Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-06-23
YALKYRIE AND VOLUNTEER.
AMERICAN AND ENGLISH YACHTS
VERY MUCH ALIKE.
The Skimming Dish and Cutter Things
of the Past-If the Cup Should go
to England.

bly, change again. Just now one of the
most important changes which nautical
science has ever undergone is making itself
felt as result of the international races of
the past few years.
"You couldn't tell the Valkvrie from
the Volunteer out of water except in
SIZE" said a naval officer in the model
room of the New York Yacht Club day
or two ago. The remark would be per-
fectly true with nine-tenths of the people
Of New York, for despite all that has been
said and printed about English and Amer
lean models, there is now no practical
difference between the two.
A tour of all the yacht-building yards
around New York fails to show single
boat of the typical American model being
built, and everywhere the old skimming
dishes are being offered for sale like
secondhand furniture. They have been
passe ever since the Puritan was built.
The same is true Of the typical English
cutter, shaped like wedge. They are no
longer built in England since the time of
the Genesta, and all the new boats have
been verging more and more to the Amer
lean model. About the only radical diff
ference which now exists between the
English and American boats is the center
board, and the yacht of to-day, which Is a
compromise on everything else, is COM
promising on the centerboard, which, in
the Valkyrie, is a mere fin of iron, to be
used or not. as circumstances may de-
mand.
Speaking on this subject recently, a
well-known yachting man said: "We have
about reached the end of our rope, and
both nations are tiuipg down to a common
model, which you may call perfection.
The deep cutter and skimming dish are
things Of the past. Hereafter international
yacht races will represent nothing but the
seamanship of different men, and the
Americas cup will go to the best crew."
While nobody would like to see the
Americas cup go to England, it is gen
orally felt that it would be a good thing
for yachting. If the Englishmen are
beaten once or twice again, it is felt that
they will give up the struggle with the
New York Yacht Club and send no more
boats over here, leaving the impression in
LuSlduu ludt tNeg were Uedlen DN TuleS
and not by boats. These races, within the
past few years, have given an enormous
impetus to the noble sport, which would
go into decline if it were to stop.
If the cup were held in England it
would put our native yachtsmen on their
mettle, and they would never rest content
until they had won it back again Then
it is felt that the cup rightly belongs to
the Eastern Yacht Club, which has sue
cessfully defended it in the past three
races, and but for which it would have
passed out of our hands years ago Should
it once go to England the New York
Yacht Club would, it is believed, never
get their hands on it again. 1t would be
won, if at all, by the Eastern, or some
other yacht club whose members had true
sporting blood, and would not hesitate to
put their hands in their pockets for glory
The effect of a first-class American
yacht contesting in the English races
would be far-reaching and inspiring, and a
novelty which has not been witnessed since
the famous trip of the America. There is
no question in the minds of the best judges
that if an American yacht were given any
kind of a show abroad she would carry off
all the honors, beating the English on
their own ground, and teaching them an
other lesson in seamanship.
Hitherto there has been no inducement
to draw an American sailing machine to
England, but with the cup once there, sew
eral would make the trip, There are many
valuable cups to be won by an American
yacht in English waters, and the season
would be one long succession of races.
1t is in the small-sized yachts, under
forty feet in length, that Englishmen have
vet to learn lesson from Americans. The
catboat and the small sloop have about
reached perfection here, where many in
teresting races take place annually among
yachts of this size, but are altogether un-
known abroad.
'One of these days." said an amateur
salt, recently" am going to lift an
American catboat on the deck of steamer
and take her over to Queenstown to give
the Britishers few points. Even if they
make rules against the use of a center
board, the boat can sail with the racers
and produce as good an effect as if she
were actually in the contest. l have
watched many of the races of the smaller
yachts abroad They are very fast and
seaworthy boats in their way, but | feel
perfectly sure, from my knowledge of the
American catboat, that a good one could
easily beat them all Even if they had
one there they wouldn't know how to
handle her. | remember seeing a small
American boat at an English port, which
entered race and was beaten, much to
my surprise | met the owner and told
him | thought | could get more speed out
of the boat. Very well, said he, take
her and try her. l took the boat out for
preliminary sail, and what do you sup
pose discovered? Why the centerboard
was actually bolted down and immovable.
l took the screws out and challenged the
winner, and beat her eight minutes
over twenty mile course"
The American catamaran is about the
fastest thing with sails. These double
hulled boats never developed any speed
until about eight or ten years ago, when
New York man named Hughes tried the
experiment of fixing the hulls together by
a sort Of toggle joint that allowed them to
rise and fall independent of each other.
Then the catamaran Just flew across the
water like bird, adjusting herself to the
waves One hull would be slanting for
ward on the crest of a wave, the other bow
up in the trough of the sea, and the boat
would hum, going faster than anything
before or since.
1t was only when going about or in
turning that difficulties were met with,
as with two hulls some distance apart the
boat swung around slowly and clumsily
They were ruled out of all the races, and
never became really popular Only few
catamarans were built, the mos: noted
being the Tarantilla, the Jessie and the
Duplex, and some of these are now rotting
on the beach at Stapleton. This type Of
vessel is practically unknown in England,
and if some American wants to create SEN
sation there at little cost it could be done by
having cantamaran built here and sending
her over there on the deck of steamer.
She would be as much of curiosity as the
first American monitor which crossed the
ocean and was taken for raft when she
steamed into Queenstown harbor. The
catamaran looks like nothing more than a
water-beetle.
Up the Hudson they have a novel type
of small yacht that is altogether unknown
abroad except along the Mediterranean
and in the Indian ocean. This is the fly
ing proa, which is said to have originated
among the Malay pirates, who scour the
Eastern archipelagoes The boat is long
and narrow, without a keel or center.