The New York herald., 1922-10-08

ter to do the barring. but Gloucester
said no. There were men in Gloucester
who were opposed to the Mayflower be-
ing allowed to race in the beginning.
From things they heard they distrusted
the yachting element who owned
shares in the Mayflower. For the sea-
going type of yachtsmen they had great
respect, but they had seen what harbor
yachtsmen and toy boats had made of
the Americas Cup Race and they did
not want to see that element trying to
run their race. So they felt about any
possible intruding by the yachting ele-
ment, but when the showdown came
those same Gloucester men stood by the
Mayflower. By vote of 10 to / they
said the Mayflower should be allowed
in.
Still the Nova Scotians said no, and
full power being vested In them the YER
dict had to stand. At that stage of the
play 1t was too late for Gloucester to
build a new vessel even If she could
have afforded to. which she conld not
quite. The fishing had not been going
well and wealthy men are scarce in
Gloucester. Gloucester fish dealers never
did run much to profteering. In all her
history no citizens of Gloucester ever
became a millionaire. She has two mil
lionaire residents to-day, but both came
from outside and neither made their
money out of the fishing industry
1t was up to Gloucester again to find
a vessel to race for the cup race, and
she leaned back and said: "well. we've
got the good old Esperanto. She won
once and with proper time to get ready
for the next race, which she didn't have
for the last race. she ought to sail pretty
WE'LL
But the Esperanto went to sea one
day and never came back. In a thick o.
fog bound home from the Grand Banks
with q trip of salt fish she went UP on
to bar off Sable Island, and there her
old bones still rest.
That was a tough one; but no use
crying over 1t. The thing was to find
another vessel and find her quick. Glou-
cester took look around and while she
was looking around in from sea came
another old salt fisherman, Elsie. from
her three months on the Grand Banks
They hove the fish out OF the Elsie, ran
her up on the railway, gave her a scrub
bing, painted her top planks a shining
black, not forgetting the gold stripe TO
mark her pretty run; overhauled her
patched old sails and running gear, and
away she went to Halifax to sail the
best Of the two new big ones down There,
which happened to be the Bluenose. The
result we all know now. She strove
nobly. but she was not big enough. She
got licked.
Puritan n Filler.
That was last year; and it had been
another bad fishing year, leaving
Gloucester feeling no flusher than the
year before; but, bad year or good. they
were going to have big vessel to bring
back that cup; and so last winter the
Puritan was built and launched and
went to sea under Capt JEFF Thomas.
The Puritan was not go big a vessel
as the Bluenose, but she was the Dig
gest that ever sailed from Gloucester
and she was expected TO be the fastest;
and she so proved herself. Her one
chance to try herself she logged l4f4
knots for five hours In the steady go
ing. Jumping to Is. and once to is knots
when the squalls hit her.
The Puritan looked fine. She looked
finer and finer to bring back the cup
this year. And then came the hard
blow to Gloucester. One day last June,
coming home from the Banks in thick
O. fog, the Puritan ran up on the Saole
Island northwest bar and was lost IL
seemed to mourning Gloucester as II the
Fates and Sable Island had conspired
to defeat her purpose to bring back the
cup. First. the gallant. old Esperanto'
and now the brave new Puritan!
Well. Gloucester's pride and hope was
gone, but the Mayflower was there yet:
and the early objections that she was
a freak boat. that she could not hold
the sea, that she was not bonaflde
fisherman were surely OF no avail now:
For a year and q half now she had
held the sea In all kinds of weather.
getting the fish and bringing them
home. Last winter while the Bluenose
had been freighting salt fish to the
West Indies the Mayflower was out
there on the Banks, and blow high or
blow low, taking 1t as IL came.
The truth Is that the Mayhower Is
more of a fisherman than the Bluenose.
more strongly built, with heavier wood
In her planking and frames Not a bit |
Of gear on the Mayflower but what is
fisherman. whereas the Bluenose sported
last year some little gadgets more be-
coming to a pleasure yacht than ves-
sci destined TO meet rough winter
weather.
About half Of Gloucester feel like