The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1867-01-22
The Americas Yachts and American Steam

ships.
Besides the advantages which will accrue to
this country from the great ocean yacht race
in the promotion Of yachting and in the estab-
lishment Of a more genial feeling between the
there is another special benefit which certainly
deserves consideration. We have seen from
the various reports of the race that great
credit is due to Captain Samuels, who sailed
the Henrietta, for her splendid victory, and
also to Captain Thomas. OF the Fleetwing, for
the gallant manner in which he handled his
little vessel, after losing nearly half his crew
overheard during the gale which the first and
second yachts were called upon to face. All
accounts agree that the Henrietta was magnm-
Gently handled by Captain Samuels and his
assistants. 1t seems that not . sail, rope nor
spar was carried away, and yet the vessel was
kept at the top Of her speed for the whole dis
lance. A careful study Of the log will also
show that the course Of the Henrietta was
perfect She was never allowed to diverge
from the shortest line between here and the
Needles, and only fell off her course eleven
miles in the whole voyage Of over three
thousand. The London Times also points out
the fact that the landfall of Captain Samuels
was extraordinary; by which is meant that he
hit the Scilly lights, for which he was steering,
as accurately as a fine marksman hits the bulls
eye Captain Thomas did not exhibit such
remarkable proficiency in navigation; but
when The Fleetwing was in distress and lament
ably short-handed, he proved himself most
practical and competent seaman and brought
his yacht in second, after an excellent passage.
To Captain Samuels, all must admit, belongs
no small share Of the victor's laurels.
Now, to able navigators and seamen like
these we must entrust our steamships, if we
eyer hope to sustain American lines across
the Atlantic in competition with the French
and English lines which now rule the waves
between them. A good captain makes good
ship and soon builds up the confidence of the
public in the line with which be is connected.
How often have we known travellers to wait
weeks in order to sail in particular boat be-
cause reliable captain commanded her ?
Captain Samuels is one of those seamen of
whom the country may well be proud. He
did not enter the cabin through the windows;
but he began before the mast and earned his
promotion fairly by hard work and careful
study. In the celebrated clipper Dreadnought
he made the fastest passages across the At
lantio ever recorded by sailing vessel, and
he repeated his quick trips SO often that they
cannot be ascribed to chance. Frequently he
beat the regular steamers, and the newspapers
issued extras upon the Dreadnought's arrival.
After these triumphs he gave the country the
direct advantage of his experience and his
administrative abilities by serving in Quarter
master General Van vliet's department during
the late war, and exposing the corruption
which for time prevailed among the subor-
dinates, in which good work he was heartily
aided by the General At the bombardment
Of Fort Fisher Captain Samuels commanded
General Terry's headquarters steamer, and
was so anxious to take part in the action that
he had to be positively ordered TO desist.
When the war was over he took charge of the
steamer Fulton, of the Havre line, and has
rapidly increased her popularity. Now he has
commanded the winning vessel in the first
great ocean yacht race, and has again demon
strated that he knows the shortest road across
the ocean and has learned how to combine
the utmost speed with the utmost safety of
transit Give us few more such captains and
American steamship lines will soon spring up
and be the most popular in the world.