May 23, 1908.] 
823 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
4j4in. by sin. type, developing from 23 to 26 
horsepower, using paraffin as fuel. The speed 
of the launch is twelve miles per hour. 
The contract speed for the cruiser of 14L2 
knots was easily exceeded by more than one- 
quarter knot on the official trials in the presence 
of Sir Wm. H. White, K. C. B., who superin¬ 
tended the construction on behalf of the Siamese 
Government. 
A very pleasant trip around the Isle of Wight 
was made on Suriya Monthon just prior to the 
vessel leaving for Siam where she proceeds 
under her own power via the Suez Canal. The 
guests entertained included the Charge d’Affaircs 
for the Siamese Government, and His Excel¬ 
lency Lord Li Ching-fong, the Chinese Ambas¬ 
sador. Sir William White, being abroad, was 
represented by Mr. W. J. Harding. A lunch 
was served on board during which Mr. LI. 
Callaway, on behalf of the builders, expressed 
the gratification experienced by them in build¬ 
ing a vessel for the Siamese Government. 
The Siamese Charge d’Affaires in reply stated 
that his Government ordered the vessel from 
Messrs. Thornycroft, as they wanted the best 
ship they could get for the purpose, and he per¬ 
sonally was delighted with the workmanship, 
materials and finish as well as the success of the 
m-Mf * .m 
SCRAPING AND VARNISHING. 
trials, and the liberal manner in which the build¬ 
ers had interpreted the specification, thereby ren¬ 
dering the vessel fully equipped in every respect 
for the intended servic. 
His Excellency Lord Li Ching-fong indorsed 
the remarks of the Siamese Charge d’Affaires 
and anticipated that the reputation of Suriya 
Monthon would not be lost sight of by his Gov¬ 
ernment in considering the question of the ships 
to be procured when adding to their own navy. 
'I hey already had numerous smaller Thorny¬ 
croft boats for Customs service and he felt that 
this type of boat was what they should adopt. 
Niels Olsen, Yacht Expert, Dies at 73. 
Niels Olsen, an old sailor, well liked by all 
the millionaires in the New York Y. C., died at 
his home. No. 501 East Eighty-eighth street, on 
the morning of May 15. He was stricken with 
pneumonia a couple of weeks previously. 
No man was better known in yachting circles 
than he. For thirty-five years he* was superin¬ 
tendent of the New York Y. C., with which or¬ 
ganization he shipped in 1871. He only gave up 
his duties as superintendent when his years of 
service began to tell on him. Since then he has 
helped in running the regattas. He was seventy- 
three years old. 
His yachting service dated back to a period 
when the America’s cup was only two years old. 
Born in Christiansand, Norway, he left home to 
go to sea when he was eighteen, and after mak¬ 
ing short voyages in foreign waters he sailed to 
this country as a cabin boy. He went to South 
Brooklyn and met the sailing master of Alex 
ander Major’s schooner yacht Norma. He ship¬ 
ped aboard her and later on the schooner yacht 
Widgeon, owned by F. Osgood. 
Olsen’s next step took him back in the mer¬ 
chant service, and he went on the steamship New 
York to Central America. After thirteen months 
of that he took to yachting again and found a 
berth as steward of the schooner Fleetwing, sail¬ 
ing in the trans-Atlantic race with the schooners 
Vesta and Henrietta for a $90,000 prize. He left 
Fleetwing in 1867. 
The next year he shipped on a vessel to China, 
and after returning from there he was made 
mate of the schooner Magic, the first boat to 
defend the America’s cup on this side of the 
Atlantic. In the following series of races he 
was mate of the schooner Columbia that beat 
the British Livonia. 
After that the New York Y. C. took him into 
its employ. Recently he finished compiling the 
records of the club. 
After Olsen’s death his dog could not be per¬ 
suaded to leave the room in which the coffin lay. 
Burial took place in Woodlawn cemetery. 
Rope Cables have their Use. 
BY C. G. DAVIS. 
The proper manner of anchoring a yacht is 
a most important item to the yachtsman, espec¬ 
ially the novice whose experience on such sub 
jects is limited and who when he does get it 
gets experience in great chunks. 
Away back in 1892 some yachtsmen in the old 
sloop Naushon dropped anchor one evening in 
Gardner’s Bay at the outer end of Long Island 
and turned in with every sign, to them, of a 
peaceful night in prospect. Some time ill the 
small hours of the morning one of them awoke 
to a realization that the yacht was jumping 
much harder than when he turned in. This 
fact was confirmed when he stuck his head out 
of the companionway and got a gust of wind 
that made him shiver with cold. The cold gleam 
of old Montauk Light had swung around to 
starboard which, when he turned in, had been 
to port, and in place of being swung close under 
the lee of a beach with a southerly breeze blow¬ 
ing, the sloop was jumping and plunging in 
whitecaps swept down on them by a stiff north 
easter, and right astern, forming a lee shore, was 
the beach. Things certainly had changed in a 
few hours and he roused out all hands to reef 
her down and get out of such a dangerous 
locality before the sea sent the sloop ashore. 
It breezed up fast with the approach of dawn 
and in mad haste two reefs were tied down in 
the mainsail and the jib bobbed. Getting the 
anchor aboard was a wild wet job, and hardly 
had it been accomplished and the sloop filled 
away, when she dove into a sea. The jib was 
too old to stand the breeze, augmented by a 
barrel or two of water scooped up in it, and 
it blew all to pieces along the foot. Then they 
were in a muss, the sloop got in irons, and again 
the hook was let go. All that morning they 
worked sewing up the jib, riding to one anchor, 
but finally they had to put out another anchor. 
They payed out all their chain and spent a wild 
day and night plunging bows under. Daylight 
showed a sorry sight about the decks. The wind¬ 
lass had nearly given out under the strain; one 
barrel had bent its shaft almost at right angles 
and something had to be done or go piling up 
on the beach. Fortunately for them there was 
a new coil of manilla cable below. This was 
made fast to both chains, and with several 
fathoms of slack the bights made fast to the 
heel of the mast. 
As the sloop fetched up on the crest of a sea 
the chain cables came taut with a whang that 
shook the whole craft, and by their weight 
dragged her bows down so she took solid water 
over the rail forward. When all was ready the 
cables were payed out so the manilla rope took 
the strain. The difference was at once percepti¬ 
ble. She did not fetch up half as hard, due to 
the spring in the elastic rope as compared to 
the chain cable, and the weight of the chain over 
the bows was materially reduced, so she rode 
drier. 
All that day and night she rode easier, and 
then the gale died out and those yachtsmen had 
learned the value of a springy cable in place of 
a rigid iron chain. Chain is handy, as it will 
stow itself below as it comes off the windlass, 
when it is used for temporary anchoring, but to 
ride to when things get wild and wooly, let go 
the anchor with a stout manilla hawser. 
The Chatham fishermen have considerable of 
this work to do and they will ride to a long 
light line apparently no bigger than the main 
sheet on their catboats, and ride easy—there is so 
much give and elasticity to the rope cable. 
Have chain cables if you will, as of course 
all big vessels must have, but on small boats 
have somewhere down below a coil of good 
stout manilla, and it may save your craft for 
you and maybe more. 
Race Week, Atlantic Y. C. 
Wednesday, Sept. 2, 8 A. M.—Race for cruis¬ 
ing power boats, eligible for the Marblehead- 
New Rochelle race; course from Gravesend Bay 
to and around Fire Island Lightship and return ; 
American Power Boat Association rules. First 
prize, $200; second, $100. 12 M.—First race of 
series for Thompson trophy for Class Q. 
Thursday, Sept. 3, 8 A. M.—Race for cruising 
power boats, over 40ft. and not over 50ft. 1. w. 1.; 
American Power Boat Association rules. Course 
FEARLESS—B. R. STODDARD OWNER. 
from Gravesend Bay to and around Fire Island 
Lightship and return. First prize, $200; second, 
$100. 12 Noon—Second race of series for 
Thompson trophy for Class Q. 
Friday, Sept. 4, 8 A. M.—Free for all race for 
cruising power boats of over 50ft. 1 . w. 1 . Course 
from Gravesend Bay to and around Fire Island 
Lightship and return. First prize, $250; second, 
$100. 12 Noon—Third race of series for Thomp 
son trophy for Class Q. 
Saturday, Sept. 5, it A. M.—Free for all race 
for racing power boats over lower bay courses. 
Prizes value $350. 
All the above prizes arc presented by Captain 
Frederick Thompson. 
Monday, Sept. 7, Labor Day.—Annual regatta. 
Races for all classes. 
Marblehead—Bermuda Race of 1908. 
Another entry has been received for the Ber 
muda race; namely, that of the schooner Venona, 
recently purchased by F. J. Bliss, of Boston! 
Venona is 65ft. over all, 45ft. waterline and will 
sail in Class C. She is well known, owing to 
her fine racing record in Long Island Sound, 
and also through the fact that she won the In 
dian Harbor Y. C. ocean race last summpr from 
Greenwich to Jamestown. 
The committee is sorry to say that the entry 
of the cutter Alga, in Class C. as announced 
about a week ago, has been withdrawn, owing 
to circumstances beyond the control of her 
owner. 
A final circular, showing the conditions of the 
race, time of start, starting signals, etc., has 
just been issued by the committee. 
