Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1896-08-24
BIG YACHTS COLLIDE.
Fatal Accident Mars the Opening
of the South Sea Re-



South Sea, Aug. 1S.-Ailsa, Britannia,
Satanita and Meteor started this morn
ing in a race for the vice-commodore' S
cup and f25. Not long after the start
Meteor collided with Baron Won led
Wits American yacht Isolde. The lat
ter was dismasted, several of her crew
were knocked overheard and Baron Won
Zedwitz was so seriously injured by a
falling rigging that he died on the way
to the hospital at Ryde.
The accident caused considerable ex-
element and confusion ashore and af1oat
when it was first reported that it was
Emperor Williams yacht which had been
dismasted. All the members of the crew
of Isolde who were knocked overheard
were saved by the boats from the other
yachts.
Particulars of the disaster show that
in passing the committee boat the big
yachts overlook the 2O-raters. Britain
MIA and Meteor were then almost abreast
of Isolde and narrowly escaped COLI
sion. Britannia suddenly shifted her
helm to avoid the Saint when Meteor
struck Isolde, sweeping her from stem
to stern with her bowsprit. Isolde
main mast and sails crashed overheard
and carried with them nearly all the
crew of Isolde and crushing Baron Won
ZedwitZ.
Britannia and Meteor Immediately
hove to and lowered their boats for the
assistance of the men struggling in the
water. Ailsa and several other yachts
. followed their example. Baron Won Zed-
WitZ, when pulled out of the water,
was found to have a bad cut on the
head and was bleeding from the ears.
He was taken on board a steam yacht.
which Immediately made for Ryde. but
he died while on board the yacht, and
not shortly after reaching the hospital,
as at first announced.
Isolde, in addition to losing her mast,
ETC., had her bows stove in and was
towed back to South Sea and both races
were abandoned. The Isolde is 20
rater, built by the Herreshoffs, and was
originally the property Of Prince Leopold
of Germany, for whom she was built,
and subsequently sold to Baron Won
Zedwitz. She was taken to England
in April of last year. She is twin
yaclN Of Howard Gould's Niagara which
she has defeated several times.
Baron Won Zedwitz was German
privy councillor and a member of both
the Reichstag and Prussian diet. He
had been in Parliament for about TWEEN
ty-five years, was leading authority
on finance in politics and was a leader
of the Free Conservative party. AL
though a comparatively young man he
was unanimously recommended in 1890
by the state cabinet for the then vacant
post of minister of finance, but was not
appointed because the Emperor had tax
en- fancy to DR.. MIGUEL.
Ryde, Isle Of Wight, Aug. 19.-An in
qeust was opened this morning upon the
remains of Baron Moritz Curt Won Zed-
witz the German yachtsman who was
killed yesterday as a result of the col
lision between Emperor Williams yacht
Meteor and Zedwitz's yacht Isolde in the
regatta of the Royal Albert Yacht club
off South sea. Baron Won Zedwitz was
formerly German minister at Washing
ton.
Capt. Miles of the Isolde described
the mix-up of the yachts He said that
the Britannia and Meteor were both IN
der his lee when the Saint lifted up from
under his lee. trying to wind him. But
the Saint could not clear Isolde's boom
and struck it. In consequence Isolde
swerved and her bow was driven to-
wards Meteor. When the witness no.
ticed Meteor she was coming into him
and was only about six feet away. There
fore he did not have time to alter his
course Meteor's bowsprit went through
Isolde's mainsail and all her gear fell on
deck. Witness jumped overheard and
thus escaped Injury.
Continuing, Capt Miles said that when
Baron Won Zedwitz saw the danger the
yacht was in the ran forward and when
witness regained Isolde's deck after the
collision he found two of the crew trying
to rescue the baron from a mass of
wreckage overheard in which he was en-
tangled. They succeeded in hauling the
baron upon deck, but he was unconscious
and died soon after being taken on board
q steam yacht for transportation to the
hospital at Ryde. Capt. Miles could not
say whether Meteor had or did not have
time to change her course. DR.. Daw-
son of New York, who was on board Mr..
Ogden Goelet's steam yacht, went to the
assistance of Baron Won Zedwitz when
the latter was taken from the water,
but the baron was dead as the result of
internal injuries when the doctor reached
his side.
The captains Of the Isolde and Britain
MIA were among those who testified.
The commander Of the Prince of Wales
yacht expressed the opinion that the
Meteor ought to have given Isolde
wider berth and added that he thought
there had been an error of Judgment.
Capt. Gomez of the Meteor also testi-
fed. He denied having infringed the
rules and said there would have been
plenty of room to pass had not the
Saint struck Isolde and slowed the latter
out of her course and across that of
Meteor. A collision with Isolde, he
continued, could not then be avoided ex-
cept by colliding with Britannia, which
he explained, would have resulted in a
far more serious smash-up. The jury
rendered verdict that nobody was to
blame for the accident.
The body of Baron Won Zedwitz has
been embalmed and will be taken to
Dresden for burial.
Berlin, Aug. 19.-The official Reich
sanzeiger today pays warm tribute to
the zeal shown and services rendered by
the late Baron Won Zedwitz, killed yes
terday in a yachting accident off the
Isle Of Wight, in all the Offices he has
held, including that Of German minister
to Mexico and secretary of the German
legations at St Petersburg, Toxic.
Stockholm and Washington.