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YACHTING , the See also:sport of racing in yachts 1 and boats with sails, and also the pastime of cruising for See also:pleasure in sailing See also:steam or motor vessels. Yacht racing See also:dates from the beginning of the loth See also:century; for, although there were sailing yachts See also:long before, they were but few, and belonged exclusively to princes and other illustrious personages. For instance, in the Anglo-Saxon See also:period See also:Athelstan had presented to him by the See also: See also:Maitland, in his History of See also:London (1739) mentions sailing and See also:rowing on the See also:Thames as among the amusements then indulged in; and See also:Strutt, in his See also:Sports and Pastimes (18o1), says that the See also:Cumberland Society, consisting of gentlemen partial to this pas-time, gave yearly a See also:silver See also:cup to be sailed for in the vicinity of London. The boats usually started from Blackfriars See also:Bridge, went up the Thames to Putney, and returned to See also:Vauxhall, being, no doubt, See also:mere sailing boats and not yachts or decked vessels. From the See also:middle to the end of the 18th century yachting See also:developed very slowly: although matches were sailed at Cowes as far back as 1780, very few yachts of any See also:size, say 35 tons, existed in 'Soo there or elsewhere. In 1812 the Royal Yacht See also:Squadron was established by fifty yacht-owners at Cowes and was called the Yacht Club, altered to the Royal Yacht Club in 1820; but no See also:regular regatta was held there until some years later. The yachts of the time were built of heavy materials, like the See also:revenue cutters, full in the fore See also:body and See also:fine aft; but it was soon discovered that their timbers and scantlings were unnecessarily strong, and they were made much lighter. It was also found that the single-masted cutter was more weatherly than the brigs and schooners of the time, and the former rig was adopted for racing, and, as there was no time See also:allowance for difference of size, they were all built of considerable dimensions. See also:Early English Yachts.—Among the earliest of which there is any record were the " See also:Pearl," 95 tons, built by Sainty at Wyvenhoe near See also:Colchester in 1820, for the See also:marquess of See also:Anglesey, and the " Arrow," 84 tons, originally 61 ft. 91 in. long and 18 ft. 5; in. See also:beam, built by See also:Joseph Weld in 1822, which for many years remained extant as a racing yacht, having been rebuilt and 1 The English word " yacht " is the Dutch jacht, jagt, from jachten, " to See also:hurry, " to See also:hunt." See also SHIP and See also:SHIPBUILDING. altered several times, and again entirely rebuilt in 1887-88. The Thames soon followed the example of the See also:Solent and established the Royal Thames Yacht Club in 1823, the See also:Clyde See also:founding the Royal See also:Northern Yacht Club in 1824, and See also:Plymouth the Royal Western in 1827. In this year the Royal Yacht Squadron passed a See also:resolution disqualifying any member who should apply steam to his yacht—the enactment being aimed at T. Assheton See also: 3 in. beam, and measuring 50 tons. See also:Prejudice against the new type of yacht being as strong as against the introduction of steam, there were no vessels built like the " Mosquito," with the exception of the " Volante," 59 tons, by See also:Harvey of Wyvenhoe, until the eyes of English yachtsmen were opened by the Americans three years later. About this period yacht racing had been gradually coming into favour in the See also:United States, the first yacht club being founded at New York in 1844 by nine yacht-owners; and in 1846 the first match between yachts in the States was sailed, 25 M. to windward and back from Sandy See also:Hook lightship, between J. C. See also:Stevens's new centre-See also:board See also:sloop " Maria," 170 tons, too ft. water-line and 26 ft. 8 in. beam, with a See also:draught of 5 ft. 3 in. of water, and the " Coquette," See also:schooner, 14 tons, belonging to J. H. See also:Perkins, the latter winning; hut the See also:appearance of the " Maria," which had a clipper or schooner bow, something like that of the racing cutters of 1887-88, did much for yachting in See also:America. Stevens then commissioned George Steers of New York, builder of the crack See also:pilot schooners, to construct a racing schooner to visit England i11 the year of the See also:great See also:exhibition, and the result was the " America " of 170 tons. She crossed the See also:Atlantic in the summer of 1851, but failed to compete for the See also:Queen's cup at Cowes in See also:August, although the club for that occasion threw the See also:prize open to all the See also:world, as her owner declined to concede the usual time allowance for difference of size. The members of the Yacht Squadron, not wishing to See also:risk the reproach of denying the visitor a See also:fair See also:race, decided that their match for a cup given by the club, to be sailed See also:round the Isle of Wight later in the same See also:month, should be without any time allowance. The " America," thus exceptionally treated, entered and competed against fifteen other vessels. The three most dangerous competitors being put out through accidents, the " America " passed the winning-See also:post 18 minutes ahead of the 47-ton cutter " See also:Aurora," and won the cup; but, even if the time allowance891 had not been waived, the See also:American schooner yacht would still have won by fully a couple of minutes. The prize was ;given to the New York Yacht Club and constituted a See also:challenge cup, called " the America's cup," for the yachts of all nations, by the See also:deed of See also:gift of the owners of the winner. (See below for .a See also:complete account of these races.) Not only was the " America " as great a departure from the conventional See also:British type of yacht as the " Mosquito," but the set of her sails was a decided novelty. In England it had been the practice to make them baggy, whereas those of the "America" were See also:flat, which told materially in working to windward. The revolution in yacht designing and canvasing was complete, and the bows of existing cutters were lengthened, that of the "Arrow " among others. The " Alarm " was also lengthened and turned into a schooner of 248 tons, and the " Wildfire," cutter, 59 tons, was likewise converted. Indeed there was a complete craze for schooners, the " Flying See also:Cloud," " Gloriana," " Lana Rookh," " Albertine," " Aline," " See also:Egeria," " See also:Pantomime " and others being built between 1852 and 1865, during which period the centre-board, or sliding See also:keel, was applied to schooners as well as sloops in America. The See also:national or cutter rig was nevertheless not neglected in England, for Hatcher of Southampton built the 35-ton cutter " Glance "—the See also:pioneer of the subsequent 4o-tonners--in 1855, and the " See also:Vampire "—the pioneer of the 2o-tonners—in 1857, in which year Weld also had the " Lulworth," an 82-ton cutter of comparatively shallow draught, constructed at Lymington. At this time too there came into existence a See also:group of cutters, called " flying fifties " from their See also:tonnage, taking after the " Mosquito " as their pioneer; such were the " Extravaganza," " Audax " and " Vanguard." In 1866 a large cutter was constructed on the Clyde called the " See also:Condor," 135 tons, followed by the still larger " Oimara," 163 tons, in 1867. In 1868 the " See also:Cambria" schooner was built by Ratsey at Cowes for Ashbury of See also:Brighton, and, having proved a successful match-sailer, was taken to the United States in 187o to compete for the America's cup, but was badly beaten, as also was the " See also:Livonia " in 1871. The First Great Era of Yacht Racing.—The See also:decade between 187o and 188o may be termed the first See also:Golden See also:Age of yachting, inasmuch as the racing See also:fleet had some very notable additions made to it, of which it will suffice to mention the schooners " Gwendolin," " Cetonia," " Corinne," " See also:Miranda " and " Waterwitch "; the large cutters " Kriemhilda," " Vol au Vent," " See also:Formosa," " Samcena " and " Vanduara," a cutter built of See also:steel; the 4o-tonners " Foxhound," " Bloodhound," " Myosotis " and " See also:Norman "; the 2o-tonners " Vanessa" (Hatcher's masterpiece), " Quickstep," " Enriqueta," " See also:Louise " and " Freda "; and the yawls " Florinda," " Corisande," " Jullanar " and " See also:Latona." The " Jullanar " may be noted as a specially See also:clever See also:design. Built in 1874 from the ideas of Bentall, an agricultural See also:implement maker of See also:Maldon, See also:Essex, she had no dead See also:wood forward or aft, and possessed many improvements in design which were embodied and developed by the more scientific See also:naval architects, G. L. See also:Watson, William See also:Fife, jun., and others in later years. See also:Lead, the use of which commenced in 1846, was entirely used for See also:ballast after 187o and placed on the keel outside. Of races there was a plethora; indeed no fewer than 400 matches took place in 1876, as against 63 matches in 1856, with classes for schooners and yawls, for large cutters, for 40-tonners, 2o-•tonners and 10-tonners. The sport, too, was better regulated, and was conducted on a See also:uniform See also:system: the Yacht-Racing Association, established in 1875, See also:drew up a See also:simple See also:code of See also:laws for the regulation of yacht races, which was accepted by the yacht clubs generally, though a previous See also:attempt to introduce uniformity, made by the Royal Victoria Yacht Club in 1868, had failed. The Association adopted the See also:rule for ascertaining the size or tonnage of yachts which had been for many years in force, known as the Thames rule; but in 1879 they altered the plan of reckoning length from that taken on deck to that taken at the load water-line, and two years later they adopted an entirely new system of calculation. The See also:Plank-on-edge.--These changes led to a decline in yacht-racing, the new measurement exercising a prejudicial effect on the sport, as it enabled vessels of extreme length, depth and narrowness, kept upright by enormous masses of lead on the outside of the keel, to compete on equal terms with vessels of greater width and less depth, in other words, smaller yachts carrying an inferior See also:area of See also:sail. The new type was known as the " lead mine " or plank-on-edge type. Of this type were the yawls " Lorna " and " Wendur," the cutters ~ " May," " Annasona," " Sleuth-See also:hound," " See also:Tara," " Marjorie " and " Margarite "—the most extreme of all being perhaps the 4o-tonner " Tara," six times as long as she was broad, and unusually deep, with a displacement of 75 tons, 38 tons of lead on her keel, and the sail-spread of a 6o-tonner like " See also:Neva." In 1884 two large 8o-ton cutters of the above type were built for racing, the " Genesta " on the Clyde and the " Irex " at Southampton. Having been successful in her first See also:season, the former went to the United States in 1885 in quest of the America's cup; but she was beaten by the " Puritan," which had a moderate draught of 8 ft. 3 in. of water, considerable beam and a deep centre-board. The defeat of the " Genesta " was not surprising; she drew 13 ft. of water, had a displacement or See also:weight of 141 as against the " Puritan's " 106 tons, and a sail area of 7887 sq. ft. to the American's 7982—a greater See also:mass with less See also:driving See also:power. Still, she did not leave the States empty-handed, as she won and brought back the Cape May and See also:Brenton See also:Reef challenge cups, though they were wrested from her by the " Irex " in the following year. The same thing happened to the " Galatea," which was beaten by the " May-See also:flower " in 1886. In all classes in British See also:waters the narrow type was not carried to excess; indeed, as the narrowness of the new yachts increased annually, so did the popularity of racing decrease. Plank-on-edge Type abandoned.—See also:Prior to 1886 it had been the See also:custom in Great See also:Britain for several reasons to build the yachts deep, narrow, See also:wall-sided, with very heavy lead keels and heavy displacement. The system of measurement had been a tonnage measurement, and under this system designers found, from the knowledge they had then attained from racing trials, that a narrow heavy vessel would beat a wider and lighter craft when both were measured by the tonnage rules. In America this was not the See also:case. There a much lighter and wider See also:form of yacht had been in See also:vogue, having shallower draught and relying upon a centre-board for weatherliness instead of a deep lead keel. Hence in the See also:International contests from 1884 to 1886 for the America's cup and other events the trials were between deep and narrow British yachts and shallow and broad American yachts. Even in 1887, when G. L. Watson built the " See also:Thistle," much broader than " Genesta " and " Galatea," this vessel was met and defeated by afar wider and shallower American sloop, namely, the " Volunteer " above referred to. British yachtsmen claimed that their narrow deep-keeled vessels were more weatherly and better See also:sea-boats than the See also:light American sloops, but racing honours rested with the Americans. In 1887 the plank-on-edge type was completely abandoned in the United See also:Kingdom. Thenceforward, therefore, the old spirited contests between deep British yachts and shallow American sloops ceased. Whilst Britain abandoned her narrow deep type, America soon also began to modify the old shallow centre-board sloop type, and so between 1887 and 1893 the See also:rival types began to converge very rapidly, until the old See also:idea of a race for the America's cup being a test of a British type against an American type completely died out. Races sailed for that See also:trophy, after 1887, were less and less trials of opposing national types, but merely contests between British and American designed yachts built upon the same See also:general principle of similar type. See also:Dixon See also:Kemp in 1887 induced British yachtsmen to abandon the system of measuring yachts by tonnage and to adopt a new system of rating them by water-line length and sail area. The new system contained no taxes or penalties upon beam or depth nor upon " over all" length. The only factors measured were the water-line and the area of the sails. All the old tonnage rules taxed the length and the breadth. The effect of this See also:change of the system measurement was See also:electrical. It crushed the plank-on-edge type completely. There was not another See also:boat of the kind built. Revival of Yacht-Racing under Length and Sail Area Rule.—Yachtsmen were greatly pleased with the broader and lighter types of yachts that designers began to turn out under the length and sail area rule. They were more comfortable and drier in a seaway than the old vessels. The first large cutters built with considerable beam were " Yarana " and " Petronilla " in 1888, and in 1889 the first of Lord Dunraven's See also:Valkyries was a vessel that was much admired. Then in 1890 " Iverna," a handsome clipper-bowed cutter owned by Mr See also:Jameson, came out and raced against " Thistle." Meanwhile, up to 1892 a See also:host of splendid 4o-raters had been built; " See also:Mohawk," " Deerhound " " Castanet " " See also:Reverie," " See also:Creole," " Thalia," " See also:Corsair," " White Slave," " Queen Mab " and " See also:Varuna " formed a class the like of which had never been surpassed in British waters. Watson, Fife and See also:Payne were the most successful designers. While a revival of yachting in the larger classes was notable under the rule Dixon Kemp had originated, the sudden popularity attained in the small classes in the Solent was even more remark-able. Under the tonnage rules deep narrow 3-tonners, 5-tonners and lo-tonners had raced about the See also:coast, but the Solent did not seem to attract a greater number of yachtsmen as small boat sailors than the Thames, Mersey or Irish ports. Moreover, the Clyde really remained the most advanced centre of small yacht sailing. At Southampton, prior to Dixon Kemp's rule being adopted by the Yacht-Racing Association in 1887, there were some sporting classes of so-called Itchen See also:Ferry boats which raced on a rating consisting of length on the water-line only. As thef6 was no tax upon their sail, they were built (according to the ideas of designers in 1885 or 1886, who had not by that time absorbed the knowledge of the value of bulb-keels) with great beam, immense displacement and very thick heavy lead keels and huge sail-spread. A sail area of 2200 sq. ft. was crowded on to a 3o-See also:foot yacht, and one 3o-footer even carried a jointed spinnaker See also:boom 56 ft. in length. It was not surprising that such a type never became popular; indeed the Southampton length classes in the 'eighties were no better than the extremely narrow 5-tonners and 3-tonners. The 5-tonner " See also:Doris," built by Watson in 1885, was 33 ft. 8 in. L.W.L., 5 ft. 7 in. beam, 7 ft. draught; displacement of 12.55 tons; 1681 sq. ft. of sail. The " Yvonne," built by Fife in 1889, was 34.1 ft. L.W.L., 9 ft. beam, 8.1 ft. draught, with a displacement of 12.9 tons and a sail area of 1726 sq. ft. The difference in dimensions between " Doris " and " Yvonne " shows how the beam and sail-carrying power was in-creased in the new type, for " Yvonne " could beat the " Doris " with the greatest ease. With the See also:advent of the length and sail area rule the Solent at once became the fashionable See also:rendezvous for small racing yachts, and the craft known as the Solent classes, 5-raters, 22-raters, 1-raters and 2-raters, flourished greatly. The Second Great Era in Yachting.—As the years 1870 to 188o will always be remembered for the great schooners and the glorious fleet of old-fashioned cutters and yawls, which showed such fine sport before they were outbuilt by the plankson-edge, so will the seasons following 1892 be identified with the big cutter racing. In that year it was commonly said that yachtsmen would build no more very large cutters. The revival under the length and sail area rule had so far extended to " Iverna," " Tarana," " Petronilla," and " Valkyrie I." being built in the first class, but then there had been a pause of some years during which large See also:numbers of 4o-raters, 2o-raters and the Solent classes had been built. Just when the critics were declaring that in the future no yachtsmen would build a class racer larger than a 4o-rater (6o ft. L.W.L. with 4000 sq. ft. of sail), the See also:prince of See also:Wales (afterwards See also:Edward VII.) gave an See also:order for the cutter " Britannia," while Lord Dunraven built " Valkyrie II.," Mr A. D. See also: During the years that followed the " Britannia " held a wonderful record: f-- Starts. First Other See also:Total. Prizes prizes. Prizes. Value. ~ 1893 43 24 9 33 f1572 1894 48 36 2 38 2799 1895 50 38 2 40 3040 1896 58 14 10 24 1562 1897 20 10 2 12 1000 219 122 25 147 £9973 Some other famous racing yachts which were built under the length and sail area rule were " Ailsa " (1895), a first-class cutter designed by Fife, " Isolde," a very beautiful 40-rater for Mr Donald-son by the same designer, " Caress," a 4o-rater by Watson, and the 2o-raters " Audrey," from Lord Dunraven's own See also:model, " See also:Niagara " by Herreshoff, and the " Sibbick "-designed 5-rater "Norman," owned by See also:Captain Orr-See also:Ewing. Since the introduction of Dixon Kemp's rule the smaller classes from 2o-rating right down to z-rating had been built in great numbers, but whilst these classes had flourished exceedingly, the type of boat built had developed a very See also:peculiar form. Each succeeding craft was made lighter and lighter in weight and more extreme in the overhang at the bow and stern. The stability was now attained by means of a See also:cigar-shaped piece of lead placed at the bottom of a steel See also:plate or fin, the See also:hull of the boat being nothing more than the bowl of a dessert See also:spoon resting upon the water. Fin and Bulb Keels. Downfall of Length and Sail Area Rule. --It was apparent in 1895 that if plate and bulb skimming-dishes could win all the prizes in the 2o-rating and smaller classes, it would be easy to design a modified form of fin and bulb yacht to beat " Isolde," " Britannia " and " Ailsa " in the larger classes. It was equally obvious that a skimmings dish of " Britannia's " or " Isolde's " rating would be an utterly useless See also:machine with no See also:cabin See also:accommodation or head See also:room, and that the See also:evolution of such type would he as See also:bad for the sport as the development of the old plank-on-edge had been in 1885. It seemed See also:strange that whilst the old tonnage rule had evolved the plank-on-edge ten years previously, the sail area measurement now evolved a plank-on-See also:side, balanced by a fin. The fact was that designers had solved the problem. The rule measured only the length and the area of canvas. Taking the length of the vessel on the water-line as See also:constant, then the vessel with the smallest possible weight could be driven with less sail at the same speed as vessels with greater weight and greater sail. This See also:solution of the problem was not apparent to designers from 188o to 1885, because of the difficulty of obtaining stability. From 188o to 1885 stability was obtained by means of very heavy keels. In 1895 the stability was obtained by means of a light piece of lead placed at the bottom of a deep steel fin. " Niagara," " Audrey" (2o-raters) and " Norman "(5-rater) were thus built. They were wonderful sailing See also:machines in heavy See also:weather,—fast, powerful, handy and efficient in all weathers.893 But if head room and cabin accommodation are considered essential parts of a yacht these fliers, as " yachts," were entirely inefficient. The First Linear Rating Rule.--To endeavour to check the tendency to build skimming-dishes the Yacht-Racing Association introduced in 1896 a new system of measurement which was proposed by Mr R. E. See also:Fronde. The novelty of the system consisted of a tax upon the skin girth of the yacht, whereby a vessel with hollow midship section was penalized by her girth being measured round the skin See also:surface. See also:Froude's first system of rating began on the 1st of See also:January 1896 and ended at the See also:close of the year 1900. It therefore had a career of five seasons. The measurement of the yacht was obtained by the following See also:formula: Length L.W.L.+beam+ skin girth +1 al sail area _linear rating. 2 This rule partially failed in its See also:object. It was hoped that the skin-surface measurement would prevent the fin-bulb type being successful, but Fronde and his colleagues had under-estimated the possible developments of exaggerated pram bows, immense scow-shaped shoulders and stern-lines, all of which could be introduced into the skimming-dish type with great success. So, notwithstanding the small See also:premium on displacement this rule contained, the dishes could still beat the full-bodied yachts. Yachts built in the small classes were very shallow bodied, and in the 2o-rating and 4o-rating, now called the 52 ft. and 65 ft. classes respectively, were uncomfortably shallow. The best vessels in the large classes were undoubtedly well formed and useful yachts; indeed in the larger classes the rule seems to have checked excesses. Under this rule in 1896 the See also:German See also:Emperor ordered a huge first-class cutter, the " See also:Meteor II.," from Watson. By sheer size and power this vessel outsailed " Britannia." She carried a main boom of 96 ft. long against the " Britannia's " boom of 91 ft. In 1900 Watson designed another great cutter called the " Distant See also:Shore," the same size as " Britannia," but she was not launched until 1901. In 1900 also Watson crowned all his previous successes by turning out the See also:yawl " Sybarita," the same size as " Meteor." " Senta Tutty," " Eelin " and " Astrild," and finally " Khama," were amongst the 65-footers, and " Penitent," " The See also:Saint," " See also:Morning See also:Star" and " Senga " about the best 52-footers. Probably the yacht which emphasized the possibilities of the rule more than any of her See also:con-temporaries was Captain Orr-Ewing's 36-footer " Sakuntala," built by Sibbick. She was a complete scow-shaped skimming-dish. The 3o-footers " Marjory " and " Flatfish " were similar craft, and they outsailed everything in their respective classes in the Solent. Although many fine vessels, including the schooner " See also:Rainbow " and others, were built under this rule, it was obviously insufficient to check the hollow-sectioned type. The Second Linear Rating Ride.—This rule, also suggested by Fronde, was introduced on the 1st of January 1901. The confidence of yachtsmen had been decidedly shaken by the previous rule, and the Y.R.A. agreed to See also:fix this rule for a period of seven years. The object of the rule was to ensure a big-bodied vessel. The formula was: Length + breadth ±'-,,girt11 + 4a-+l al sail area 2•I =linear rating. Now the novelty of this rule was the new tax d. This d represents the difference in feet between the measurement of the girth of the yacht's hull taken round the skin surface and the girth at the same place measured with a See also:string pulled taut. This measurement is taken i the of the distance from the fore end of the water-line. It is easy to see that in a full-bodied yacht d=a small unit, whilst in a hollow-bodied yacht d=a larger unit. Four times d being taken, it followed that hollow-bodied yachts were heavily penalized. This ingenious d measurement was evolved by See also:Alfred See also:Benton, a Danish scientist and yachtsman. The rule, so far as the development of a full-bodied cabin yacht went, proved very successful. It had certain marked faults: the measurement of the girth at a fixed station caused a shallowness of keel at that particular spot, and there was no check upon the full pram bows, which when introduced into vessels of heavy displacement strained the See also:ships terribly as they smashed into a heavy seaway. The new racing yachts generally, however, from 1896 onwards, proved worthy and fast vessels. As an instance of what could be done with them, in 1901 a memorable match was sailed on the Clyde between the Watson cutter " Kariad " (originally the Distant Shore," previously' mentioned) and the same designer's 90-foot yawl " Sybarita." It was blowing a See also:gale of See also:wind, and the yachts raced from See also:Rothesay round Ailsa See also:Craig and back, a distance of 75 m., averaging 12.3 knots, with closed reefed sails, housed topmasts and in a mountainous sea. Several steam yachts attempted to accompany them, but all put back owing to the roaring sea that was See also:running near the Craig. The yawl had the See also:advantage of being the larger vessel, and " Sybarita " on this occasion won one of the greatest races ever recorded in Scottish waters. Class Racing, Handicapping and Cruiser Racing.—Yacht racing may be subdivided under these three heads. 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. It is naturally, however, the most expensive form, because only the most up-to-date and perfectly equipped vessels can keep in the first See also:flight. From time to time, chiefly from about the years 1884 and 1885 onwards, handicaps framed according to merits have been See also:fashion-able amongst yachtsmen. They were originally devised to afford amusement and sport to out-classed racers and cruisers, but they obviously did nothing to encourage owners to build very fast vessels, nor to stimulate improvement in design. When a See also:handicap is allotted to each vessel according to her assumed speed, the slowest and most See also:ill-designed craft should have an equal See also:chance with the best. 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 See also: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. " Valdora " (107 tons), " Brynhild " (16o tons), " Leander," " Namara," " See also:Rosamond," " Merrymaid " and many others were yachts of the former type. In form they did not differ vastly from the racers of their period, but in See also:scantling of hull, fittings, bulwarks and rig they were more comfortable and better vessels than their class-racing sisters. It was obvious in the larger classes that many yacht-owners were not prepared to put up with the discomfort of the thin-skinned racers. During the whole period of the Girth Rules (1896 to 1906), while the class racers developed a See also:good enough form of body—they were latterly yachts with plenty of cabin room—they were necessarily built in the lightest possible manner, the lightest steel frames being covered with the thinnest planking and decks for the See also:sake of saving weight. The light scantling began to tell severely upon large yacht lacing. Meanwhile, in the small classes, the Solent one-design class, See also: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 yachts-men See also: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. It was obvious that had handicap racing and the one-design principle been seriously introduced in 188o or 1886 and obtained a strong hold on yachtsmen such improved types as the See also:modern cruisers of 1906 would never have been evolved. For all the best cruisers, even the " Valdora " and the ketches " Cariad I." and " Cariad II.," are but modified types evolved from the crack racers. Hence yachtsmen began to give careful attention—during the early period of the Second Linear Rating rule—to suggestions that in the future every class-racing yacht should be built according to a fixed table of scantlings, so that her hull should be as strong as a See also:bona fide cruiser. Yachts Built under the Second Linear Rating Rule.—Few large vessels were built expressly for racing under this rule; indeed the Fife 65-footer " Zinita " (1904) was the only light-scantling yacht of any importance. However, two very See also:hand-some first-class vessels were constructed to the rule: " White Heather I." by Fife in 1904, and "Nyria " by See also:Nicholson in 1906; they were some 12 ft. shorter than the great cutters of " Britannia's " year and altogether smaller, having less beam and draught and some 1700 sq. ft. less sail area. The growing dissatisfaction of yacht-owners at the extreme light scantling of modern racing yachts was strongly demonstrated by the fact that both " White Heather I." and " Nyria " were specially ordered to be of heavy scantling, and they were classed Al at See also:Lloyd's. They were therefore of the semi-cruiser type. " Nyria," however, was the extreme type of a yacht of her period in shape, although heavy in construction. The only conspicuous See also:fault to be found with the form of the racing yachts under the rule was a skimping of the mean draught and an exaggeration of the full pram-shaped overhanging bow. The 52-footers were a very popular class. Fife made a great advance in yacht See also:architecture with a 52-foot cutter called the " Magdalen " (1901). All the other successful vessels under the rule—" See also:Camellia " (Payne), " Lucida " and " Maymon " (Fife), " Moyana" and " Britomart " (Mylne), and the first-class cutter " Nyria "—followed her closely in type. An interesting trial took place in 1906, when the first-class cutter " Kariad " (1900) was brought out to compete with " Nyria " and " White Heather I.," and decidedly out-sailed,—showing that yacht architecture had steadily improved in the past six seasons. International Rules Introduced.—In See also:April 1904 Mr Heckstall Smith drew the attention of German, See also:French and British yachtsmen to the fact that the yacht measurement rules (then different in the various countries) were generally due to terminate about the end of 1907, and suggested that many advantages would accrue if an international rule could be agreed upon. The Yacht-Racing Association agreed to take the See also:matter up, and at two International Conferences, held in London in January and See also:June 1906, an international rule of yacht measurement and rating was unanimously agreed to by all the nations of See also:Europe. America alone refused to attend the See also:Conference. Mr R. E. Froude struck the keynote of the object of the Conference by a statement that the ideal yacht should be a vessel combining " habitability with speed." The truth of this See also:axiom was generally accepted. Old plank-on-edge types under the tonnage rules, were habitable but slow. Skimming-dishes 'attained the maximum speed, but were uninhabitable. Neither therefore attained the ideal type. A good form was attained in 1901 with " Magdalen," but since that year the bane of light construction had become harmful to yachting. Hence the conference aimed at a rule which would produce a yacht combining habitability with speed. They adopted a form of linear rating comprising certain penalties upon hollow See also:mid-ship section (i.e, Benzon's d tax) and also upon full pram bows. The following was adopted as the rule by which all racing yachts in Europe are rated: L+B+'xG+3d-{-a '/-F=Rating in linear See also:units, i.e. either ft. or 2 metres. Where L =Length in linear units. „ B = Extreme beam in linear units. „ G=Girth in linear units. d=Girth difference in linear units. „ S=Sail area in square units. „ F=See also:Freeboard in linear units. The length L for the formula is the length on the water-line, with the addition (I) of the difference between the girth, covering-board to covering-board, at the bow water-line ending, and twice the freeboard at that point, and (2) one-fifth of the difference between the girth, covering-board to covering-board, at the stern water-line ending, and twice the freeboard at that point. The additions (1) and (2) penalize the full overhangs and the bow overhang in particular. The girth, G, is the See also:chain girth measured at that part of the yacht at which the measurement is greatest, less twice the freeboard at the same station, but there are certain provisions allowing the measurement of girth generally to be taken 0.55 from the bow end of the water-line. The girth difference, d in the formula, is the difference between the chain girth, measured as above described, from covering-board to covering-board, and the skin girth between the same points, measured along the actual outline of the See also:cross-section. For racing the yachts are divided into eleven classes. Class A is for schooners and yawls only, above 23 metres (75.4 ft.) of rating, with a time allowance of four seconds per See also:metre per mile. All the yachts in this class must be classed Al. In racing, yawls sail at their actual rating and schooners at 12% less than their actual rating. The other classes are the ten See also:separate cutter classes, in which there is no time allowance whatever: International Corresponding Limit to Number of Persons allowed Classes approximating Classes in English on Board during to L.\V.1,. of Yacht. Feet. a Race. 23 metres rating. 75.4 No limit 19 . . 62.3 20 15 . . 49.2 14 12 „ „ 39.4 lo to 32.8 8 9 29.5 6 8 „ 26.2 5 7 „ . . 23.0 4 6 19'7 3 !_ 5 16.4 2 J Under the international rule the old trouble of ultra-light scantling in racing yachts has been completely abolished, for all yachts must be built under the survey and classed with one of the three See also:classification See also:societies—Lloyd's See also:Register of British and See also:Foreign See also:Shipping, Germatuscher Lloyd, or See also:Bureau Veritas; and yachts of the international cutter classes enumerated above so built will be classed R., denoting that their scantlings are as required for their respective rating classes. This rule was introduced on the 1st of January 1908; England, See also:Germany, See also:France, Norway, See also:Sweden, See also:Denmark, See also:Austria-See also:Hungary, See also:Belgium, Holland, See also:Italy, See also:Spain, See also:Finland, See also:Russia and the See also:Argentine See also:Republic agreed to adopt it until See also:December 31st, 1917. England adopted the new system a year before it formally became international, on the Ist of January 1907. Racing Yachts Built under the International Rules.—The new rule produced the type of yacht desired—a vessel combining habitability with speed. Amongst the handsomest examples were the German Emperor's schooner " Meteor " (1909), and the schooner " Germania” (1908), 400 tons or 312 metres measurement, Class A, both built by See also:Krupp's at See also:Kiel. German designed, German built, and German rigged and manned, they demonstrated the wonderful strides made by Germany in yachting. A few years before there were not a dozen See also:smart yachts in Germany, and indeed the Kaiserlicher Yacht Club at Kiel was only founded in 1887. The " Germania " holds the record over the old " Queen's course " at Cowes, having in 1908 sailed it a See also:quarter of an See also:hour faster than any other vessel. Her time over the distance of about 47 to 48 nautical m. was 3 See also:hours 35 See also:min. ii secs., or at the See also:rate of 13.1 knots. In 1910 Herreshoff built a wonderful racing schooner of A class for the international rules called the " Westward," and in the races this See also:Yankee clipper sailed at Cowes she proved the most weatherly schooner ever built. It is interesting to recall some old records of speed over courses inside the Isle of Wight. Date. Yacht. Distance. Time. Remarks. 1858 The Arrow 45 See also:miles 4 h. 19 m. Cutter Same 1 872 The Arrow 50 ,, 4 h. 4o m. Cutter vessel. 1 872 Kriemhilda 50 4 11. 37 M. Cutter. 1883 Marjorie , 50 „ 4 h. 26 m. Cutter. 1883 Samoena 50 „ 4 h. 15 M. Cutter. 1885 Lorna 5o „ 4 h. 14 M. Yawl. 1885 Irex 5o „ ,4 h. 7 M. Cutter. 1870 Egeria 5o „ 4 h. 27 M. Schooner. 1875 See also:Olga 5o „ 4 h. 25 M. Schooner. 1879 Enchantress 5o „ 4 h. 18 m. American schooner. 1908 See also:Cicely 46 „ 3 h. 43 M. British sell.
1902 Meteor 47 „ 3 h. 50 M. American sch.
1908 Shamrock 47 „ 4 h. o m. British cutter,
only 75 feet
L.W.L.
1908 Germania 47 ,, 3 h. 35 M. German sch.
In 1907, 1908, 1909 and 1910, 389 yachts were built under the international rules:—A class, 3; 23 metres class, 3; 15 metres class, 15; 12 metres, 21; to metres, 33; 9 metres, 17; 8 metres, 88; 7 metres, 46; 6 metres, 144.; and 5 metres, 22. The 23-metre cutters " Shamrock,” designed by Fife (1908), belonging to See also:Sir See also: See also:Burton; " Hispania,” 15 metres (Fife; 1909), owned by the king of Spain; " Alachie and See also:Cintra " (Fife) in the 1 2-metre class, have been amongst the best yachts built for the international rules, During the seasons of 1908, 1909 and 1910 there was splendid sport in England, Germany, France, Belgium, Norway and Sweden, and indeed all over the See also:continent; the yachts were very closely matched, the 15-,metres (49.2 ft.), 8-metres (26.2 ft.) and 6-metres (19.7 ft.) proving perhaps the most popular. The national authorities of the countries which adopted the inter-national rules in 1906 have now formed an International Yacht-Racing See also:Union, under the chairmanship of the British Yacht-Racing Association. YACHT-BUILDING See also:STATISTICS. The number and tonnage of yachts shown on Lloyd's Register (1909) as built in the several countries are as follows: COUNTRIES. UNITED BRITISH BELGIUM DENMARK. FRANCE. GERMANY ITALY. NORWAY OTHER TOTAL. KINGDOM. COLONIES. and and and COUNTRIES. HOLLAND. AUSTRIA. SWEDEN. No. Tons. No. Tons. No.11ITons. No. ficns. No. Tons. No. Tons. No. Tons. No. Tons. No. Tons. No. Tons. 15,498 1427 I(I STEAM AND MOTOR YACHTS:— Total 1,443 19o,16o 1373,775 761 2,454 27 182 1 6,745 86 6,6oz 20 371,648 286 66,107 2,2941. 283,418 SAILING YACHTS:— Total . 3,151 1 57,510 271 3,231 129 2,643 Io6 1,911 347 4,062 647 6,884 49 571 3o5 3,899 269 13,298 5,274 94,004 See also:Grand Total . 4,594 247,670 408 7.006 ~ 205 5,097'133 7,4091529 10,807 733 13,488 69 998 342 5,547 1555 79,405 7,568 111 .377,427. American yachts of 75 See also:gross registered tons and upwards are included under " Other Countries "; the number of these yachts built in America is 238 of 67,119 tons. In 1909, in the United Kingdom, from January to May, the time of the year when yachts are generally constructed, there were building, or built, 27 steam yachts of 3471 tons, and 28 sailing yachts of 963 tons; this includes only yachts of to tons and upwards. Excluding the small craft built in America, particulars of which are difficult to obtain, there were on the register 7568 yachts with a tonnage of 377,427. In 1887 there was a total of about 3000 yachts on the register with a tonnage of 132,718. Since that date, therefore, in round figures, 1500 had been added to the number and more than too,000 tons to the tonnage. This fact seems to show clearly the See also:extension of the pastime of yachting. The America's Cup. This international trophy was originally a cup given by the Royal Yacht Squadron at Cowes, Isle of Wight, on the 22nd of August 1851, for a race open to all yachts, with no time allowance of any kind, the course being " round the Isle of Wight, inside the No Man's See also:buoy and See also:Sand Head buoy and outside the Nab.” Fifteen vessels took up their stations off Cowes and started from moorings. In the table on the following See also:page are the names of the competitors. The fleet started at io o'See also:clock. At the No Man's buoy the yachts were in a. cluster, " Volante " leading, then " Freak " " Aurora,” " Gipsy Queen,” " America,” " See also:Beatrice,” " Alarm,” " Arrow " and Bacchante " in the order named. The other six brought up the See also:rear, and the " See also:Wyvern returned to Cowes. Passing out to the Yacht. Rig. Tons. Owner. Beatrice Schooner 161 Sir W. P. See also:Carew. Volante Cutter 48 Mr J. L. See also:Craigie. Arrow Cutter 8i Mr T. See also:Chamberlayne. Wyvern Schooner 205 The duke of See also:Marlborough. Ione . Schooner 75 Mr A. See also: Brilliant 3-masted 392 Mr G. H. Ackers.
schooner
Bacchante . Cutter 8o Mr B. H. See also: Aurora Cutter 84 Mr T. Le Marchant. eastward the " America " went inside the Nab, a course which was contrary to the printed See also:programme, but an objection afterwards made on this See also:score against her was not persisted in. Off See also:Sandown See also:Bay the " America " obtained a long lead and in a freshening wind carried away her jibboom. Here the " Aurora " was second boat. The " Volante " sprung her bowsprit and gave up. The " Arrow " ran ashore and the " Alarm " went to her assistance, so both were out of the race. Abreast of See also:Ventnor the American schooner was a mile ahead of " Aurora," which was the last British craft to keep her in sight in a thick haze that blew up from the S.W. See also:late in the afternoon. At the Needles the wind dropped until it was very light, and the " America " was then some 6 m. ahead of " Aurora," the time being about 6 p.m. The finish was: America (winner) . . 8.37 p.m. Aug. 22. Aurora . . 8.58 p.m. Aug. 22. Bacchante . 9.30 p.m. Aug. 22. Eclipse • 9.45 P.m. Aug. 22. Brilliant . 1.20 a.m. Aug. 23.
The " America " was built at New York by the See also:firm of George & James R. Steers for the See also:special purpose of competing with British yachts at Cowes. George Steers, who was See also:born in New York, designed her, the designer being a son of See also: See also:Finlay. Her See also:crew consisted of thirteen all told, seven See also:seamen before the mast, two mates, See also:cook, steward, boy and See also:master. The cost of building was set down at X24 per ton, and her builder was to receive one-third more should she succeed " in out-sailing any competitors of the same tonnage in England." The vessel had a long lean hollow entrance and rather short but fine run, but her lines were graceful and clean and the transverse sections amidships very See also:gentle and shapely. She had a clipper bow and elliptical stern. Her sails particularly were See also:superior in cut to those of the English vessels. Her roasts raked, and she carried a mainsail laced to the boom, which in those days was almost unknown in England, a foresail, and a jib, also set on a boom and on an immensely heavy forestay which was the See also:chief support of the foremast. She carried a small main topsail with a short yard and small jackyard. Occasionally she set also a flying jib on a jibboom, but this was not regarded as of much account. The See also:principal dimensions of the " America " were: tonnage 171; length over all 94 ft.; on the keel 82 ft.; beam 22 ft. 6 in.; foremast 79 ft. 6 in.; mainmast 81 ft. (with a See also:rake of 28 in. to the foot in each mast); hollow bowsprit 17 ft. out board only; foregaff 24 ft.; maingaff 28 ft.; mainboom 56 ft. She was ballasted with See also:pig-iron; 21 tons of the iron were permanently built into the vessel and the See also:rest stowed inside. Below deck she was comfortably fitted for the living accommodation of the owner, guests and crew, and a See also:cockpit on deck was a feature that few English yachts of the period possessed. The cup won at Cowes by the " America," although not originally intended as a challenge cup, was afterwards given to the New York Yacht Club by the owner of the " America ' as a challenge trophy and named the " America's cup." In 1887 the See also:sole surviving owner of the cup, George L. S. See also:Schuyler, attached to the trophy a deed of gift which sets forth the conditions under which all races for the cup must take place. In brief the conditions are: (I) That the races must be between one yacht built in the See also:country of the challenging club and one yacht built in the country of the club holding the cup. (2) That the size of the yachts, if of one mast, must be not less than 65 ft. L.W.L. and not more than 90 ft. L.W.L. If of two-masted rig not less than 8o ft. L.W.L. and not more than 115 ft. L.W.L. (3) The challenging club must give ten months' See also:notice of the race, and accompanying the challenge must be sent the name, rig and the following dimensions: length L.W.L.; beam and draught of water of the challenging vessel (which dimensions shall not be exceeded), and as soon as possible a custom-See also:house registry of the vessel. (4) The vessel must proceed under sail on her own bottom to the place where the contest is to take place. The deed of gift, however, is an elastic document, for it contains the following clause which is known as the Mutual Agreement Clause: " The club challenging for the cup and the club holding the same may by mutual consent make any arrangement satisfactory to both as to the dates, courses, number of trials, rules and sailing regulations, and any and all other conditions of the match, in which case also the ten months' notice may be waived." In 187o Mr James Ashbury of Brighton challenged with the schooner " Cambria," and in 1871 with another schooner the " Livonia." In both cases the event was a test of rival types, " Cambria " and " Livonia " being old-fashioned British schooners while the vessels they met were the pick of the American broader and shallower types. " Cambria " had to meet fourteen opponents, but in 1871 the " Livonia " raced against one opponent only. The Americans, however, although they agreed to race one vessel only against the " Livonia," brought several yachts up to the line and only selected their defender at the last moment. The first defender which " Livonia " had to meet was the " See also:Columbia," which won the first and second events. In the third See also:meeting, however, in a very strong wind the British schooner hammered the " Columbia " severely, and eventually the American yacht, having carried away some See also:gear, was beaten by quarter of an hour. In the two remaining races of the See also:series the Americans were represented by the " See also:Sappho," which easily defeated the " Livonia." The next challenges came from See also:Canada in 1876 and 1881, but neither the schooner " Countess of Dufferin " nor the sloop " See also:Atalanta " met with any success. The races of 1885 and 1886, when Sir See also:Richard See also:Sutton challenged with " Genesta " and See also:Lieutenant Henn, R.N., with " Galatea," were interesting chiefly because they were of the nature of trials between the heavy plank-on-edge type of cutter and the prevailing American type of broad light-draught sloop. The contests proved the superiority of the American sloops. In 1886 the plank-on-edge type was abandoned in England, and when the Scottish yacht " Thistle " was built in 1887 to challenge for the cup it was hoped that she would meet with success. " Thistle," however, although of greater beam and proportionately lighter displacement than such vessels as " Genesta " and " Galatea," was quite easily defeated by the centre-board sloop " Volunteer." Thus once again did the lighter American type prevail even against the modified form of the " Thistle." The race between the " Thistle " and " Volunteer " of 1887 may be said to have been the last race for the cup wherein there was any marked difference between the type of the boats contesting. In all subsequent races the form of the challenger and defender became approximately similar, but while the types were gradually converging the American yachts were still usually somewhat lighter in displacement than the challengers. The " Thistle " was the first vessel built in Great Britain expressly for the match, and after her race in 1887 the types in fashion on both sides of the Atlantic rapidly converged, and deep-draught fin-keeled vessels with deep fins and light shallow hulls took the place of the former types of the shallow American sloops and deep-keeled wall-sided British cutters. In 1892 some splendid semi-fin-keeled cutters of the new See also:pattern were built in the 4o-rating class for the See also:ordinary English coast regattas, and in 1893 the fin-keel type in England was even more successful. The first class cutters " Britannia," " Valkyrie II.," " Satanita and " Calluna," built in 1893, handsomely defeated a I-lerreshoff yacht, the " Navahoe," which went over from America to race against them. On the strength of the victories of " Valkyrie II." and " Britannia " many British yachtsmen anticipated success for Lord Dunraven when he raced for the America's cup with his cutter " Valkyrie II." in the autumn of 1893. The Americans, however, had built a fine fleet of defenders, " Colonia," " See also:Pilgrim," " See also:Jubilee " and " Vigilant," and the latter beat " Valkyrie II." In the following season the " Vigilant " crossed the Atlantic and raced in British waters in 1894 against the " Britannia," and was frequently beaten. G. L. Watson, who had designed " Thistle " and ` Valkyrie II." as well as " Britannia," was commissioned by Lord Dunraven to design " Valkyrie III." specially for an " America's cup " race in 1895. " Valkyrie III." was a very extreme fin-keeled boat, and for the first time the challenger appeared to have outbuilt the defending designer. " Valkyrie III." carried 13,027 sq. ft. of sail to the American " Defender's " 12,602. It was said that the Watson boat actually had less displacement. Both were 90 ft. L.W.L., " Valkyrie III." being 129 ft. over all against " Defender's " 123, and " Valkyrie III." 26.2 ft. beam against " Defender's " 23.03 ft. The races were unsatisfactory. In the first race Lord Dunraven claimed that " Valkyrie III." was hampered by the See also:wash of steamers following the race, and his yacht was 8 m. 49 sec. astern. In the second race " Valkyrie " beat " Defender " by 49 seconds on the corrected time and actually by I m. 14 sec., but there was a foul at the start in which " Defender " was partially disabled. On protest the English yacht was disqualified, so that both events counted to " Defender." In the third race Lord Dunraven objected that ballast had been added to the American yacht since measurement, and the " Valkyrie III." merely crossed the line and retired, giving the " Defender " the match. In 1899, 1901 and 1903 Sir Thomas Lipton tried to win the cup with three very costly and extreme vessels, " Shamrock I.," " Shamrock II." and " Shamrock III." No. I. and No. III. were designed by W. Fife, and No. II. by G. L. Watson. In 1899 " Shamrock I." was rather easily defeated by " Columbia." In 1901 the Americans were not especially successful in building the vessel which they had prepared to defend the cup, and in the trial races the old 1899 yacht " Columbia," sailed by Captain Charles See also:Barr—a half-See also:brother of the skipper of the Scottish yacht " Thistle" —defeated the new vessel " Constitution," which had been built for the See also:defence of the trophy for 1901 ; consequently the New York Yacht Club again selected the " Columbia " to defend the cup against " Shamrock II." After very close racing the " Columbia " —which was the better handled boat—retained the prize. 897 The next contest for the cup was in 1903. On this occasion Herreshoff turned out in " Reliance " a wonderful example of a large fin-keeled boat with full pram-bow and light skimming-dish hull. She was of the lightest possible construction (See also:bronze with steel See also:web frames), 90 ft. length L.W.L., 144 ft. length over all, with 16,16o sq. ft. of sail area, 25 ft. to in. beam, and a draught of 19 ft. g in. " Reliance " was a far more extreme vessel than " Shamrock III." The latter had a deeper body and a less prammed overhang forward. With the same water-line as " Reliance," the English yacht had rather over a foot less beam. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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