Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-07-12
SAILING IN A SQUALL.
THE FRANCES ELIZABETH WINS
THE PILOT BOAT RACE.

Sailing in a squall was the order Of the
dav al Tvbee yesterday, and the nFe
hundred people who gathered on the
island 10 watch the race tried in vain to
naer through the binding sheets Of rain,
d-i,.ar, before a breeze which needed but
li+rle stiffeuing 10 develop it into first
class gale. The day dawned somewhat
inauspiciOusly. but the hopeful members
Of the community trusted TO see the
clouds clear away and the threatening
rain blow over. Many Of a less sangulne
turn of mind. however. shook their heads
omin0uslv. and remained al home,
a fact which, QuestiOnless- greatly
diminished the proportions Of the
throug Of spectators whom anticipation
mad pictured as watching the race. Inc
crews Of the respective pilot OOats anu
the gentlemen Of the savannah acht
Club. under whose especial auspices the
race was sailed were on hand promptly
n ~ o'clock. and the final settlement Of
tbf. preliminary details was cOnsummated
without unnecessary delay. 1t was deem
ld advisable at the last moment TO
make "a few changes IN the
published programme, but the
notifications were 80 slight as 10 make
no perceptible alteration in the arrange
ments for the race. As nnallN CHOSEN
tbt. course required the boats partclpa-
ti,ls, I'm fbe race 10 pass. in starting, be-
tween the bell buoy and the beach, the
bell buoy being anchored not many !afus
I 10 the east Of the wharf. The leaving %
. the southwark Of the Horn buoy oOth 90
I ing and coming. was also required. Inc
[ course i'm rounding the hghtshlp
7 was left optional with the respective
I boats. The distance from the starting
uOjut 10 the iiEhtship is 1jZ miles, max
( ing a total course Of 81 miles.
Pool sellers and book makers We're
extremely busy just previous 70
however. represented much money. In
the selling the Frances Elizabeth. OF
Charleston. was the fay0rite by long odds
the Peerless" a Beaufort boat, being
pretty fair second, however. Despite
the fact that the ">pTIte,' OF the
savannah fleet. sold as third choice,
+ IL was early developed that the saucy llttle
sailer was not al all in want OF conndent
hackers Not a few old habitues OF the pool
boxes who had a weather eye out for
storm. winked knowingly as they bought
in the -- Wilder for a song. or placed
an insignificant amount on the Mary
Odell." once or twice when bidders We're
scarce the field was bought in, with a
laugh. for a trade dollar.
shortly after 1 o'clock the sailing COM
mittee. Nessrs. VI. Y. Henderson. Robert
E. Habersham and Herbert W. Palmer
announced everything IN readiness for the
first whistle. the signal for preparation.
4 few minutes later. Messrs. }. W. Meal
Din. II. y. Palmer and +. {. Wylly, the
time Keepers. took out their watches ana
the boats dashed OF on their cruise.
When the start was made it developed
that several Of the boats which had been
announced 10 sail. mad Deen
scratched. OF for one reason or another
failed To put in an appearance on time.
Under this heading came the peerless,
-. W. sheppard Of Beaufort. and the
kate" Of the same place. The starters
therefore. were confined 10 the following:
Frances Elizabeth Of Charleston,
Captain George swan.
'.Sprite.'' OF savannah, Captain Z. y.
Narmelstein.
John r. Wilder Of Savannah, Cap
tain Thomas VI. Fleetwood.
MARY Odell." OF Savannah. Captain W.
J. Thompson.
Frances and louisa" Captain :. y.
Under the stipulation that one member
If the savannah Yacht Club should sail
on each pilot boat, yachtsmen were dis
triDuted as follows: on the ''Sprite,' /.
:. Wayne; on the Frances Elizabeth,
VI. Y. Henderson; on the Wilder Her
bert Palmer: on the Frances and
Louisa X. VI. Demere; on the MARY
Odell'' ". II. Coburn.
A. the boats sped for the line their sails
were filled by a fresh. but not strong
. breeze from the y. y. r. The Frances
Elizabeth" was first off on her voyage,
making the crossing Of the line at l
+ o'clock % minutes and "A seconds. Three
; seconds later the -.Sprite's" time was
taken. Considerable interest attached
20 the starting Of the two favor
ties on account Of its close
ness, and they made very
pretty preliminary squirt for the lead.
The Charleston boat proved herself the
+ faster of the two, however, and rapidly
e forged 10 the front and opened gap be-
tween herself and her rival which Widened
as the race progressed, and ended
i'm the favOrite never being
headed. The third boat TO start was the
Z Frances and Louisa at 1:5l:l3, the
fourth the j r. Wilder at 1924, and
the fifth the MARY Odell' at :Jl::OJ.
I The racers We're followed by the steam
tug Republic and a heterogeneous col
lection Of pilot boats and other small
/ crafts As the boats dashed out TO sea
T their relative positions were comparative
+ Is unchanged. and there was just sutf-
cient flood of sunshine to enhance the
beauties Of the spectacle. As the breeze
continued 10 stitien. squall TO WindWard
made its approach apparent, and burst
upon the squadron just as II was
/ passing the whistling buoy. While
I the wind was not sufficiently strong
/ to necessitate the lowering of
/ any canvas by any of the boats,
/ the otherwise pleasant situation was made
almost unbearable by a fusilade of
I sweeping sheets of rain and hail stones.
As many Of the crews as could hur-
I ried below deck. and every preparation
possible was made for weatherlng the
storm. The sea was famed into white
caps, but the boats, although rolling
/ somewhat, rode the waves admirably
I and plunged onward without
| apparent l1ss Of speed.
( ON the tug and in the holds Of some Of
the pilot boats some sorry scenes were en-
acted. not a few Of those participating in
the sail being uninitiated in the peculiar
rolling of the deep to which they were
being subjected. The breeze con-
tinuing to increase, suddenly
carried away the flying boom Of the
Francis and Louisa" and the lying
lib of the MARY Odell."
When the storm envelOped the fleet the
Frances Elizabeth was two and half
miles to the front, and the other boats IN
a bunch at the buoy.
After the damage to her rigging, the
Frances and Louisa" put back and
headed for home.
Two and a half miles beyond the
automatic buoy the squall was prevail
ing SO fiercely, and the sea so rough, that
the Captain of the Republic" deemed
ii unWise to venture further
from land and headed his boat for home,
a turn of affairs which brought cOnsOla-
ton to the troubled spirits and stomachs
Of the passengers, hardly one OF
whom was not sea sick. The
four boats remaining in the
race continued over the course in a
string. and the squall eXpending itself,
then came home comparatively slow
under an adverse southwest wind, thus
making the breezes unfavOrable at
I both start and finish. The first
boat in, and thus the winner OF
the race, was, as predicted IN
I the pool boxes. the Frances Elizabeth"
/ While no announcement of the time of
| the race was made last night, a reporter
I of the NEWS staff chronicled the hour of
/ the winners arrival as nineteen minutes
Of eight The second boat home
was the s'Sprite" She was several
minutes behind the Frances Elizabeth"
| The Wilder came in third and the
/ ''Odell'' fourth.
Taken all in all the race was success,
and the crews of the four boats which
| traversed the course found consolation
l in the fact that by so doing
each had earned a prize and one to spare.
| The prizes were as follows: First. 800
| and the champion pennant; second, $40;
/ third. so: fourth, $40; fifth, SO.
To the success Of the race the admirable
management Of the Savannah Yacht
| Club. a name which has become synOny-
nous with chiyalry and hospitality, added
not little. as was attested by
the deserved encOniums of every