The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-04-11
MISS DAY AND HER YACHT.
"A NEW FORK WOMAN WHO HAS
MADE HER HOME ON n SEA.

0he seythinn Just mack from = winter Cruise
In the West Indiea-Oda Experiences OF the
Trip-Nnss Day Studying TOR n Captains
Certihcate-ReF Yacht ana Her Pinns.
Miss Susan de Forest Day, owner and com.
mander OF tho steam yacht Scythian, might
exclaim with Heine. ct love tho sea as my own
SOUL At least she loves It we'll enough to give
up her city homo and 1.-Two on II. In point OF
seaworthiness and solid comfort the Scythian
can't be beaten around these parts. She COM
blnes tho Injuries OF city and country life. sho
has Just returned TO her anchorage Oft White
stone landing after an ~eventful cruise among
the West Indies. Miss Day was sitting out on
deck with n party Of visitors when a SUN re-
porter went aboard the Scythiau ono day last
week. She came forward, saying:
"Oh, you aro from The SUM don't know
what can say that Ia interesting. I'm opposed
TO interviews on principle. and, though many
alleged talks with mo have been printed, this Is
really the first time I've talked TO a paper. One
thing I do want TO say" she went on, leading
the way below decks to hor sitting room. land
that Is that I am not n Southerner. ] am a New
Yorker. My father was Mr.. Henry Day Of the
firm OF Lord, Day s. Lord, and my mother was a
daughter of Daniel Lord, the lawyer.
Now about my yacht and cruising she con-
tinued, taking mp a bit Of fancy work and work
eng Inc dstrionsly at II as she talked. well,
Just q year ago l got her. She was already a
boat with n varied history. having been used for
n number Of years as n wrccker in the
Gulf of Mexico. A wreckeri Why, that's
q vessel that goes to other vessels in dis.
tress and lows them into port or otherwise
helps them out of difficulties. Once the Scythian
went down to Venezuela and towed a boat of
three thousand tons from there to Balti-
more. Not long after that the Louisville and
Nashville Railroad Company purchased her
and used hcr in towing coal barges from Pcnsa-
cola to West Indian and South American ports,
md also in towing for Munson & Co. l bought
her from that company on the condition that
Bho should pass Lloyds' third survey for mer-
chantmcn and be classed Al at British Lloyds.
That is the severest survey a boat can pass,
being much higher than the yacht survey.
Immediately after she fell into my possession l
had her takrn to Perth Amboy, where she was
thoroughly rcftted. She had merely carrying
accommodations and n big bold for cargo. You
can SEQ for yourself before going ashore what
she looks like now. II took two months to
metamorphose,a tramp into a yacht. and then 1
started cruising. And / haven't been ashore
all told for more than six weeks since.
For o while i cruised around the Sound,
went around Cape Cod once or twice, and in
August made my first long trip. That was along
the coast Of Maine. l had some friends with mt
and we. spent the whole month there. We had a
Sery cool. pleasant time, but 1t was most prosatc.
The fogs were the worst things we encountered.
From September until the middle of December l
cruised around near home, my longest trips
being to Boston and New London. Then l went
ashore to visit, but tho yacht had become homo
to me. by this time. 1t is just like q country
place. can take friends around with me or go
alone just as l please, or when we are at anchor
lean invite people to visit me or not.
"On Jan. 10 the Scythian, with q party Of my
friends aboard, started on her first long trip
that is her first long trip as u yacht. A heavy
northeast gale. which we thought was going to
end right away, but unfortunately did not,
was blowing. However, we put straight out to
sea and made for the island of st. Thomas. We
met very severe weather all the way down,
especially Off Hatteras. There was q terrible
cross sea and a heavy gale was blowing from
the northeast. We had to lie to for twenty
four hours, and she lay to like a duck, :" added
Miss Day, proudly. THAT was a very disa.
Rreesble experience. We went through Mona
Passage, encountering very bad weather all the
way down, and finally anchored at st. Thomas.
1t was quite remarkable that nobody aboard
was the least bit seasick. st. Thomas is about
1850 miles from here, and We covered the dis
lance In nine days. That was not bad speed,
considering the terrible SEAS"
What about the speed OF the Scythian n
asked the reporter.
"Her economic speed Is nine and O half knots
an hour. On. that she burns four and one-half
tons of coal n day. Her fastest speed, when she Is
pushed. is about twelve knots. Then she burns
seven tons a day. She carries 1856 tons of coal.
The Scythian isn't a fast boat, but she is sure
and steady.
When we dropped anchor at st. Thomas the
harbor WIS full Of big vessels that had put in
there, leaking, dismantled, or disabled in some
Nyav frnfn tho heavy seas. NV Yacht was ali
right. Nothing was even broken. She takes no
water on deck. and we had carried n boat all the
way down on the davits. She doesn't roll deep,
but she rolls sharp.
"St, Thomas is n charming old place, and we
spent a week there very pleasantly. 1t ID
Danish, and the people are very much afraid
that the Germans will purchase the island.
Many Of the natives who met us in the streets
would stop and say Oh, won't you take usi We
want you to take u.s. j couldn't imagine what
they meant at first, and I was pretty sure that
we didn't want any OF them, but we soon learned
that they merely preferred to belong TO the
United States rather than to Germany.
IL next stopping place was Santa Cruz.
That is q very beautiful island. 1t Is perfectly
covered with sugar cane. There are miles and
miles of it, and the roads are lined with royal
palms. There they are making q success of the
sugar cane. AS usual. a Yankee il at the bot
tout VI tuib tbtC - N auNia u lDB
In the estates for his company. and now has
about rs. 900 acres, I believe. Instead OF making
sugar at every little estate. as is the usual Gus
tom. there is one large factory where all the
crushing is done, and there, for the first time.
disused sugar cane is being used for fuel to gen.
crate steam power instead of coal. at a saving
o TO- 900 year. They manufacture sugar, rum,
and molasses, and are making IA small profit.
while the other islands are losing. This sugar
industry is practically all there Is at Santa Cruz.
Sugar has been king everywhere down there,
and Of course when Germany put n bounty on
beet sugar 1t just about killed things. The only
hope Of the people is that England will put all
equal bounty on cane sugar. or else that the
bounty on beet sugar will DO removed. In the
present state of affairs, the man who makes n
success of the sugar business is looked Upon as
remarkable. 1t takes four or five years for
cocoa. lines, and other things that the natives
could grow to come to bearing. and they simply