New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-05-21

| at Nice. boats Of England France and Italy have
been entered, but the yachts IA members
Of ono club, the regattas have no distinctive inter
national character. and the struggle for prizes
is always narrowed down TO tie English boats
England and America ar" the homes of yachts
and yachtsncn, and it il between these two nations
that tho strug2l" for supremacy on the deep bluc
fields of ~'d goc, on increasingly.
The foundation of international yacht racing
was laid n far back as 1862 when the Dutch
Were rival maritime nation to the British. II
then that enc windy morning in the estuary
OF the Thames King Charles n. OF merry memory
raced his yacht jamie, built in ENGLAND, against
the Dutch.Dlt Boat OF his brother James Duke
81 York from Grav''scnd 70 Greenwich. The King
and Duke sailed their own boats, and good sailor,
they were, at caat the courtiors of the time said
80. and the King won. Time and battle swept
away the martini" power OF Holland and tho
same causes created ont OF the colonies OF ChIrc'
a great maritime nation across tho sea. No nation
before. since the Dutch, had arisen IA a maritime
rival of Great Britain.
The attempts of France in that direction had
been blown away with III" smok" Of Tho guns Of
TrafJlgar. and in 1851 America was not onl,
Enelands most formidable rival In: in many
respects could claim the laurrs Of the foremost
merchant fleet were a foam fakes on every sea.
The ACKNOWLEDGED superiority of Am'rcln
ships and American officers enabled mrr
chants 70 ship their goods in American
bottoms at lower rates OF insurance THAI in
any Others. The memory Of tho splendid naval
victories OF the War Of lsl2-lj had not then. az
il has now. grown pale In the minds OF men, AMI il
seemed If the sceptrr Of the maritime supremacy
OF the Anglo-SaXon race had passed with the Star
OF Empire. westward.
But England had already begun her struggle
10 regain her maritime srprcmacy-a struggle the
success of which her tremendous fleets of war
and her myriad fleets Of peace attest She boldly
denied that the Yankees could build better and
faster boats than She could. and the struggle
for supremacy Of the yachting seas was begun
with the race Of the America at Cowrs. Through
all the years which have followed America has
kept the superiority Of her yachting fleet.
Through all the vicissitudes of the decay of
Americas merchant marine. her almost completes
disappearance as naval power and n general
paralysis Of maritime enterprise through war and
unwise legislation, the maritime spirit OF the
nation fostercd by its yachtsmcn and I'M
hnmrcrcd by laws and undcstioyod by hostile
cruisers through all the dark day, that have now
happily given place to days of bright promise,
the yachts increased and multiplied and improved
in design. and yach,smcn successfully defended
the grand old cup many wcll-fought fields Of sea.
Through the years OF apathy in maritime AZ
fairs among the general public tho yachsmen
were the saving remnant" that kept alive the
maritime spirit and International yacht racing gave
energy TO their valor and intelligence 10 their
zeal The history of the Americas cup is al
most but not entirely. the history of International
yachting There have been eight races for this