The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1896-01-04
OUTSTRIPPING THE WIND.
The Ice Boat Man Gave His Guests Ride
and Astonished Them by High speed.

The Ice Boat Man Gave His Guests hide
and Astonished Them by High speed.
From the New York Tribune.
The owner of the iceboat then started
out on a short sail to prove whether or
not the statement was correct which said
, that an iceboat cannot sail dead before
| the wind"
After the three guests were slowed
away under some thick rugs, the stern
skate, which had been turned crosswise
during the stoppage, was twisted more
into line with the others, and then the
great sail filled. the stays, spars, mast
and the platform boat all seemed to creak
together as the strange affair scudded
over the ice For the novice there seemed
/ to be no way of gauging the speed, ex-
| cept that trees on the opposite shore
| seemed to grow in size at an alarming
| rate.
Two or three tacks were taken and then
the boat was turned dead before the
wind Immediately she slackened her
/ pace The great sail seemed unwilling to
| fill out and the sheets had no strain on
them.
| Now" said the owner, 1T want to
show you that an iceboat can sail directly
before the wind. Anything from chick
en- house to a bootjack can sail before the
wind. What that writer meant to say
was that in this direction sail at her best
speed. This rs a point in the science of
iceboating which few people understand.
| You see, there is so little friction or drag
1 to retard an ioeboat that she easily trav-
els at almost, If not quite the same speed
as the wind. In fact. as you see. this
following wind won't even stradghten out
the Stacked sheet. Nothing can be push
ed before the wind any faster than the
wind itself travels Consequently we
cannot go faster than 10 knots an hour.
because the wind itself does not exceed
l4I T.tt II fttF-v he h0s n
around until she is pointing partly into
the wind. the speed is increased to an
| extraordinary extent"
Must you not then be going faster
than the wind?" the doctor was asked.
Precisely so.and that's the statement
which so few people will believe"
| But how much faster than the wind
can an iceboat travel?"
THAT is a very interesting question,
and one that has mot, so far as know.
been scientifically ascertained Here. rs
you see We can only go about 10 knots
an hour ON a 10-knot breeze, but when
heading partly into II / can certainly go
twice as fast as the wind in sailing 20
miles an hour, and ais / have been going
at over 80 miles an hour this afternoon
feel safe in saying that have frebled 1t.
Beyond this 1t is merely guesswork and
prefer the conservative estimate, but, al
though l may be wrong. think this boat
mas Detn LO-udN travelling at ltdSl ~ iullte
an hour on the same breeze.
IF that be 50 We have been moving
four times faster than the speed of the
wind which moves us But don't claim
to be sure of this last statement / am
only speaking from my best guessing
The explanation I can think of Is thai
when we run before the wind we lose the
weight and pressure of II by floating
away before 1t as lightly as a thistle
blossom. But when sailing partly into the
wind the sails do not lose it's pressure. nS
matter how fast the craft travels.
Thus IL Is almost solely a question Of
canvas area and beam power, and AZ
these have never been studied to an,
great extent we are simply in ignorancs
of what the iceboat can do. When {
blows hard enough to provide for an un
usually good time. something always car
ries away or the boat capslzes. But II Il
, perfectly clear that an iceboat can b
! built with steel spars and steel decks o
! enormous beam. which VIII In a good
sized gale run over a hundred miles al
hour with perfect ease"