BRITISH YACHTING.
lSS
^66 - ■ —
old English admiral, Sir Francis Drake,
was engaged in playing a game of bowls
when he received intelligence of the approach of the Spanish armada. Some of
the ships entered the sound, and their admiral, the Duke of Medina Sidonia, is said
to have been so much pleased with the situation of Mount Edgecumbe that he determined to make it his residence when the
forces under his command had conquered
England. Sir Francis persisted in quietly
finishing his game of bowls ; putting to
sea with the little English fleet, to play the
sterner game, which—with the help of a
storm—ended in the destruction of the
Spanish ships. On regatta days the Hoe
is crowded with a concourse of people, who
look down on the same land-locked water
that harbored the little hundred-and-eighty-
ton Mayflower before she shook out her
sails to the breeze, just about 300 years
ago, to start upon her memorable voyage
to the shores of New England.
The next event of importance for the
racing fleet is the regatta of the Royal
Yacht Squadron at Cowes. This is by
many regarded as the great aquatic carni-
val of the year. Nevertheless, the racing
is usually of the tamest possible description, as for several of the events—notably,
the race for the Queen's Cup—members
only are permitted to enter. This club is
perhaps the least representative of all the
yachting associations in England, and if
the interests of the pastime were left solely
in its hands, yachting would have sunk to a
low ebb indeed. The members form a
curious combination of " swells" and
BRITISH YACHTING.
lSS
^66 - ■ —
old English admiral, Sir Francis Drake,
was engaged in playing a game of bowls
when he received intelligence of the approach of the Spanish armada. Some of
the ships entered the sound, and their admiral, the Duke of Medina Sidonia, is said
to have been so much pleased with the situation of Mount Edgecumbe that he determined to make it his residence when the
forces under his command had conquered
England. Sir Francis persisted in quietly
finishing his game of bowls ; putting to
sea with the little English fleet, to play the
sterner game, which—with the help of a
storm—ended in the destruction of the
Spanish ships. On regatta days the Hoe
is crowded with a concourse of people, who
look down on the same land-locked water
that harbored the little hundred-and-eighty-
ton Mayflower before she shook out her
sails to the breeze, just about 300 years
ago, to start upon her memorable voyage
to the shores of New England.
The next event of importance for the
racing fleet is the regatta of the Royal
Yacht Squadron at Cowes. This is by
many regarded as the great aquatic carni-
val of the year. Nevertheless, the racing
is usually of the tamest possible description, as for several of the events—notably,
the race for the Queen's Cup—members
only are permitted to enter. This club is
perhaps the least representative of all the
yachting associations in England, and if
the interests of the pastime were left solely
in its hands, yachting would have sunk to a
low ebb indeed. The members form a
curious combination of " swells" and
