New-York tribune., 1866-12-31
TILE OCEAN TACHT RACE.

written in the history of ships. Maritime dis
covery seems to have preceded or at least
attended, all great eras. But the anclents were
afraid of the sea, and even when Greece was
in her prime the Mediterranean was more
frequently coasted than crossed. Jason, when
he brought the Golden Fleece from COlchis,
was thought an especial fayOrite of Neptune,
and the cOaSting trade of Carthage was justly
held marvel of enterprise. In the dark ages
which followed the fall of Rome, there was
little enterprise on the ocean, excepting that OF
the NOrtlmen who discovered Iceland, Green
land and even in 1901, as some claim, the Con-
tinent of America. In the fifteenth cen
tIlry the sea, that before had been the
dvider Of natons-the OccdnaS disSocidbHis
became the buoyant bridge that brought
the uttermost ends of the earth into
communication. The voyages of Columbus
rcvoutionizcd the Old world by giving 1t
the New for rival, and there is no historian
who has dared to speculate upon what would
be the condition of Europe had America re-
mained till this day undiscovered. Portugal
then took the lead. and NaScO di Cana doubled
the Cape of Good Hope in vessel of which
Mr.. Marctzek's opcrtc craft was not entirely
a carcature. Then Balboa bchcld from the
peaks of Darien the unknown Pacific,
with its invisible islands a sea dcs-
tined to be the pathway of nations. The
Armada, the Venetian Gad British naval Su-
prcmacics, the circumnavigation of the globe
by Cooke, are among those triumphs over the
ocean to which we need not further refer, but
which have brought us gradually by a gentle
descent from the year 23l9 B. c., when Noah
sailed about in his ark, to this memorable year
when three little American yachts have crossed
the Atlantic and astonishcd and delighted two
continents. I'm writing of such an event de-
cent regard for its dignity demands a httle
historical pieluding.
American shp-buildcrs and sailors, and. in
deed those who have never stood on deck,
and don't know much about tattrail. or n
iibboom, To whom "avaSt there" and SOU
SOU west three pimts on her lee" are cabal-
istc expressions will all rejoice in this victory
4 victory il j.. not merely of the Henrietta
over the Fleetwing and Ncsta, hut of stanch
ships over wind and sea, of enterprise over
prejudice, of American yachtSmen over
those Of Europe. We have once
again done the thing that nobody else dared
TO do and have right to throw mp our hats
in a modest way and cheer for the Stars and
Stripes. Here are three little yachts of 200
fms burden. never before more than 200 or
800 miles from land which start out in mid
winter on race of thousands of miles
They make steamer time across the
Atlantic. The western wind, as if anxious
for the honor of America, swclled
their sails from Sandy Hook TO the Needles
and the Henrietta, weighing her anchor at
o'clock D. m. December II, let it 90 again off
Cowcs at j:45 p. In on Christmas winning the
race in the unrivalcd time of 13 days and %
hours. This astonishing speed Of a sailing YES
sci may be measured by the fact that the
voyage was actually one day and half less
than that of the last but one Cunad steamer.
More than this, the Henrietta, had she not
been Obliged to heavc To for twelve hours IN
heavy storm, would have so badly beaten the
Java that, if steamers could blush, she would
henceforth be bright crimson color. The Fleet
wing and the Vesta did almost as well, the one
being but eight houTs and quarter, and the
other but nine hours and three-quaTters, behind
the successful yacht In race Of three thou
sand miles neither of the losing yachts
can be said to have been distanced if
the Henrietta has most of the glory, her
rivals have no discredit, and all well deserve
the smiles of Royalty and the applause of the
Republic. 1t is too early, before we know the
details of the race, to speculate upon the causes
of the defeat of the Fleetwing and the Vesta,
but we think it probable that the Henrietta
won the race on the day when she ran $50
miles. When the yachts disappeared off
Sandy Hook they were close together and the
Vesta had slight advantage in the lead The
Vesta apparently erred in choosing too south
erly q course the Fleetwing one too north
erly. The Henrietta, keeping the regular
steamer track, owed something of her success
to that. OF the respective merits OF the yachts
we need not speak, except to say that the
owner of the Henrietta, in announcing that he
is ready to accept challenge from any Euro
pean yacht, Is justified by her winning IN this
unprecedented time.
The general rejoicings are saddencd by the
loss of four men from the Fleetwing, an event
common enough at sea, but made more impress
sive by contrast with the brilliancy of the race
We have no doubt that the New-York Yacht
Club viii provide for the families of these men,
and we may suppose that the winner OF the match
and the enormous stakes, needs no suggestion IN
the premises. With the exception OF this loss
nothing mars the pleasure of the race. The
triumph of the America over the English
yachts was not more flattering to our yachts
men than this and yet we must not over
estimate its Importance. The Henrietta il
about 9s feet in length of keel, but Columbus
! discovered America in four masted vessel OF