The San Francisco call., 1897-03-10
WILL NOT FLY THE
ASSOCIATION FLAG
DiSaffectiOn Over the Pacific
Inter Club Yacht
Regatta.
One Member of the Organization
Wlthdraws in Dissat.
isfaction
San Franciscos Claim They We're Not
Fairly Treated by the Com.
mittee in Charge.

A squabble that has caused the with
drawal of one club from the Pacific Inter
club Yachting Association has arisen, and
it is said that the end is not yet. The
trouble began over the regatta of Septem-
ber last. when the McDonough cup was
the main object sailed for and all the
yachts were put in their finest racing trim
in he hope of winning the much-coveted
trophy.
The association was originally composed
of the Pacific San Francisco, CORN THAN,
Encinal and California yacht clubs and its
formation was the result of much hard
study on the part of thos> who have
given the sport the most attention. The
regatta was great event of the year in
yachting circles and each club sent its
fee,est boats, manned by their most e1-
perienced sailors. to com pete.
One of the main conditions governing
the race, which was for sloops not over
thirty feet racing length. was that all
those participating must be amateur
yachtsmen IN the fullest sense Of the word,
and that is where the hitch came.
Among the boats belonging to the San
Francisco Yacht Club the Catherine is
considered crack, and she was sent into
the fray with full confidence that she
would carry off the honors.
She was protested by oiher owners on
the ground that she carried among her
crew professional yachtsman, and the
regatta committee, after hearing testi-
mony and considering the matter, dis
qualified the feet sloop.
Then there was anger among the MEM
bers of the San Francisco Yacht Club and
the majority declared that they woulu
ia in
tons regattas.
The matter simmered for while, the
feeling between the club and the associa-
ton growing stronger the while, until the
annual meeting of The San Francisco
club which took place last month.
|. Cutie was commodore at that time,
and previous 10 the election of officers,
which took place at the gathering, he
offered a resolution to the effect that the
club withdraw from the association and
refuse to longer participate in the regattas.
In support OF his measure he recited the
circumstances under which the Catherine
had been disqualified and denied that her
owners had In any way olated the rules
governing the contest. He characterized
that action OF the regatta committee as
sportsmanlike and petty, and asked the
club to show its spirit by Withdrawing
without delay.
The majority of the members were in
accord with the comm Odore and the reso-
luton was adopted without dissenting
voice. The 1nter-club Association was
notified in short and curt communica-
tion that the San Francisco Club had de-
cided to withdraw from the organization.
No reason for this action was assigned,
but it is perfectly well understood by the
other mem bers of the association and has
intensified the feeling that existed prior
to the withdrawal.
There are some members of the San
Francisco Club who thought the action
hasty, but they are in the minority and
have said little or nothing regarding the
matter.
The San Francisco Yacht Club is the
oldest organization of the kind on the
Pacific Slope and numbers among its
mem bers some of the most enthusiastic
yachtsmen in this City.
Secretary R. R. PHommedieu of the
Inter-club Association, through whose
efforts tue organization was formed, stated
yesterday that the action of the regatta
committee had not been taken hastily
and that the owner of the Catherine had
plainly violated the rules governing the
race by having man on board who had
fallen under the suspicion of being pro-
fessional.
The committee regretted exceedingly
that 1t had been compelled to di-qualify
the sloop, but under the reg ulations there
was no alternative, and to have disre-
garded the protest Of those who claimed
that the Catherine had an outsider on
board would have been to invite still
greater dissatisfaction.