Arizona weekly enterprise., 1882-07-01
Ice.Yachting on the Hudson.

This exciting sport is described and illustrated in Scri67aer, from which we quote:
 "You go on down the river now with a good wind on the beam. The playful breeze fresheps in flaws, as if trying to escape you; but still you follow its way ward motions. You start when 1t starts, fit over the ice with its own speed, turn and glide with the lightness and the grace of its own whirling dance. The ice-yachts darting about look like white winged swallows skimming over the ice. As they cross and recross your course, you hope that every Captain knows his business and will avoid collisions. The ioe-yachts have anticipated your wish, and flown away to various points of the horizon while yorrss thought drew its slow length along. The ice seems to be running under you with great speed, and you sometimes feel that you might easily drop off the opeu, spider-like frame of the yacht. By such rapid mo- tion, the bubbles, crystals and lines cf the ice are all woven into silky web of prismatic hres. You distinguish only the cracks that run with the course, and, when they deviate from it, they seem to jump from side to side without connect ing angles or curves. The munds and the windrows seem to come up at you suddenly, and dodge past. You begin to hold on to the hand-rail, and le close down in the box. If you are steering, you feel that your hand is the hand of fate; and the keen excitement nerves you to extraordinary alertness. The breeze sings in the rigging; the runners hum on the ice with crunch ing sound, and slight ringing and cracking; and little spurt of crushed ice flies up behind each runner and flashes like spray of gems. The yacht seems moro and moro thing of the air her motions are so fitful, wayward and sudden. The speed with which you approach distant scene makes it grow distinct while you wink with wonder. Things grow larger, as if under the l. !usions of magic; you feel the perspest i've almost as 8 sensation. You turn toward brown patch of woods; 1t quickly assumes the form of headlands i; these are pushed apart, and gorge ap- pears between them while you stare, stream starts down the rocks, behind the trees; mill suddenly grows up the rocks are now all coated with ice !; statues of winters sculpture are modelled before your eyes, and decked with fash ing crystals just as you turn away to some other point of the horizon. So you seem to be continually arriving at distant places.
 "A regatta is to be sailed over this course, and you arrive in time to see the start. The yachts all stand in TOW, head to the wind. At the word, the first n the line swings stern around till her sails fill she moves off at once, and the crew jump aboard-one man standing or wing on the windward runner plank and holding on to the shrouds, and the helmsman and another man lying in the box. Then the other yachts successively swing around and, in moment, the whole fleet is under way, gliding in zig gag courses among the windrows and mounds. They all diminish in apparent size with astonishing rapidity they seem actually to contract in 8 moment to Q nere white speck, skimming about tho river miles away. You join tho crowd of men and boys stamping and slapring to keep warm you exchange few words with Q friend, and, when you turn around again. behcld the yachtE sweep ing down upon you They grow as they come, flying at you with wayward, CT ratio course, and you feel the wonder of embodied speed. The ten-mile race of the ice-yachts is lost and won in as many minutes. But for those who sailed it these minutes were filled with more ex- citement than is found in many long lifetime"