Arthur Hamilton Clark

“ Amsterdam rose to be a city of the first rank,—the centre of commerce in Europe,—and Holland grew in wealth and influence until it not only held its own against Spain, but invaded Spain's most valuable monopolies.
From remote times, the people of Holland have been celebrated for their skill and industry upon the ocean. They were the first to develop the whale and herring fisheries, which proved not only a source of great wealth, but were the nursery of a splendid race of seamen. ”

“ In 1796 the Vauxhall Cup was sailed for from Vauxhall Gardens to Putney Bridge by the Vixen, Captain Fairbrother, and the Mercury, Captain Astley. The wind was light, with rain showers, and the Vixen drifted past the mark-boat the winner. "The river was covered with vessels of all descriptions from barges to wherrys, and the Turkish Ambassador was in the Vauxhall cutter, and the magnificent car was exhibited on the occasion filled with musicians, and formed no less a splendid sight than an attractive entertainment." ”

“ I have endeavored to trace the origin and first era of the development of yachts and yachting from the year 1600 until the establishment of Yacht Club, in 1815, and have thus brought this history within the majestic portal of the nineteenth century, with its steadfast endeavor and brilliant achievement in all branches of knowledge, while yachts and yachting have also steadily advanced with scientific discovery and the accumulation of wealth. ”

“ Fleet Street was the course of the River Fleet. Walbrook was a winding stream, passing through the city into the Thames. And London Bridge was a structure covered with wooden houses on each side.
The houses of London, at that period, were built of wood thatched with straw, each story projecting forward, one above the other, until the houses nearly met over the middle of the streets. And many of these were narrow, without pavements, badly drained; constantly strewn with every kind of refuse and filth, engendering pestilential vapors. ”

“ And so these famous old ships sailed upon their long voyages year after year. Each was a little community complete in itself; the pleasure of the voyage depending largely upon the character of the captain, and the ability and willingness of the passengers to make themselves agreeable to each other; for, like larger communities, they had the same old problems to deal with; births, marriages, deaths, love, devotion, friendship, intrigue, meanness, gossip, and scandal; indeed, all the phases of human nature, which make and have always made the happiness or the misery of life. ”

“ Moreover, yachting is a sport by no means confined to one yacht gaining mastery over others in point of speed; but to that grander mastery upon the sea, over tides, head winds, fierce waves, and over oneself in calms and fogs. ”

“ Evelyn sailed with the King. Therefore, it is within bounds to suppose that both he and Pepys hoped and expected that the King's yacht would be successful. Hence, if she had won, we should probably have heard of it; for no two men in England were better qualified to express their ideas in a manner not to be misunderstood.
"His barge and kitchen-boat attended" is a phrase that calls to mind the energetic tug and patient tender attached to racing-yachts of the present, and is the one slender thread that connects this ancient racing-yacht with her young and beautiful sisters of to-day. ”

“ Macaulay records that, "Peter gave himself up to his favorite pursuits. He navigated a yacht every day up and down the river. His apartment was crowded with models of three-deckers and two-deckers, frigates, sloops, and fire-ships. The only Englishman of rank in whose society he seemed to take much pleasure was the eccentric Caermarthen, whose passion for the sea bore some resemblance to his own, and who was very competent to give an opinion about every part of a ship from the stem to the stern."
Czar Peter, however, had been a yachtsman long before he came to England. ”

“ In every age there have been men to whom sea-faring has been a recreation and a delight. Indeed, yachtsmen may be regarded as the patricians of the sea; free from its hardships and privations, though amenable to its written and unwritten laws, and participating in its dangers and delights. By degrees, yacht-racing has become the popular feature of yachting, though early history shows that yachts enjoyed a flourishing existence for nearly two centuries before racing came into fashion. ”

“ The nearness to the forces and glories of nature, the awful majesty of the hurricane is inspiring, as the ship, stripped of her canvas, with naked spars, held between earth and sky in the strong grasp of the mighty ocean, wages her battle amid the wild waves and pitiless blast of the whirlwind. And this sublime solitude is never loneliness; for, on the ocean one is never less alone than when alone, and the absolute stillness and quiet when the winds and waves are at rest are peace to the soul. ”

“ And though these triumphs may not be heralded by guns, steam whistles, and brass bands, or witnessed by throngs on board of excursion steamboats, they are still the essence of yachting, giving, as they do, keen enjoyment at the moment, and remembered in after years with pride and pleasure. ”

“ In the year 1776 a series of troubles, growing out of unjust taxation and other causes, culminated and resulted in thirteen of Great Britain's most prosperous colonies declaring their independence of the Mother Country, and founding the United States of America.
It is a matter of history that the rule of Great Britain over her American colonies was oppressive and at the same time weak, without being conciliatory; the loyalty and affection of the colonists therefore naturally changed into feelings of anger and revolt. ”

“ The English East India Company found in the merchants of Holland more formidable rivals than they had found in either the Portuguese or the Spaniards, but the merchants of London were so inspired by the profits of their voyages to India that the East India Company thereupon obtained a new charter in 1609 for fifteen years, and constructed a new vessel of 1200 tons burden, named the Trades Increase—the largest merchant-ship hitherto built in England. ”

“ Many of these schooners sailed under the flags of Spain and Portugal, but the war of 1812 between the United States and Great Britain furnished in privateering an irresistible stimulant to the shipowners, shipwrights, and seamen of the seaports along the Atlantic coast. It was during this war that the Baltimore clippers achieved a world-wide reputation. Their models and rig were adopted at home; and after the war they became the standard of excellence in the Royal Navy and in the Yacht Club of England. ”

“ A set of worthy gentlemen, who have formed themselves into a body, which they call the "Water Club," proceed a few leagues out to sea, once a year, in a number of little vessels which, for painting and gilding, exceed the King's yachts at Greenwich and Deptford. Their Admiral, who is elected annually, and hoists his flag on board his little vessel, leads the van, and receives the honour of the flag. The rest of the fleet fall in their proper stations, and keep their line in the same manner as the King's ships. ”

“ That is, this little fleet was composed of the King's new yacht Catherine, the Duke of York's new yacht Anne, and the King's Dutch yachts Mary and Bezan. And this is the first record of a squadron of yachts in England.
The King and Duke of York were wholly different in temperament, as brothers frequently are. Charles appears to have been a man of unusual intelligence and ability, good-natured and generous; regarding things in general, and particularly human nature, as problems not to be taken too seriously or from which much could be expected. ”

“ IN the year 1609, Henry Hudson, an Englishman, set sail from Amsterdam in command of the yacht, Halve Mæne. She is known in history as the Half Moon, of eighty tons burden, and was owned by the Dutch East India Company. The object of this voyage was the discovery of a northern route to India, a vision that allured merchants and navigators of England and Holland at that period, and which was realized only during the latter part of the last century. ”

“ It was decided that in future the qualification to become a member should be the ownership of a yacht not under 10 tons, and an entrance fee of £2.2. The distinguishing flags adopted by the Club were a white ensign with the Union Jack in the corner, and a plain white burgee at the mast head.
The formation of The Yacht Club marked a new era in yachting history, for until then the word "yacht" had never been used in connection with a club or its vessels. Probably no club has ever been founded with a more distinguished membership, and certainly no club has kept to its traditions more faithfully. ”

“ And this high character among American merchant seamen continued until the breaking out of the Civil War in 1861, the names of some of the oldest and best families in the United States being found up to that time on the shipping articles of Indiamen and China clippers sailing from the ports of Boston, New York, Baltimore, and Philadelphia. Among the old families of New England it was by no means uncommon for one son to be an undergraduate at Harvard or Yale, while another was either far away in India or China before the mast, or an officer on board a crack New York or Boston clipper ship. ”

“ In 1652 he again joined the Dutch navy as admiral, and fought many battles against the fleets of England and France. For his services to Spain in her war with France, he was invested by the King of Spain with the title and dignity of Duke. He, perhaps, is also better known and remembered in England than any of the Dutch seamen of that period—and not without reason. Few nations can point to such a brilliant array of naval heroes as can Holland during the seventeenth century ”

“ When, therefore, we reflect that well into the last century, crack racing-yachts in England and America were ballasted with pig iron and iron ore, and in 1851 the America had iron ballast moulded to fit her floors and frames—at that time an extravagant novelty—and that only of late years lead ballast has come into general use as a modern improvement, we may well be cautious in accepting anything as new. It is interesting also to note Christopher Pett's anxiety with regard to the quality of canvas for the sails of the new yacht ”

“ Some years elapsed, after The Yacht Club was established, before racing or its annual regatta became features of yachting at Cowes. The yachts composing its fleet were fine sea-going vessels, built, rigged, and manned in imitation of vessels of a similar class in the Royal Navy, and were often commanded by Naval officers on leave of absence. Speed was regarded as of less importance than good seamanship at the reviews of the fleet, which were occasionally held in the Solent, or, keeping the decks, guns, spars, and rigging in shipshape and man-of-war fashion. ”

“ The American sea-captains of that period were men of intelligence and refinement. They were accomplished seamen, navigators, and merchants; and many of them, after retiring from the sea, rose to eminence and wealth. They were the first to demonstrate that the command of a merchantman was a position that any gentleman might be proud to hold. Of the same type were their officers and crews: bright, clean-minded, clear-eyed young fellows, learning to become captains, with cousins and aunts to welcome them when they returned home after their India and China voyages. ”

“ There can be no doubt that King Charles was an able man, and, as Bishop Burnett said of him, "he knew the architecture of ships so perfectly, that in that respect, he was more exact than became a Prince." ”

“ Nowhere do we find royal yachts in England rigged as cutters during the eighteenth century, although the cutter rig was used on private yachts, smugglers, and in the Royal Navy.
There were also "customs" and "excise" cutters, known in the present century as revenue cutters, which, in the United States were all rigged as schooners until they became steamers. About the middle of the nineteenth century there was one celebrated revenue "cutter," rigged as a topsail schooner, called the Hamilton, commanded by Captain Josiah Sturgis, whose sister married Joshua Bates, of Baring Brothers, London. ”

“ As the Princess passed Woolwich, the whole band of the royal regiment of artillery played 'God Save the King,' and the military cheered the standard. It was the first burst of loyalty her Royal Highness had heard on English ground, and it drew from her tears of joy. About noon the Augusta yacht reached Greenwich, when the Princess embarked in the barge, steered as before by Lieutenant Mainwaring, and landed on the right of the stairs, in front of the Hospital ”

“ One would gladly remain in company so good, so brave, so luxurious, and sail with mariners like these through the troubled waves of historical uncertainty, or drift with them upon the calm and misty waters of romance ”