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Some News and a Little Gossip. 
The famous old racing trophies offered many 
years ago for contests over the Cape May and 
Brenton's Reef Lightship courses, which have for 
some time reposed in the trophy case of the 
New York Y. C., are to be raced for again this 
year. Former Commodore Robert E. Todd, 
who is building the schooner Karima, has chal¬ 
lenged, and former Commodore Wilson Mar¬ 
shall, owner of the Atlantic, owner of the cups, 
will defend the trophies this summer. These 
two racers will do much to revive interest in 
long distance racing by large vessels. Such 
races were very popular years ago, but lately 
owners of big yachts have not taken much in¬ 
terest in them. These cups were won in 1885 
by Sir Richard Sutton’s Genesta, and they were 
sailed for by yachts on the other side. Royal 
Phelps Carroll brought back the Cape May cup, 
having won in a race with Britannia, and At¬ 
lantic brought back the other. The first race 
for the Brenton’s Reef cup was won by the 
schooner Rambler in 1872, then owned by J. M. 
Forbes. The schooner Dreadnaught, owned by 
A. B. Stockwell, won the Cape May cup the 
same year. 
George P. Granbery was re-elected president 
of the Yacht Handicap Racing Class at the 
annual meeting held last week. H. L. Stone 
was chosen again to serve as treasurer and A. 
G. Hill was made secretary, to succeed Harry 
A. Jackson, Jr., who declined a renomination 
on account of his recent illness. Prior to the 
meeting the annual dinner was served, and those 
present were G. P. Granbery, H. A. Jackson, 
Jr., Charles S. King, U. D. Cutting, R. B. Budd, 
A. G. Hill, Charles W. Voltz, T. P. Granbery, 
H. L. Stone, L. H. Dyer and many other en¬ 
thusiastic yachtsmen. This class has grown 
wonderfully in favor with yachtsmen in the five 
years of its existence and the outlook for the 
season according to President Granbery is for 
a very lively racing season. The annual regatta 
of the class will be sailed on Sept. 23. 
in Virginia some years ago, going as far as 
Manaos. On the trip now contemplated Vir¬ 
ginia will touch at several West Indian ports. 
Commodore Benedict owns the steamer Oneida, 
which he considers too small for such a trip. Vir¬ 
ginia is 200 feet over all, 165 feet on the water¬ 
line. Capt. John Bond will be master and 
George Denny chief engineer. 
The Chicago Y. C. has named July 22 as the 
date for the annual Mackinac Island cruising 
race. On July 1 it is intended to revive the 
race for the Herbst cup. The donor of that 
trophy stipulated in the deed of gift that either 
Chicago or Milwaukee must be the finish of 
the race, and it is planned to start from the 
Cream City and finish at Chicago. In order to 
comply with this provision all the yachts will 
cruise to Milwaukee on July 1. Then the start 
will be made at such a time as to have the finish 
on July 4. 
Consideration of the measure for changing 
the Mackinac race cource was put off until the 
next meeting. The members seem to favor 
Mackinac, due to the sentiment attached to the 
old course. A change for this season cannot 
be made now, and it is doubtful if the owners 
will ever decide to change harbors. 
Popular sentiment seems to favor an earlier 
schedule this season than in the past. Lack of 
interest in the Nutt'ing cup races last year, when 
only a few of the eligible boats participated, is 
responsible for this suggestion. By promoting 
the earlier races it is thought that a greater 
number of boats will be attracted. 
The steam yacht Venetia, which was pur¬ 
chased last fall from George D. Elkins by John 
D. Spreckels, has arrived on the Pacific Coast. 
Mr. and Mrs. Spreckels and some friends 
joined the Venetia at New Orleans and left that 
port on Dec. 14 to go to San Diego. Venetia 
did some fine running as the following extracts 
from the log show: “Left New Orleans Dec. 
14; Havana, Dec. 16; Kingston, Jamaica, Dec. 
23; Ponce, P. R., Dec. 28; St. Thomas, Danish 
West Indies, Dec. 29; Fort de France and St. 
Pierre, Martinique, Dec. 31; Barbados, Jan. 1; 
Bahia, Brazil, Jan. 12; Rio Janeiro, Jan. 16; 
Montevideo and Buenos Ayres, Jan. 23; Punta 
Arenas, Strait of Magellan, Jan. 31; Valparaiso, 
Feb. 7. Between Valparaiso and San Diego 
only one stop was made. The party arrived at 
Panama Feb. 19, after an unbroken run of 2,600 
miles, and remained at the Pacific port of the 
Canal Zone until Feb. 22, when the longest run 
of the cruise, 1,700 miles, was begun. Capt. 
Lake reports that he encountered a strong 
southerly current between Panama and this 
port which compelled him to run one knot 
faster to maintain his cruising speed of twelve 
knots, which the Venetia made every mile of 
the way from New Orleans to San Diego.” 
One of the first yacht races of the season of 
more than ordinary interest will be a race for 
the Childs challenge trophy. This trophy was 
presented some years ago by Commodore 
Childs to be raced for as often as possible each 
season and held subject to challenge. A chal¬ 
lenger has to give thirty days’ notice. The 
trophy was won last year by Grayjacket, rep¬ 
resenting the Atlantic Y. C., from the Crescent 
Athletic Club, which club had held the prize for 
two years. Commodore Childs, who is now 
senior flag officer of the Indian Harbor Y. C., 
is having a 31-rater built at Herreshoff’s which 
is to represent the Indian Harbor Club in the 
race for the Manhasset challenge cup, and he 
has said that a challenge will be made as early 
as possible for a race for the Childs trophy, 
which he hopes to win and take to the Sound. 
This race will do much to get the new yacht in 
racing trim, but she will have to be at her best 
to beat Gravesend Bay fleet this year. 
Commodore E. C. Benedict has chartered the 
steam yacht Virginia from the Isaac Stern es¬ 
tate. The charter was made through the agency 
of Seaman & Huntington. The yacht is now 
fitting out for a cruise to the Amazon River, 
which will extend over two months. Virginia 
will leave this port on April 6. Commodore 
Benedict made a long cruise up the Amazon 
the history of the Larchmont Y. C., and invi¬ 
tations are being sent by Chairman Boucher to 
many clubs whose members own one design 
classes to take them to Larchmont. Later in 
the season there will be the week of racing in 
the lower bay arranged by the Atlantic Y. C. 
and preparations are now being made for the 
racing there. Sound yachtsmen have already 
promised to visit the lower bay, and yachts from 
the Great South Bay will also compete in the 
races. 
There will be two important cups raced for 
during that week. The Q boats will sail a series 
of races for the Thompson cup of the Atlantic 
Y. C. and the S boats will sail a series of races 
for the Lipton cup of the Crescent Athletic 
Club. This cup was first sailed for last season 
and was won by R. B. Moore’s Blue Bill. The 
cup is held by the club until it has been won 
three times by the same yachtsman, but not 
necessarily with the same boat. 
The Columbia Y. C., at its annual meeting, 
elected the following officers: Commodore, 
Charles A. Starbuck; Vice-Commodore, Dr. 
William Evelyn Porter; Rear-Commodore, 
Russel Dart; Secretary, George R. Branson; 
Treasurer, James Stewart; Trustees, W. M. K. 
Olcott, Charles G. Smith and John Orville 
Barnes. 
The Manhasset Bay challenge cup race will 
be the big event on the Sound, and now it is 
rumored that not only will the Corinthian and 
Eastern clubs have representatives in that event, 
but the Boston and possibly the Portland clubs 
will send boats to the Sound. There will be the 
three new boats building for local yachtsmen 
or syndicates and possibly a fourth from the 
lower bay. The cup will be defended by Stuy- 
vesant Wainwright’s Cara Mia, and she is a 
boat that will be hard to beat. 
Larchmont’s race week will follow the cup 
races and the visiting 31-raters will probably 
remain in these waters for the six days of rac¬ 
ing arranged by that club. Efforts are being 
made to make that week the most successful in 
Auxiliary Ketch Autocrat. 
The auxiliary ketch Autocrat, which is being 
built at Green’s yard, Chelsea, for C. H. W. 
Foster, will make an ideal boat for offshore 
cruising. The designs were drawn by Thomas 
F. McManus, who has had much experience 
with deep-sea cruisers. The boat is planked and 
the deck is now being laid. Mr. Foster intends 
to use Autocrat for offshore work, and the boat 
is being very strongly constructed. The timbers 
are as heavy as those used for a sixty-ton fish¬ 
ing schooner. 
The yacht is planked with two-inch hard pine 
on timbers of extra large native white oak. All 
the planking is clear wood. The deck is also 
very heavy of narrow white pine. Autocrat is 
83 feet 3 inches over all, 56 feet waterline, 16 
feet 8 inches beam and 9 feet draft. She will 
be equipped with a 40-horsepower gasolene en¬ 
gine for auxiliary power. 
The boat will be rigged without a bowsprit, 
double headsail and topsail. In the lower sails 
the yacht will spread 2,426 square feet of canvas, 
the mainsail will contain 1,254 square feet, the 
headsails 621 square feet, while in the after sail 
there will be 551 square feet. The mainmast 
from deck to hounds will be 52 feet and the top¬ 
mast 18 feet 6 inches. 
Although the vessel will be flush decked, it 
will not all be of the same level; forward of the 
jigger mast at the main companion way the 
deck will be raised about 6 inches. This level 
will be carried along until forward of the main¬ 
mast when the deck will drop again to the same 
level as the after deck. All the outside trim¬ 
mings of the yacht will be in mahogany. 
Below deck the arrangements are good and 
the finish will be in white enamel and mahogany. 
Going down the main companionway from the 
after deck there is a small passageway with 
large staterooms on both sides. Forward of 
the port stateroom on the same side is the 
toilet room. Then comes a large main cabin or 
saloon 18 feet 9 inches long. This will be fitted 
up as is usual in yachts of the size of the Auto¬ 
crat. The pantry is on the port side forward 
of the saloon; then comes the galley and a good 
sized forecastle with crew quarters well for¬ 
ward. The sailing master will have a large 
stateroom on the starboard side. 
The engine room will be completely shut off 
from the rest of the yacht by bulkheads and will 
be reached only from deck through a hatch. 
Beside furnishing the auxiliary power for the 
yacht, the engine will be conected up with the 
capstan. For outside ballast the yacht has a 
heavy long but shallow iron shoe which is 
14 inches wide at the bottom. In addition to 
this the yacht will have inside ballast of boiler 
punchings set in cement. 
