The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-11-17
MYRTLE WINS MODEL YACHT
RACE IN GREAT CONTEST
Hawaiian Model Yacht Club Holds Regatta to
Celebrate Birthday of King Kaakaua
---Luau Follows.

November 16 being the anniversary
of King Kalakaua IS birthday, the Ha-
waiian Miniature Yacht Club was out IN
force, as usual, yesterday, to do honor
to the memory of their great monarch
and to celebrate the day with keen
race of the five great little craft in the
| club and afterward with luau.
The race itself was, according to all
, the Hawaiians who witnessed it, the
most keenly contested and exciting that
| has ever been seen here. Weather con-
ditions were favorable for fast race,
and the pilots of each little sailer had
to use his best judgment to tack at the
right time and take advantage of the
other steerers, who were doing all they
knew to get to windward first.
The race was won by the Myrtle, and
Friday was the pilot. The Kalaahoo-
manao was second, and the White Star
was third. There was only five min
utes difference between first and second
in the race; after a course has been
covered that takes an hour and half
before the yachts reach the finishing
point. this is very close indeed.
Those miniature yachts are little
wonders. From the bottom of the metal
keel. up through the keelson, garboards,
deadwood and bilge, to the overhang
at both ends and the tumble home curve
to the deck, they are built like Lip
ton cup racer. They are, in fact, exact
models of real yachts. and the work
they do in the water is something to
: be wondered at.
No Rudders on Models.
1t would be, of course, impossible tc
sail these yachts before the wind, as
, they have no rudders, and, even if they
:. did they would yaw so terribly thai
they would keep on jibing and carry
| away their spars For this reason the
, race was run to windward.
The race started from the bell buoy
! and finished on a line running from
the Bishop wharf to the opposite side Of
the creek. The distance is something
over a mile, and, considering that every
bit of the sailing was against the WING
and a foul tide. which happened tt
amount to something at this stage o.
; the moon, the time made was very fast
! Adrian NJ Keoho, the judge of thu
! races, and his assistants left Bishop z
wharf in launch about eleven o'clocl
and made for the bell boy, towing the
e pilots in their small boats, each will
l his model in tow In every small boa
there was an Oarsman and a pilot, anC
e the rules state shat each entry may b'
< put about by hand at any time during
the beat to windward, but only once
, during a tack, and that the only othe
/ reason for touching the craft in any
a way is for shortening of sail or repair
/, ing of damaged gear.
l Start in Rough Water.
All the entries lined up beyond tn,
starting line and then the word wa:
given to 90. Five dainty little Graf
were Immediately lOosed and went piOw
ing through the rough water on the
. longer tack, with the wind blowing ovel
! the starboard side.
Not one of them had a rudder They
were all balanced by their sails, anC
it was wonderful to see those live little
creatures bounding over the ehoppy
seas, mustered, yet eating out the wine
by mere setting of the sails.
e For a short distance they kept wei
together, and then the Myrtle began t.
; show her superiority. She carried two
ibis bowsed well down to leeward anG
I a large mainsail that was set with {
high peak and her main sheet a triat
free, so that she did not tend to luf
: too hard and yet, when she did huff, the
! ibis Immediately cOunteracted thai
, movement and sent her off the wine
again. The leach of her mainsail was
, fiuttering all the time, but, when the
. ibis set her off too far, the after part OF
the mainsail filed and at once showed
: her into the wind again.
Splendid Seamanship.
e 1t was truly splendid piece of mode
= Yacht sailing. All that Friday had Il
b | do was to follow in his small boat anC
? watch his little craft with a smile o.
: satisfaction until it came time to tael
1 ship. when he would give the word t
his rover to catch up with the yachtle
and then turn her over on the othe
t tack
1 While the Myrtle was barging aheat
t some of the others were having hare
t time of it. Flying jibs began to tea
5 loose on the sheets and the mainsaIl
= caused a hard luffing, which stopped TIT
= boat 5 way. Then the Governor had al
, accident which put it out of the race
r The gooseneck on the mast end of thu
boom gave way and the spar stuck on
q nearly to the bowsprit end. The pilot
~