The Sun.
London, England, 1864-09-09 00:00:00

AQUATICS.

THE THOUGHT AND THE TORPID.
The sailing match between these two cutters over the
regatta course of the Royal Victoria Yacht Club inside the
Isle of Wight was brought to a conclusion on Wednesday by
the Torpid winning two days' races in succession. The

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wind was from the same quarter—W. by S.—as on the pre-

ceding day, but less violent, although still a good full
sailing breeze for a first-class sized yacht. Two tons of
ballast, which had been taken from her previously to her
sailing on the previous day, were again returned to her be-
fore starting onWednesday, and this, together with(we must
say it, although unwillingly) the superior manner in which
she was handled as compared with her management of the

previous day, greatly improved her rate of going both in
running befora the wind and in turning to windward. Ac-
cording to the original programme agreed upon by the
owners of the two yachts, the course for the second day was
to have been round the Isle of Wight, bat owing to the

boisterous state of the weather, this was altered to a second
course—round the Victoria Club course.
At 10 49 the preparatory gun was fired, and the starting
gun five minutes afterwards, when both were got off very
smartly, the Thought a trifle to windward, but the Torpid
leading, each with a reef down in their mainsails. The
Thought's sails were beautifully set, and the little vessel
looked fit to race for a man's life. The Torpid's greater area
of canvass, however, and the position of the wind—the latter
enabling the vessels to lay their course to the buoy of the
middle without a tack, was all in the Torpid's favour, and
she soon gave evidence of fore• leaching her antagonist, but

the distance was too short to give any great difference. In
nearing the buoy the Thought sent up her topmast, and was
followed by the Torpid. The buoy was tacked round by the
Torpid at llh 33m 20s, and by the Thought at llh 34m
108. Jib-headed topsails and balloon forsails were now set,
as sheets were eased off in the run up before the wind on
the back of the tide to the eastward. The Thought's top-
sail was set very badly from some course,but off Ryde a hand
was sent aloft, and improved matters. In passing the No-
man buoy the Thought was 78 seconds astern, and had
therefore lost 28 seconds in her run down from the buoy of
the middle, no great loss in a contest with a vessel that was
evidently greatly superior in power, and sailing under cir-
cumstances the most favourable to her. The wind came
fresh out of Brading Harbour, and both craft. dowsed their
topsails and sent down topmasts, preparatory to tacking
round the Nab, which was tacked round as follows :
Torpid .. 12h. 42re. ss.
Thought .. .. 12 42 Ms.

The Thought thus gained on her rival in the distance
between the Nom an and the Nab what she had lost between
the Noman and the buoy of the middle. The little craft
certainly stood up under her sails in tho freshened breeze
out of Brading harbour better than the Torpid, and went
along gloriously. From the Nab back to the Noman, close
hauled, the Thought continued her overhaul on her rival,
decreasing her time behind to only 37 seconds. The Thought
continued her work handsomely, when the Aid steam tug,
from Southampton, with a party on board, was placed by
her master on the Thought's weather bow, hung there for
some time in seeming ignorance of the mischief he was
doing, and threw the Thought back considerably in the race,
doubling nearly her distance astern of the Torpid. Under
the Ryde Sand both vessels made several tacks in shore.
The Torpid stood in further than the Thought, but the
latter stood far enougn apparently to fetch the buoy of the
middle, and then with sound judgment she was laid fairly
for it with the tide under her lee. In opening Cowes Roads
the wind headed them and gave the Torpid an advantage
from her weather position, the buoy being tacked round
only 65 seconds apart, as follows :
2h. 2m. Os.
Torpid
Thought 2 2 65
Topsails and balloon foresails were now again set for the
run eastward to the Nab, the Thought this time sending up
her square-headed topsail. Running past Ryde the Thought
had decreased her distance astern to 33 seconds. In running
over the sand inside the buoy the Thought boomed out her
foresail, but made a mess of it, and had to bring it back to
the stay. She was drawing fast on the Torpid, and the
latter on closing the Noman boomed out her foresail. In
passing theNoman the Thought was only 22 seconds behind,
having gained 11 seconds from Ryde Roads, and in complet-
ing her run to the Nab she gaided still further, for she tacked
round only 10 seconds astern, and shot round clear on the
Torpid's weather. In tacking round the light ship, however,
she unfortunately carried away her jibtack, and the jib had
to be got in and the damage repaired. She was winning the
' race at the time hand-over-hand, was standing up like a
church under her canvas compared with her opponent, and
looked a winner all over. In standing up close hauled for
the Noman the Thought's topmast was sent up, and her
jib-headed topsail set, but the accidental carrying away of
her jibtack had reduced the chance of her winning the race
to a minimum point. The Torpid had as much as she could
manage without a topsail, but the old Thought carried hers
gloriously. At 4h 3m 20s both vessels tacked under the
eat end of Stokes Bay, and stood in for Rydo Roads, the
ought to windward, but necessarily astern, and her top-
sail shaking fearfully,aud now doing more harm than good.
Ryde Roads was fetched, and the goal reached, the Torpid
winning by 45 seconds only, and the Thought evidently
losing the race solely owing to the conduct of the master of
the Aid steamtug in getting on the Thought's weather bow
at a most critical point in the race, aid the unfortunate
accident to the Thought's jibtack at the Neb. The designer
of the Torpid, Mr M'Cormack, of the firm of Mcssrs.Sum-
mers and Day, of Southampton—stay well congratulate
himself on being the builder of a cutter that should beat
such a famous vesel as the Thought, although the victory
was won, in sporting parlance, by a duke.
Mr Seldon, as the owner of the Torpid, and winner, takes
both vessels and £2OO stakes.'
Thus ended a cutter race which, in its second day's sport,
for the closeness with which it was contested, and its ac-
companying interest, is unparalleled in the annals of yacht-
ing. The result may be briefly summed up thus :—ln 15
years the progress in the tate of improvement in yacht
building is exactly three seconds per year over a course of
about 65 miles, making allowance for the distance gone
over in turning to windward.