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no
THE MAYFLOWER AND GALATEA RACES OF 1886.
The weather was most, unfavorable ;
drizzling rain commenced before we left
Pier No. 1 and continued without intermission to speak of throughout the entire day.
Added to these discomforts, a dense fog
settled down early in the afternoon and put
an end to the race and to any enjoyment of
the trip, and sent us home groping our
way, and landed us late, hungry and
thoroughly miserable. In discussing this
abortive attempt to finish this series of
races I shall confine myself strictly to the
details and technicalities of the contest,
leaving the reader to supplement the
accompaniments and accessories from my
previous description, his vivid imagination
or the details to be gathered from the
voluminous expressions of opinion in the
daily press accounts. The wind had risen
considerably by the time we reached the
Scotland lightship, and the weather gave
angry tokens of letting loose a regular
sou'wester. It was manifestly a clinking
"cutter day," and right merrily did the
Galatea lads move smartly about, taking a
reef in the running bobstay, running in
her bowsprit, hauling down the big jib, and
substituting the second-sized one. Lieutenant Henn did not mean to be caught
napping.
No change was made on the Mayflower.
She carried her big jib and gained a great
advantage thereby. Both craft thought it
best to carry only working topsails.
At 11.20 the preparatory whistle was
blown from the steam tug Luckenback,
while the Scandanavian had been started
ahead to mark out a twenty-mile course
east by north, dead in the teeth of a fresh
breeze of wind that put the racing craft
scuppers to and sent the black waves
seething and boiling in their wake.
Almost immediately after the starting
signal the Mayflower bounded across the
line, just skinning past the lightship. The
Galatea was quite a good deal to leeward,
and had to shake up a trifle into the wind
to pass the judge's boat. Time of crossing
was 11:30:30, and 11:30:32. Both craft
were being sailed a shade fine, but the
Boston sloop evidently held her way better, while the cutter made more leeway
than she ought.
The Galatea did not relish her position,
and at 11.50 made her first tack, quickly
followed by the sloop. It was at once apparent that the old game had commenced,
and the Boston boat, like a giddy girl, was
romping away from her more sedate English sister. The difference in set of the
sails of the two boats was also very noticeable, for while the Mayflower's canvas was
stretched flat as a board, the leech of the
Galatea kept licking about the whole way
to windward, and must have been as annoying to her owner as it was disheartening
to the gazing cutter men.
At 12.20 Sandy Hook lightship was
passed, and the sloop had a clear lead of
half a mile. The Mayflower made another
short board at 12.58, returning to her original tack at 1.11. The Englishman held
straight on. The wind shows a tendency
to lighten, and at 1.27 the Galatea sent
down her working topsail, and replaced it
smartly by her club-topsail.
When about half the windward course was
done the Mayflower appeared about 2^
miles distant, dead to windward of the cutter. At 1.37 the sloop tacked, and while
shaking " in stays " her crew very smartly
sent aloft her club-topsail to windward of
her working one. The Galatea tacked
again at 1.39, and apparently got abetter
wind, and seemed to have closed up the
gap somewhat. At 1.50 the wind had
lightened enough to allow the sloop to send
up her jib-topsail. The sea also became
smoother, and the fog began to settle down
so thick that it was with difficulty the
Galatea could be discerned a full three miles
to leeward, which the sloop gradually
widened to four or five before she rounded
the mark buoy at 4:24:45 by my time. I
saw nothing more of the Galatea that day,
but read that she bore up for home when
the Mayflower rounded. Fog, light wind,
and closing darkness put an end to the
race, which counted for nothing, as it was
not sailed in the seven-hour limit, but it
proved to the most skeptical the marked
superiority of the sloop at the very game
that was fondly believed to be par excellence a cutter's, for the Mayflower gained
almost all her vantage while the sea and
wind held. She outwinded and out-
speeded the English cutter, and did not
make nearly the leeway the Galatea did.
THE THIRD AND CONCLUSIVE RACE.
SEPTEMBER II.
A glorious yachting day, a bright sun
and a fresh steady breeze ushered in the
final discomfiture of the cutter and her
partisans. Space does not permit me to
go into the details of the struggle ; nor is
it needed. The programme of Tuesday
and Thursday was enacted without a hitch.
The Mayflower left the Galatea in the run
to leeward, increased the lead in the thrash
Object Description
| Title | Yachts and yachting |
| Creator | Cozzens, Frederic Schiller |
| Publisher | Cassell & Co. |
| Place of Publication | New York |
| Date | [c1887] |
| Language | eng |
| Type | Books/Pamphlets |
Description
| Title | 00000108 |
| Type | Books/Pamphlets |
| Transcript | no THE MAYFLOWER AND GALATEA RACES OF 1886. The weather was most, unfavorable ; drizzling rain commenced before we left Pier No. 1 and continued without intermission to speak of throughout the entire day. Added to these discomforts, a dense fog settled down early in the afternoon and put an end to the race and to any enjoyment of the trip, and sent us home groping our way, and landed us late, hungry and thoroughly miserable. In discussing this abortive attempt to finish this series of races I shall confine myself strictly to the details and technicalities of the contest, leaving the reader to supplement the accompaniments and accessories from my previous description, his vivid imagination or the details to be gathered from the voluminous expressions of opinion in the daily press accounts. The wind had risen considerably by the time we reached the Scotland lightship, and the weather gave angry tokens of letting loose a regular sou'wester. It was manifestly a clinking "cutter day," and right merrily did the Galatea lads move smartly about, taking a reef in the running bobstay, running in her bowsprit, hauling down the big jib, and substituting the second-sized one. Lieutenant Henn did not mean to be caught napping. No change was made on the Mayflower. She carried her big jib and gained a great advantage thereby. Both craft thought it best to carry only working topsails. At 11.20 the preparatory whistle was blown from the steam tug Luckenback, while the Scandanavian had been started ahead to mark out a twenty-mile course east by north, dead in the teeth of a fresh breeze of wind that put the racing craft scuppers to and sent the black waves seething and boiling in their wake. Almost immediately after the starting signal the Mayflower bounded across the line, just skinning past the lightship. The Galatea was quite a good deal to leeward, and had to shake up a trifle into the wind to pass the judge's boat. Time of crossing was 11:30:30, and 11:30:32. Both craft were being sailed a shade fine, but the Boston sloop evidently held her way better, while the cutter made more leeway than she ought. The Galatea did not relish her position, and at 11.50 made her first tack, quickly followed by the sloop. It was at once apparent that the old game had commenced, and the Boston boat, like a giddy girl, was romping away from her more sedate English sister. The difference in set of the sails of the two boats was also very noticeable, for while the Mayflower's canvas was stretched flat as a board, the leech of the Galatea kept licking about the whole way to windward, and must have been as annoying to her owner as it was disheartening to the gazing cutter men. At 12.20 Sandy Hook lightship was passed, and the sloop had a clear lead of half a mile. The Mayflower made another short board at 12.58, returning to her original tack at 1.11. The Englishman held straight on. The wind shows a tendency to lighten, and at 1.27 the Galatea sent down her working topsail, and replaced it smartly by her club-topsail. When about half the windward course was done the Mayflower appeared about 2^ miles distant, dead to windward of the cutter. At 1.37 the sloop tacked, and while shaking " in stays " her crew very smartly sent aloft her club-topsail to windward of her working one. The Galatea tacked again at 1.39, and apparently got abetter wind, and seemed to have closed up the gap somewhat. At 1.50 the wind had lightened enough to allow the sloop to send up her jib-topsail. The sea also became smoother, and the fog began to settle down so thick that it was with difficulty the Galatea could be discerned a full three miles to leeward, which the sloop gradually widened to four or five before she rounded the mark buoy at 4:24:45 by my time. I saw nothing more of the Galatea that day, but read that she bore up for home when the Mayflower rounded. Fog, light wind, and closing darkness put an end to the race, which counted for nothing, as it was not sailed in the seven-hour limit, but it proved to the most skeptical the marked superiority of the sloop at the very game that was fondly believed to be par excellence a cutter's, for the Mayflower gained almost all her vantage while the sea and wind held. She outwinded and out- speeded the English cutter, and did not make nearly the leeway the Galatea did. THE THIRD AND CONCLUSIVE RACE. SEPTEMBER II. A glorious yachting day, a bright sun and a fresh steady breeze ushered in the final discomfiture of the cutter and her partisans. Space does not permit me to go into the details of the struggle ; nor is it needed. The programme of Tuesday and Thursday was enacted without a hitch. The Mayflower left the Galatea in the run to leeward, increased the lead in the thrash |
