The Grit-advocate., 1904-11-11
KAISER WILLIAM
KNOWS HOW TO SAIL. A YACHT
Correspondent Says He Is Born
Saiior.-Has Made Yachting a
Popular Amusement.

The Berlin correspondent OF the
Washington Post says: The Kaiser
can handle a yacht as well as any sea-
man atioat. He is born sailor. and il
he were not an Emperor he might be the
skipper of crack racing yacht"
This statement was made to an
American newspaper representative
during the Kiel regatta OF 1903 by the
British yachting expert. Ben Parker.
who was then skipper of the German
Emperor's yacht Meteor. 1t is no empty
compliment. but plain statement of
fact. which is corvoborated by all COM
petent judges who have had opportuni-
ties OF seeing William II. sailing on
board his own yachts.
Yachting as fashionable pastime
was almost unknown in Germany be-
fore the present Kaiser assembled the
throne. but during the sixteen years OF
his reign he has made II one Of the
most popular national amusements.
When the Kaiser succeeded to the
crown there was not tirst-class rae
Ing yacht belonging to any German
owner or sailing under the flag OF any
German club. Only few regattas
were held every summer along the
German coasts, and these were insig-
nificant affairs which passed unnoticed
outside the immediate localities in
which they took place.
The Kaiser changed all this with the
impulsive energy which characterizes
all branches of his versatile activity.
So well has he succeeded that a high
class British sporting journal rounded
out its account of the kiel regatta this
year with this pregnant comment;
English yachtsmen who were present
will frankly admit that much improve
ment must take place In the sport in
British waters If this country is to
maintain its supremacy at the game"
The Emperor of Germany owns lots
OF yachts, and big ones, too. In fact,
he owns more of them than any man
in the world Not counting steam
craft. his fleet numbers nineteen.
ranging from the Meteor, third of the
name-120 feet on the water line and
the largest racing schooner ever turned
out Of an American shipyard-down to
little twenty-foOters. But it is for the
sake of yachting alone that he goes in
for sport SO extensively and encourages
his subjects to do likewise. His object
is to foster, nautical spirit among his
people. and thereby arouse popular
feeling which will support his ambi-
tous scheme to create navy that shall
rival that Of England
The Kaiser is not an amateur. but an
expert in yachting. Every summer he
devotes three weeks solely to this pas
time. First he proceeds to Heigoland
on board his steam yacht Hohenzollcrn
to watch the conclusion of the annual
race from Dover to Heligoland. He
then boards the Meteor and sails on
her in the Ebe regatta, which takes
place off Cuxhaven. The Meteor then
goes to Rel and the Kaiser sails on
her in all the races in which she parti-
cipates during the Kel week.
! During the races the Kaiser often
takes hand at the wheel and shows
himself an adept at all the tricks Of
the game. When he is not at the
wheel he lies on the windward side OF
the deck with the crew and obeys the
shippers commands with alacrity. He
hauls In the ropes and helps to trim the
sails with an enthusiasm which slim
ulates the crew to extra exertions.