Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1895-10-16

secretary, but it obviates the necessity
of having your yacht inspected by our
club measurer. This, of course, is merely
Q formality, and if you will advise me at
our convenience some time before the
regatta, L will bring him on board the
Alpha
Inspection" queried Barnard in a
nervous tone. what do you mean?"
Merely a formality, my dear sir" re-
piled Anvergne. THE idea is to officially
check the correctness of your vessels reg
lister in regard to her beam, load-Water
line and length overall"
oh replied Barnard, Sin a relieved
tone, that's all right. Make you own
time, and III promise you a cordial recep-
ton and all the tape-lines you WANT"
After some further unimportant CONVEX
sation an appointment was made for the
inspection and mutually agreed to. But
upon parting from Barnard, Mr.. An
vergne could not repress a feeling of dis
trust for the stranger.
On the appointed day the inspection
was duly made, and everything being
found in accordance with the yachts
official register, Barnard's entry for the
coming regatta was duly accepted by
Mr.. Anvergne.
AS the eventful day drew near con-
siderable interest was shown in the per-
Torrance of the alpha" Although her
hull and sail area presented no special
novelty, her speed was truly exceptional.
Even in a comparatively light breeze
she almost seemed to run away from the
other boats in her company; and al
though spreading less canvas in a stiff
wind than any of her rivals, she easily
passed them all.
And so it was almost a foregone con-
clusion that she would be victorious in
the race, and the sole speculation was as
to the lead she would have in the fin
IL Al. e Ill
when she Jagged behind during the first
half of the race, and seemed the slowest
boat of the fleet. No mishap was not
ed on board, her sails were tight as
drumheads, her spars intact, and neither
the captain at the wheel nor the crew
clustered along the weather rail gave
any indication of anything being the
matter. When the leading yacht turned
the stakeboat, the alpha" was fully
half a mile a%stern, but by this time the
breeze seemed to nave completely died
away. The sails of the alpha" hung
limp and the main boom swung lazily
to and fro, but in a little while, although
nc perceptible breeze could be noticed,
she listed q little to leeWard and began
to pillow the glass-like surface of the wa
ter. AS she neared the scattered yachts
her speed perceptibly slackened, but she
kept along to the end of the course and
was officially declared the winner.
The commodore of the New Orleans
Yacht club, while presenting the cup to
Mr.. Barnard, could not refrain from re-
marking upon the peculiar nature of the
phenomenon they had witnessed that aft
ernOon-a sailing yacht making good
Roadway without any noticeable wind.
But Barnard, although appearing some
what discomposed, accepted the cup with
a few short, hesitating words of thanks,
and the "Alpha" and her skipper sailed
aU1V from Now Orleans that NIGHT
At the meeting of the regatta commit
tee, held upon the following day, consid-
cradle discussion was created by the
loudly asserted claims of fraud made by
other participants in the race. Finally, it
was deemed advisable to send out a note
of warning to the leading yacht clubs of
the country, notifying them of the mys-
terious performances of the white
sloop" yacht Alpha owned by one
Oscar Barnard of New York. This warn
ing was duly received by the secretaries
of the various leading clubs, and q care
full watch was kept upon unaccredited
entries.
The regatta of the Philadelphia Yacht
club was held in Chesapeake bay on June
%, 1898. Among the contestants in the
forty-rater class was the black sloop
yacht "Ladybird." with the name of
tached, appearing on her register as sole
owner. Although she was unable to
stand a club topsail in the prevailing
breeze. she made tremendous speed and
won the race by seven minutes and thir-
ty-siX seconds, and above ali time allow
ance.
Among the piles of letters that were
laid upon the desk of the secretary of the
New York Yacht club some few laws be-
fore the date set for the annual regatta,
was a soiled, crumpled envelope ad-