The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-07-14
is A COSTLY SPORT
FORTUNES SPENT EVERY YEAR IN
CONSTRUCTION OF NEW
YACHTS
EXPENSES OF CONSTITUTION
Thomas LiptOns Disbursements in
1899 Estimated to Have Reached
the Sum of One Million
Dollars

Stored away in the strong room Of the
New York Yacht club, writes Arthur f.
Aldridge in Munsey's Magazine. is a piece
Of silver that is not artistic, not old
enough to have any value as an antique
and not worth more than $500; vet for
this comparatively insignificant piece Of
silver, the famous Americas cup, mil
lions of dollars have been spent by
yachtsmen of America and England
His second attempt to win the trophy
will probably cost Sir Thomas Upton
$500, COO, and for it's defense, a syndicate
Of members of the New York Yacht club
will spend about half that amount. This
does not represent the entire outlay that
the cup contest entails. Hundreds Of
yachtsmen will have their boats special
ly in commission in order that they and
their friends may witness the races; thou
sands Of others win watch them from
the decks of a great fleet Of tugs and ex-
cursion steamers; many will even come
from Europe some with their yachts.
in order to find out for themselves which
is the faster yacht. Shamrock II. or the
American boat.
Yachting Is the most expensive sport
in the world. II costs more TO win a
mug offered for yacht race than to car
ry off a prize offered for competition in
any other sport Yachtsmen will spend
thousands of dollars and take endless
trouble 10 VIII q SJO cup. mo HGdNy STAKES
are raced for in yachting, and in this
country the mos. successful yacht of the
year viii fall long way short of VIM
ming enough to pay her expenses.
Should Sir Thomas Upton be success
full this year and carry away the much
coveted trophy he viii feel well repaid.
because he is a thorough sportsman. He
will have nothing personally to recon-
pense him for all his work. worry and
h1If in he hfctOrxr Of ba
ica's cup he will live as long as the cup
lasts. Should the syndicate boat succeed
in keeping the cup in this country the
members will be formally thanked by
thedr fellow club members, and the New
York Yacht club viii probably have q
handsome piece OF silver suitably en-
graved to commemorate the event
In the early days of yacht racing. own
ing and running yacht was not such an
expensive affair. Up to the time when
the Thistle came across the Atlantic in
1887 it is doubtful If the total cost to
one side had reached $4,000. Since then
money has been spent more and more
lavishly. Expensive metals have been
used in the construction Of the yachts;
big crews have been engaged to handle
them; tugs have been chartered to tow
them from one place to another; a steam
er has been hired for the crews to live
on, because the yachts are racing ma
chimes. pure and simple. hollow steel
spars have been constructed, at great
cost, in order to Tighten their equipment:
their sails have been made of the most
expensive duck that could be procured.
and hundred and one things have been
done that were never thought Of twenty
five years ago. All this has made the
sport the most costly in the world The
extravag ance has not been confined to the
international races. Men with plenty OF
money have made the racing in the small
er classes just as costly in proportion.
so that yachting is justly termed, now
adays, the millionaires' sport"
One unfamiliar with the conditions may
wonder where so much money can go TO
in such a short season, for yacht racing
begins on Decoration day and is prac-
ticany over by the middle of September
The cup races will probably be over by
the beginning of October so that the
craft concerned in them will be In com