft 
under recent law. The May was built at Troon, 
Scotland in 1891. She is 207 feet long, 27^2 
feet beam and 17^2 feet depth of hold. For the 
last two years the vessel has been laid up. Capt. 
Loveland has been in command ev§r since she 
was purchased by Mrs. Van Rensselaer, and be¬ 
fore that was in charge of pleasure craft owned 
by the late John R. Fell. 
Sea Isle Y. C. Affairs. 
Members and officials of the Sea Isle City 
Y. C. are looking forward to a much busier and 
more enthusiastic summer among the owners 
of motor boats next season than ever before 
in the history of the organization. In addition 
to the regular racing and open dates there will 
be inaugurated on Aug. 12 a special challenge 
cup race for speed boats open to all clubs on 
the South Jersey coast between Atlantic City 
and Cape May. The race will be held each year. 
The cup will be of silver, valued.at $150, and 
presented by Sea Isle City. The race will be 
run under the American Power Boat Associa¬ 
tion rules. The only special stipulations are 
that the contest always be held over the Sea 
Isle City Y. C. course around Gull Island, until 
one club has succeeded in winning the trophy 
three times, in succession. Then it will be run 
over the winning club’s course each year until 
another club has performed the same feat. In 
the meantime whichever club wins the cup, that 
organization shall be its custodian until the next 
race is run. 
Another new series of races which will be 
inaugurated at the Sea Isle City Y. C. Will be 
those run for a set of six cups. These races 
will be held each Saturday beginning June 10, 
and will be kept up until one boat has succeeded 
in winning all six cups. The contests will be 
governed by American Power Boat Association 
rules, and will be open only to open boats. 
Among the many prominent boats along the 
South Jersey coast, and one which has been the 
subject of much favorable and envious com¬ 
ment is a large cutter belonging to several 
members of the Stone Harbor Y. C. The craft 
has quite a history. She was built at Cramps’ 
shipyard for a South American warship, but 
being discarded because of the fact that she was 
too large to swing inboard on the davits, was 
sold to Commodore Henry H. Ottens, of the 
Wildwood Y. C., who, after running her in 
Ottens Canal and Grassy Sound, found that she 
drew too much water. The boat was then pur¬ 
chased.by the Stone Harbor men. 
Outside of the Government surf boats, there 
is probably not a better built boat on the South 
Jersey coast than this handsome cutter, which 
is rigged with a 15-horsepower engine, and is 
at present doing service between Stone Harbor 
yacht basin and Cape May Court House. 
End of Famous Yachts. 
In these days, when yachts are built of steel 
or manganese bronze, says a London writer in 
the Sydney Mail, famous racing craft do not 
reach a quarter the age of their predecessors, 
which were built of wood and sheathed with 
copper. A few years ago all the big yachts 
were little better than racing machines, and 
were, therefore, fit for nothing else, although 
Sir Thomas. Lipton’s first Shamrock was sold 
to an American, who altered her rig, and used 
her for carrying scrap-iron. 
But the rather clumsy old yachts of the past 
were stanch vessels which sailed the seas under 
mercantile flag long after their pleasure days 
were over. There was that famous yacht the 
Princess Mary, which brought William III. to 
England, for instance. After her royal master 
had no further use for her, she figured as a 
privateer, a West Indiaman, a transport, and a 
collier before being wrecked off the* Tyne in 
1827. 
Few modern vessels could equal that record, 
although the yachts that figured in the original 
race for the America’s Cup had a long and 
honorable life. Arrow, the British vessel, raced 
for many years afterward, and was latterly en¬ 
gaged in the coasting trade. She could still be 
seen in Southampton a year or two ago. 
I he American had a still more checkered ca¬ 
reer. Little sentiment was aroused by winners 
m those days, and her owner sold her to an 
Englishman for £1000. She passed to various 
owners, one of whom rebuilt her, while several 
entered her for races. During the American 
Civil War she was engaged in blockade running, 
and, in order to avoid capture, was scuttled 
and sunk. 
Later on she was raised and used as a train¬ 
ing ship for the American naval cadets. Once 
again she was raced after a refit, and later on 
her owners used her for cruising. Another 
cup racer, Livonia, was used in trade for many 
years until she was wrecked. An earlier de¬ 
fender, Columbia, of 1871, is now a fishing boat. 
Some vessels are sold to foreign owners, like 
Thistle, which tried for the cup in 1887. She 
became the Meteor when bought by the Ger¬ 
man Emperor, and this act on his Majesty’s 
part started the popularity of yachting in Ger¬ 
many. Giralda, the Spanish Royal yacht, origi¬ 
nally belonged to the late Sir Henry M’Cal- 
mont, who sold her to Spain during the war 
with America. She was one of the finest steam 
yachts of her day, and, after being used as a 
transport and hospital ship, was fitted out for 
the use of the youthful King. 
A yacht which served George IV., William 
IV., and Queen Victoria survived until some 
four years ago, when she was broken up. 
Launched in 1765, the late King Edward made 
a trip to the Channel Islands aboard her in 
1846, so she was truly a link with the past. 
Launch of Badger. 
The Sonder boat built by the Starling Burgess 
Company for C. H. W. Foster was launched last 
week at Marblehead and named Badger. This 
craft was designed by Starling Burgess, and as 
soon as it was put in the water it was towed to 
Mr. Foster’s boat shop and hauled out for the 
winter. The new boat is very similar to the 
Beaver, which was built for Mr. Foster last 
year. Capt. Sam Doliber, who has charge of 
all of Mr. Foster’s racing boats, in speaking of 
the new boat, said that she was the finest small 
racer that he had ever seen. 
Built to the lines of the Beaver, which was 
considered last season by many to be the fastest 
Sonder boat of America, the Badger will be in 
the racing next summer from the very first and 
should make a fine showing. Her sister boat 
was the second member of the Spanish-Amer- 
ican team and won for Mr. Foster the Gov. 
Draper cup. After the international series, 
Beaver was sold by Mr. Foster to George 
Dabney, who headed a syndicate of the Beverly 
Badger will not be the only new racer of the 
class next season, as there have been placed 
orders for four other boats. These are two 
Burgess-designed Sonder boats for A. P. Lor- 
ing and a Mower boat ordered by Herbert M. 
Sears. Charles P. Curtis will have a new boat 
for the class to replace Ellen, and Fred M. 
Hoyt will replace his Skeezix. 
Oregon Dinghy Club Meets. 
At the meeting of the Oregon Dinghy Club, 
at Portland, Ore., on Dec. 18, two interesting 
events were held. Four boats participated in 
each. The Butterfly, owned and sailed by Lew 
Woodward, won both by rather narrow 
margins. The race was over a one-mile course, 
which was covered by the Butterfly in 31m. and 
ios., with the Bull Pup, sailed by Francis 
D’Arcy, second and the Celt and Kitten follow¬ 
ing in the order named. The second event over 
the same course was a little slower, the Butter¬ 
fly winning in 32m. and 15s., with Celt, Bull 
Pup and Kitten following in the order given. 
The club will hold other events on Christmas 
Day and New Years Day. 
