The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1899-10-10
YACHT RACING A
COSTLY LUXURY
ENORMOUS INITIAL COST
Income Of a Millionaire Required TO
Kerp up Annual Expenditures,

Few branches OF sport yield less iy
comparison yith the sums lavished OF
them than yachting. which Of a necss.
sity is a monopoly of men with well.
lined purses. The initial cost Of a
vaoht nav range from $500 to $500 900
and the annual outlay from $500 "a
$4,000.
The man who buys a 5O-ton yacht
for pleasure purposes alone, and With
on. any Of the added cost OF racing.
must expect her to cost him s9.OOO a
( year For a lO0-ton yacht he viii have
/ to disburse from 1880 to $500 a year.
without counting depreciation or the
interest on the $4,000 or $4,000 he has
sunk in her purchase.
4 When a man asplres to the luxury OF
a steam yacht Of hundreds Of tons he
ought to have deep purse Of a mil
lionaire. for he may well spend on his
hebhy the annual income Of a cabinet
minister Of the first rank: while the
interest alone on the money his fioat-
ing palace represents would pay the
annual stipend Of bishop.
These estimates based on the evil
dence Of an expert are for pleasure
yachts only, as distinguished from rae
ing yachts: for the owner OF a racer
must expect to add materially both to
original outlay and yearly expenditure
u is estimated that the cost Of build
Ing and racing the Shamrock and the
Columbia for this season alone cannot
be much less than s1OOO.OOO.
The thirty-nine sailors on the CO.
lumbia will receive $35 a month: so that
for a season Of five months their wages
alone will absorb ss,s25, Their food will
bring this sum to at least $4,000. and
to this total for wages and food must
be added the skipper's salary OF $4,000.
These items, although they amount
to nearly $4,000 only represent a part
Of the seasons expenses. AT least
once week the yacht VIII have TO be
taken out Of the water to have her
bottom polished The manganese
bronze Of which her hull Is built accu-
mulates seaweed rapidly and this and
all other acrretions must be cleared
away at short intervals II her speed
is not to suffer.
To say that the Columbia will cost
her owner $4,000 for the seasons rae
ing is probably an underestimate:
while the cost Of racing the sham
rock will he greater. II the Shamrock
is successful in bringing the cup back
TO England, the trophy will cost her
generous owner no less than 1925 900 in
addition to all other normal expendi-
lures: for this IS the sum which will
he required to pay every memb7r OF
the winning crew the promised IS
week for life
To race a yacht Ike the Britannia.
the Meteor. or the Rainbow for a sin
gle season cannot cost less than s15,-
900. apart from accidents and depra-
citation; while II we consider the short
racing lie Of one of these greyhounds
and distribute her original cost over
the few years Of her life. the annual
price paid for the brief luxury OF own
ing her must be increased By many
thousands a year.
Certainly 1t Is safe to say that no
man would think Of owrlng a racing
yacht Of this class who Is not prepared
; to spend s25,DOO 70 $40, 900 year for the
Indulgence.
Even the gift Of 800 prize Is large
ly removed by the extra expenses Of
racing and winning. II Is usual FOR the
owner of winning Yacht TO pay her
crew 81 each in addition 10 their wages
On a boat ike the Britannia this llb-
erality would entail an extra cost N
nearly 5000 for the day. To this item in
the balance sheet must he added go
i sratulty for the skipper and a smaller
foe for the pilot together with another
s25 for provisions and beverages. Thus
/ against the prize Of $500 must be get
an additional charge fS the day NJ
about $500.
! II the yacht instead " winning
loses, a sum Of about half this amount
must he spent on the race. and added
to the normal cost Of maintenance. II
Is thus clear that even a boat az suc-
cessful as the Meteor has been thIg sea-
son can reduce her expenses very IN
appreclable by the prizes she wins,
and, as a general rule, they are a neglI-
gible factor in the annual balance
sheet.