The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1910-11-10
The Sport Of Kings.
By Z. J. W

Paper Read Before the Chautduqua Circle.
The popular fallacy that used to
mark yacht owner as necessarily
a man of wealth is rapidly disappear
ing and the great public is beginning
to realize that the sport of yachting,
often known as the sport Of kings
can be enjoyed by people of moder-
ate means as well as by kings and
millionaires.
Hollis Burgess, a noted Boston
architect, states that, the beginning
of real yachting as a serious sport
dates back to the year 1851. when
the famous schooner yacht, America,
crossed the Atlantic and entered the
regatta of the Royal Yacht Squad
ron, captured the Royal Squadron's
prize cup, now known as the Amer
lea Cup, the blue ribbon of the
as; defeating fifteen Brit s b
yachts Ever since 1851 English
yachtsmen have striven to recap
ture the cup won by the wonderful
Yankee schooner, spending thou
sands Of pounds sterling to accom-
plish this result. AS every one
knows, their efforts have been un-
successful, but the strong rivalry
between two maritime nations has
served to keep the sport of racing
big yachts constantly before tn e
public with the beneficial result Of
stimulating the building of smaller
and less expensive yachts and the
creating of a healthy interest in this
most excellent sport.
The exaggerated stories of the
fabulous cost of these large cup rae
ing yachts has given the public
quite false idea as to the expense
of yachting. Simply because Nor
gan, Gould and other multi-million-
aires expend hundreds of thousands
of dollars enjoying the pleasures of
palatial steam yachts does not place
the sport beyond the means of
twelve dollar week clerk it mere
ly proves how universal it may be-.
come. AS matter of fact, small
yacht racing has developed in recent
years with amazing rapidity, and
along with the racers have come the
cruisers that afford a most excellent
means of enjoyment.
As an example of the magnitude
of the racing small yachts, boats
that are built with fine lines, yet,
stable and safe for pleasure sailing,
| will briefly state that during the
race weeks of the Laichmont yacht
club of New York and the Corin-
thain yacht club of Marblehead, two
large and representative clubs, last
year over 125 boats raced each day
in the different classes all classes
and types of boats participated from
Dories, costing from $75 to $3.50, to
45-foot cruisers costing $5, 900. We
submit, that here is proof that the
every day man or woman may have
plenty of fun in small and mex
pensive fashion by sailing their own
Dory or-sloop in these races.
The yachting season in New Eng
land begins the first Of April and
lasts until the first of October. Ma
ny yacht owners make longer
season, working steadily in the fac
tory for six months and living on
their boats for the other six months.
Fish of all kinds, Holsters, soft she'll
ed crabs and CLAIMS provide a cheap
and wholesome bill of fare during
the time spent afloat. A cruising
boat, sloop rugged, large enough to
accommodate a man and wife will
cost any where from $500 to 81 200
and at the end of the season may be
sold for fair price should the own
er find it undesirable to keep it
through the winter.
| The two models of yachts in pop
ular favor in New England waters
are the Keel sloop and center board
cat rugged boat-there are also ma
ny sloops with center-boards. The
center board is Yankee invention
or adaptation and universally used
in racers the earlier boats, built in
Boston to defend the Americas cup
the Puritan and Mayfower, were Of
! center board construction. But the