24 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Jan. 7, 1911. 
Cost of Racing Yachts. 
In British waters the popular class next sea¬ 
son will be for yachts of 19 meters instead of 
23 meters, and one reason for this is the cost 
of maintaining a first-class racing vessel. 
“Are modern first class cutters too big to at¬ 
tract sufficient yachtsmen to keep the sport go¬ 
ing? This is the question which has been agi¬ 
tating the yachting world ot late,” says the 
London Evening News, “but,” it adds, “three 
cutters are being built for next season, but of 
19 meters, roughly 100 tons, in place of the 23- 
meter boats as represented by the Shamrock. 
Two of these boats are being built by William 
Fife & Son, Fairlie, to the order of A. K. 
Stothert, who has already built Rosamond and 
Mariska, and Williams Yates, who built the 13- 
meter cutter Shimna in the first year of the 
rule, while the third is being built by McAlister 
to the order of W. P. Burton, who raced the 
Penitent and subsequently built Gauntless, 
Lucida, Brisomart and Ostara.” 
A. K. Stothert, explaining why 19-meter 
boats are being built, said: “The fact of the 
matter is that the new departure has been made 
owing to the 23-meter boats being too big. 
The building of a boat of this size entails an 
initial expenditure of about £11,000, while it 
would cost £4,000 a year to run her. 
“In a 19-meter boat, however, the cost is 
much less, about half, roughly speaking, would 
be enough to run her, while you get practically 
the same accommodation as upon the 23-meter 
class. A 19-meter boat is really a Shamrock, 
but on a little smaller scale. 
“Another advantage, too, is that owners 
with an income of from £4,000 to £6,000 a year 
can run a 19-meter boat, but a 23-meter would 
be out of their reach. This means that twenty 
men could support the smaller class, while 
there are only three or four who can run a 
boat the size of the Shamrock. 
“On the smaller boats you get equally as 
much comfort as upon the larger and you can 
entertain quite as many friends. In the saloon 
of my boat, for instance, the floor is about 10 
feet square. The bathroom, too, has a clear 
space of 6 feet square, and everything else is 
in proportion, while besides a roomy saloon 
the 19-meter boat has a roomy after cabin with 
two berths and three single berth cabins. 
“It is also probable that the 19-meter boat 
will in the future be the largest of the interna¬ 
tional classes, for I hear that Germany, Spain 
and France will be building to this class, but 
none in the 23-meter. 
“There is, I may add, some talk about the 
Americans sending a 19-meter cruiser to race 
in British waters, and if this should prove to 
be the case then races on both sides of the At- 
lantic in this class would be only the natural 
sequence of events.” 
Reverting again to the advantages possessed 
by the 19-meter boat over the 23-meter, Mr. 
Stothert pointed out that their lighter draft en¬ 
abled hem to get in and out of harbor much 
more readily than their larger rivals. 
“With a draft of 10 or 11 feet,” he said, “a 
*f?-p iet , er boat can get in and out of the more 
difficult British harbors, such as Ramsgate, 
soon after or before half tide, but with the 
larger boat such a thing would be impossible. 
"An expensive item in connection with the 
very large boats, too,” continued Mr. Stothert, 
is that of dock charges when the hull was to 
be scrubbed or examined. It costs from £20 
to £30 to get into dock, but in the case of a 
19-meter boat she can lie at the quay side and 
so^be left dry as the tide runs out. 
As regards the question of the crew, a boat 
of the size of the Shamrock would need one of 
twenty-three and a pilot. In a 19-meter boat a 
crew of fourteen and a pilot is all that is 
necessary. 
I hat Mr. Stothert is not ajone in his opinion 
concerning the merits of the 19-meter class 
° ver , the 23-meter is proved by Admiral Mon- 
tagu s remarks in liis Reminiscences. 
“Every one who races,” writes Admiral Mon¬ 
tagu, has his own opinion as to the size of 
yacht he prefers for the first-class racing For 
my pai t, I think that of late years we have 
built too big craft. They are decidedly more 
expensive, and, to a certain extent, in heavy 
weather involve too great a risk to life and 
spars to be pleasant. 
_ “All round the coast, with but few exceptions, 
tides have to be studied as of first importance, 
and these large vessels, drawing such an in¬ 
ordinate depth of water are in consequence 
severely handicapped. Then, again, they are 
quite unsalable when their racing days come to 
a close.” 
New York’s Channels. 
In his annual report to the Secretary of War, 
General Bixby, Chief of Engineers, U. S. A., 
says that nothing has been done to carry out 
the Jamaica Bay Improvement project, and that 
nothing will be done until the City of New 
York has taken definite action satisfactory to 
the Secretary of War. The appropriation of 
$ 2 5 0 »5°o which was to be expended in opening 
and maintaining an entrance channel 18 feet 
deep and 500 feet wide cannot be disbursed until 
the government has been assured of the co¬ 
operation of the city. The main waterway, as 
projected, is to have ultimately a depth of 30 
feet, with a width of 1,500 feet in the entrance 
channel, and a width of 1,000 feet in the main 
channel. The channels are to be opened by 
dredging and maintained by dredging, and by 
the construction of jetties at the entrance to 
the bay, if necessary. The total ultimate cost 
to the United States for the improvement 
should not exceed $7,430,050, plus the cost of 
maintaining the entrance channel. The Bay 
Ridge and Red Hook Channels have both been 
widened to 1,200 feet, with depths of 35 feet. 
These channels are being improved under a 
project adopted in 1899, which provided for 
making Bay Ridge and Red Hook channels 40 
feet deep at mean low water and 1,200 feet wide. 
The estimated cost was ^2,500,000, of which 
$241,000 remains to be appropriated. The $5,- 
000,000 Ambrose Channel is now seven-eighths 
completed. During the past year four U. S. 
dredgers were engaged upon this work nearly 
continuously, excavating 9,246,401 cubic yards 
of sand, mud and stones. Ambrose Channel has 
a depth of 40 feet at mean low water for 1,000 
feet width over the inner half, and 1,750 to 
1,900 feet width in the outer half. It is easily 
navigable at mean low tide for ships of 37 feet 
draft gping at moderate speed and has a maxi¬ 
mum high water capacity of 44 feet. 
Horshoe Harbor Y. C. Officers. 
The annual meeting of the Horseshoe Har¬ 
bor Y. C. will be held next Wednesday. At this 
meeting it is proposed to raise the dues from 
$5 to $10. 
The nominating commitee has posted the fol¬ 
lowing ticket: George H. Sutton, for Com- 
modoie, Sidney T. Clulow for Vice-Commo¬ 
dore; Richard C. Heather for Secretary; C. C. 
Gould for Treasurer, and T. J. McCahill, Tr.. 
for Trustee. 
The nominating committee is William Page, 
Chairman; D. J. Levett, Frank E. Towle, R C 
Heather, G. H. Sutton. 
Roxana to Cruise South. 
The steam houseboat Roxana, owned by 
Larz Anderson, of this city, has sailed on a 
winter cruise in Southern waters. The vessel 
has been chartered to a wealthy Englishman, 
and she is on her way to Florida, where the 
lessee will take charge of her. She will be used 
on the shoal waterways of that State far a few 
weeks and later will go to Mexico, where she 
will make trips on rivers that the larger yacht 
belonging to the Englishman cannot go. The 
yacht will remain in Southern waters until late 
in the spring, when, it is said, she will return 
to this city to prepare for a summer cruise on 
the New England coast. 
The Forest and Stream may be obtained from any 
newsdealer on order. Ask your dealer to supply you 
regularly. 
Yachting and Rowing in San Francisco. 
About one hundred members of the Corin¬ 
thian Y. C. met in this city on Dec. 20 to con¬ 
sider ways and means of raising money for the 
rebuilding of the club house at Tiburon on 
the north side of San Francisco Bay. It is 
planned to spend about $20,000 on the building, 
which will give the Corinthians one of the 
finest club houses on the bay. 
The Dolphin Rowing and Swimming Club, of 
San Francisco, opened the winter season on 
Dec. 11 with a rowing contest held off the club 
house at the foot of Van Ness avenue. The 
course was from the club house around Al¬ 
catraz Island in the Golden Gate and return. 
Two boats participated, the six-oared barge 
John Wieland and the four-oared barge Dol¬ 
phin. The former won by one boat length. 
After the race some three hundred members 
of the club participated in the banquet which 
followed. On Dec. 18, the club held their 
annual club run from the club house to the 
ocean front near the Seal Rocks at which point 
they took a dip in the surf. 
Winter Yachting at Puget Sound. 
For the purpose of awakening an interest in 
winter yachting, and more particularly in the 
proposed New Years Day regatta, the Tacoma 
Y. C., of Tacoma,- Wash., on Dec. 18, held a 
cruise in Puget Sound and followed this with a 
social evening at the club house. A determined 
effort is being made to awaken an interest in 
winter yachting at Tacoma and Seattle. 
Motor Boating. 
Bermuda Race Conditions. 
The annual race for motor boats from this 
port to Bermuda will be started this year by the 
Motor Boat Club of America on Saturday, 
June 17, from some point in Gravesend Bay. 
The start is to be made at 2 o’clock in the 
afternoon, so that the racers can get clear of 
the harbor and well on their course long be¬ 
fore sundown. The special committee of the 
Motor Boat Club, Vice-Commodore F. K. 
Burnham. Henry R. Sutphen, James Craig, 
Charles P. Tower and Thomas Fleming Day 
met last week and drafted the conditions to 
govern this contest. They also made plans to 
make the race more attractive than it has been 
in former years and will do everything possible 
to induce yachtsmen to enter their boats. 
The prizes are the Challenge cup and $1,000 
in cash to the winner, a second prize if three or 
more yachts start, and a third prize if five or 
more start. This year the race will be for 
yachts not over 100 fet in length and not under 
40 feet, over all measurement. The rating is to 
be calculated according to the present rule of 
the Motor Boat Club of America, and the time 
allowance figured according to that club’s scale. 
The distance taken for the computation of this 
allowance is 670 miles. 
Any form of internal combustion engines may 
be employed for propulsion. The sail spread 
provided for may be carried at all times, if re¬ 
quired without penalty. Stores and water for 
thirty days must be carried, and this provision 
will be strictly enforced. No boat will be 
allowed to start with less than six men on 
board, one of whom is to be a practical navi¬ 
gator, one a practical engineer and at least one- 
half of each crew must be amateurs. The 
definition of an amateur for this race is that 
used by the Yacht Racing Association of Long 
Island Sound. 
The equioment called for is that a boat or life 
raft must be carried of sufficient buoyancy to 
salve the whole crew, or else two boats or a 
boat and a raft. There must also be a ring 
buoy or life jacket for each member of the crew. 
A full set of navigating instruments, a spare 
compass, sea anchor, oil bag and at least one 
gallon of crude oil, petroleum or other oil, and 
