Yacht racing

“ But this is not all; a new sport has been born—the racing of small yachts, for which the Thames is peculiarly unsuited. Steam yachting has caused this development of small yacht racing. Men who would otherwise have built or purchased large sailing yachts now prefer steam, and, although they may themselves race but little in any craft, their action has destroyed our fleet of large sailing yachts, and with it the market for outclassed racers of any considerable size. ”

“ An exceptional year, alike in regard to weather and sport, for not within living memory has there been so fine a spring, summer and autumn, and there is no previous record of such a sequence of eventful and stirring racing. It is highly gratifying that sport so truly national in character as yacht racing enlisted more general interest during the past season than has ever previously been the case; in fact, it can further be said that the doings of the 'Britannia,' 'Valkyrie,' 'Satanita,' 'Calluna,' 'Navahoe,' and 'Iverna' arrested world-wide attention. ”

“ Considering the sea that was running, and the amount of broken water that was throwing itself about, this last race is one to be long remembered and handed down in the annals of small-yacht racing; and now and hereafter, when racing and cruising men feel a tendency arising in them to croak and speak ill of the little yachts that were built under the old rule of measurement, let them call to mind their mighty deeds, their racing and their voyages under circumstances and in weather that would frighten many a 50-tonner into harbour and to her moorings. ”

“ The light scantling began to tell severely upon large yacht racing. Meanwhile, in the small classes, the Solent one-design class. South Coast one-design class, numerous Belfast one-design classes. Redwings, Whitewings and a host of others, show how an inexpensive form of cruiser racing had usurped the place of class racing and competitive designing. Many yachtsmen felt that if handicap racing and one-design racing were to usurp the place of the higher form of class racing the whole sport of yachting must soon deteriorate. ”

“ In about the year 1884 a club was formed for steam-yacht owners only, called the American Yacht Club, and for several years it offered prizes to be run for in Long Island Sound; but steam-yacht racing did not become popular, principally because of the danger of forcing machinery to its utmost limit of safety, and also the difficulty of classifying yachts of different size and power of engine. ”

“ This especially applies to small yacht races, the prizes for which are not a severe tax on a club's exchequer, and can therefore be given more frequently.
Owners were not slow to avail themselves of the sport offered, which on trial proved to possess many advantages over large yacht racing.
In small craft an owner is more his own master, and frequently steers and sails his own boat. Corinthian hands can form all or a large portion of the crew; ladies can take an active part; the sport is less costly and better fun than with (p. 224) large craft; there are more races ”

“ Nevertheless, owing to the expense of class racing, handicap racing thrived greatly during the period of the first and second Girth Rules. During these periods, too, the third style of yacht racing came into vogue, namely cruiser racing; either very fast cruisers were built specially for the purpose of handicap racing, or a number of yachts of exactly similar design were built specially to the owner’s orders for the purpose of racing in a class together. The fast handicap cruisers had the great advantage over class racers from 1896 up to 1906, inasmuch as they were much more strongly built. ”

“ Her racing career lasted not much less than twenty years, and it was only the lead keels and the deep bodies given to the later yachts that brought it to a close. It is when looking back on such good old warriors as the 'Torment' and the 'Mosquito,' among the larger racers, that lovers of the sport whose incomes are limited must agree that the old days were good indeed. It was not necessary then to be the fortunate possessor of a new vessel each season to enable the lover of yacht racing to win prizes and keep well in with the flyers of the year. ”

“ Not on the principle that race-horses are kept, either, as every one knows there is no chance of a racing boat doing more than pay her own way at best, for the prizes are barely adequate to meet the expenses.
Yacht-racing makes quite a new interest in life. The clever mathematician can find a large field for his energies in the designing line, and the keen sailor a never-wearying delight in developing to the utmost the powers of the boat confided to him. ”

“ Yacht racing, especially in the modern cutters of 150 or 170 tons, is very expensive. The wear and tear of spars and gear is incredible. I believe that in the yachting season of 1893 H.R.H. the Prince of Wales's vessel the 'Britannia' sprang or carried away three masts; and some of his competitors were not more lucky. Then racing wages are very heavy: 10s. per man when you lose, and 20s. when you win, with unlimited beef, and beer, &c., mount up when you have a great many hands, and the new type of racer, with booms 90 feet long, requires an unlimited number ”

“ This incident took the form of a somewhat sudden proposal to get up a race for steam-yachts round the island, for a cup of the value of fifty guineas. Such a proposal was a little remarkable, from the fact that steam-yacht racing is a form of sport that is very rarely indulged in by Englishmen, at least in English waters; yet everything must necessarily have a beginning, and there was no especial reason why steam-yacht racing should not be one of those things, particularly as the idea appeared to be received with some enthusiasm by certain owners of such craft. ”

“ When the racing current and the incoming breakers met, there was a crash that could be heard an incredible distance; spray was hurled high in air, and the watery foes seemed to dash each other to vapor! To the left of the channel was the black dome of the boiler of a wrecked boat, blocking half the passage.
Right through this must the “Gazelle” go. Could she get past the huge obstructing cylinder of iron? Would she live to get through those terrifying, battling seas? These questions each boy asked himself as the yacht, answering her helm, readily pointed her bowsprit straight for the opening. ”

“ The helmsman was to be an amateur, and no shot-bag or shifting ballast of any kind was to be permitted. Besides proving that the club possessed amateur seamen capable of handling a racing yacht of any size, the fact that that unseaworthy equipment shifting ballast, which had been in use in the Clyde foot classes and in most racing yachts during the early Fifties, was to be abolished, at all events in this race, was a move in the right direction. ”

“ It is probable that these men were the first to organize a yacht club on the Thames.
Yacht-racing in England dates from the year 1775; and while many a man, at various times and places, has been called the "Father of Yachting,"—so that yachting in this respect resembles the wise child of the Scriptures,—there can be no doubt that the Duke of Cumberland is justly entitled the "Father of Yacht-racing." ”

“ But beyond all this—the heartiness, the equality, the good feeling, the absorbing interest that attends yacht racing and yacht cruising—there are some very interesting questions that suggest themselves in connection with the great increase of speed lately developed by the new type of racing yachts. ”

“ These small yachts afford an admirable school ... which will do more for the real sport of yacht-racing than anything else. A man who can sail a 1- or a 1⁄2-rater will never be out of place in a larger ship, or become a mere passenger, for he won't race a small boat unless he loves the sport. ”

“ Although the racing of steam yachts as a recognized sport has not made the progress that was at one time expected, yet the owner and crew of a crack vessel will take as much interest in her performance as those belonging to a sailing yacht, and hate to be passed quite as badly. ”

“ Where, therefore, great speed is required, and there is no limitation to sail-carrying power, a large displacement vessel is the best type to choose. Some small-yacht racing men do not like to be always remaining in their home waters, but prefer to go round to the regattas at other ports, and try their luck against the small yachts that gather at these meetings. They live on board, and sail their yachts round the coast. To such the large bodied boat is a regular frigate. ”

“ Racing rules correspond generally to those controlling regattas of large boats, and there is full scope to exhibit all the proofs of good seamanship. The yachts are followed in light skiffs, and may not be touched more than a certain number of times during a race, on penalty of a handicap. Racing measurements differ in the various clubs, but all are based upon length and sail-area. In Great Britain the regular Yacht Racing Association rule has been generally adopted, and handicaps deducted from it. ”

“ Akin, in some respects to the sport of racing, is that of yachting and to this the Prince of Wales was almost equally devoted. Naturally fond of the sea, trained in ocean travel in days when it was no pleasant drawing-room experience to cross the Atlantic, familiar with every part of a yacht and detail of its management, it was only fitting that the Heir to the throne of the seas should be an accomplished yachtsman. His first racing-yacht was the Aline and his next one, the Britannia, was for a time the most successful of large racing-yachts. ”

“ Yacht racing by rating measurement or tonnage, when either the first yacht to finish is the winner, or the yacht saving her time by a fixed scale of time allowance in proportion to the rating of the vessel and the length of the course, is called class racing, and it obviously tends to encourage the fastest possible vessel under the current rating rule to be produced. It has always been regarded as the highest form of the sport. ”

“ No bags of shot shall be on board, and all ballast shall be properly stowed under the platform or in lockers, and shall not be shifted or trimmed in any way during a race. No ballast or other dead weight shall be shifted, shipped, or unshipped, so as to alter the length of the load water-line, after a yacht has been entered for a race, nor without giving notice thereof to the secretary of the Yacht Racing Association, as enjoined in Rule 3. ”

“ There is accommodation in the forecastle for four men. The yachts carry 20,000 pounds of lead ballast, of which 18,000 pounds is on keel. Another one-design division is the Riverside Yacht Club dory class, which has been adopted by many of the clubs enrolled in the Yacht-Racing Union of Long Island Sound. These boats are thirteen feet on the keel, seventeen feet over all, with four feet beam, fitted with a centerboard and rigged with a small jib and a 61leg-of-mutton sail. They are for single-handed racing, but for pleasure cruising or fishing a man can take his chum along. ”

“ Sailing in a race affords excellent opportunity for noticing the other competing craft and admiring the goodly company assembled around. The big cutters are leading, and some of the forties astern. That 'Queen Mab' will hold her own with the best is a point upon which we feel happily confident, her racing flags being proof of her capacity—thirty-six is the number she showed at the end of the season. This yacht, as mentioned elsewhere, was built with a centreboard, but instead of a huge partition in the centre of the saloon, the board came under the main companion, and was quite unnoticeable. ”

“ The best school possible is actual racing, and when we present to our yachtsmen a racing list as long as that published in England, then we can hope to have captains and men fit to hold their own. The English may learn of the Americans how to design a yacht that will bear pushing to extreme speeds without making such a disturbance in the water as did 'Valkyrie.' They can also take lessons in staying the mast and masthead, and in proportioning the sizes of spars and standing rigging more closely to the labour assigned them. ”

“ Stand by to put your helm hard down so as to luff right up in the wind or even to go about. If you put your helm up and keep away, and a collision ensues, you would probably have to pay all the damage. The strict legal rule is that the vessel on the starboard tack must keep her course and neither luff nor bear up. If this rule is observed you will be within the letter of the law. In yacht racing a yacht on the port tack can be disqualified if she is struck by a yacht which is on the starboard tack, no matter how the striking happened ”

“ We take it that the general yachting public require in a yacht: That she shall be safe in all conditions of wind and weather; that she shall combine the maximum of room on deck and below with the minimum of prime cost; and that she shall be driven as fast as may be with the least expenditure of labour—i.e. that she shall have a moderate and workable sail-area. Therefore, as but few men can afford to build for racing, and for racing only, and as the racer of to-day is the cruiser of a few years hence, any rating rule should by its limitations encourage such a wholesome type of vessel. ”

“ This international sport awakens such a widespread interest, serving, as it were, as a great national school in yachting and racing, that it is to be hoped as much facility as possible may be afforded the public for witnessing them; therefore, let all international races be held in New York waters, where they were in 1893, as that point is more accessible than any other to those interested. We in America must establish some school for the training of skippers and crews; there is not to-day a professional skipper in the country, nor a crew that is capable of sailing a yacht against the English. ”