Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-09-25
LOOKING BACK
LOOKING BACK
President S Cup SoiIing-Then, Now
BY CHARLES COvELL
outdoor Editor

WnlCe sails Will GOT the
Potomac this week end for
the 25th renewal of the
races that annually con-
clude the Presidents Cup
Regatta.
Starting tomorrow at
$50 am. there will be events
of Hams Point for Flying
Dutchmen. jolly boats. This
ties, Lightnings, Hamptons,
Snipes, Jet las. Comets, Pen
gums. Tech Dinghies and, for
the first time, catamarans, fast
est sailing craft in the country.
Now rs years is a respectable
age for any event. The sail
races are not as old as the
Presidents Cup Regatta itself,
Of course. That dates back to
1926. But in q quarter century
there can be q lot of changes.
For q glimpse Of that first
sailing regatta rs years ago, we
consulted Capt. Grover C.
Farnsworth. who organized 1t
along with Aruthr H. Clephane.
Farnsworth, retired Navy Of
ficer cited for gallantry in
World War II. lives at 1918 Lin
den avenue, Bethesda. Gle
phane. now living in Philadel-
phia, was only a prep school
student at the time.
A metallurgical engineer,
Farnsworth was a member of
the Boston and Detroit Yacht
Clubs when he came here in
1894 and Joined Old Dominion
Boat Club of Alexandria. He
had been sailing since he was
IA. building his own double cat
with sprite sail. At is he cruised
Georgian Bay.
Now "a, Capt. Farnsworth
still sails occasionally and re-
tains a lively interest in the
regatta as honorary member of
the committee.
That first year Farnsworth
and Clephane dipped into their
own pockets to buy trophies but
the next year The Evening Star
contributed them as it has been
doing ever since.
No One-Design Fleet
The remarkable thing about
the first regatta was the abb
sence Of q one-design fleet Of
any class. the captain recalls.
The program was run of Octo-
Der IA. 1884, and there were
Is entries, mostly sloops. yawls
and cabin catboats.
Clephane sailed q Snipe. a
one-design boat, but the bulk
of the entries were backyard !
constructed. Farnsworth, him.
self. had a 16-foot sloop named
the Peter Pan. Built in Auburn
dale, Mass, it had a detach-
able keel and was the first SAIL
boat designed especially for
trailer transport.
The first races were won by :
a 21-foot Herreshoff designed
sloop, Kittywink, owned by F. B.
Levy. Farnsworth's Peter Pan
was second and c. E. Turney's
Brangler I, third.
Farnsworth sailed the Peter
Pan for some years, then sold
1t to a friend who still uses 1t
on Chesapeake Bay.
In 1885 Comets Joined the
feet. Sixteen feet long. they
were called the baby brothers
Of Star boats and were designed
by C. Lowndes johnson for the
Chesapeake Bay and Tired Avon
Yacht Clubs. Stars were never
popular here because of their
deep keels.
The following year Stephens
designed Lightnings were pro-
duced. These were family boats,
10 feet long, and could sail
comfortably with six persons.
About the same time the /
Hartges at Galesville, Md, be- (
gan building the Chesapeake Z
20's, the fastest ever raced on 1
the Potomac.
Moulded PlywOod Next
Then came moulded plywood
and q host Of one-designs, =,
Thistles, Jet las and Penguins, n
which were designed by Phil :,
Rhodes, who was a naval archi- :,
tect here. Primarily for home !.
construction. Penguins became n
the third most popular racing "
class. >.
Now the trend is to fiberglas,
with more and more sailboats y
Of that material being pro- "
duced. x
Latest are the dual-hulled o
CatamaranS, which have been
sensations in racing along the 81
seaboard. They will lead of s.
tomorrow's program in an open u
class under a handicap system. II
There will be trophies for q
each class and two perpetual n
trophies, the Fairey Marine &c
Trophy for Jolly boats and the u u
Malcolm D. Lamborne, jr., Me- VI y.
Trophy for Junior Pen = :,
gums. They will be presented " ",
to the winners by Miss WASH - -
ington Of 1859 at the Hams ~ =,
Point Tea House after Sundays !"
race. ~
Chairman Of the program is " r.
Comdr. Edward F. Cotter of .,
Silver Spring. Committee heads ts
are Morton Knight, Alexandria,
racing; Benjamin Minor, Arl- be-
ington, registration; Kenton D. st
Hamaker, Arlington. entertain
ment; Joseph H. Kraft, Alex Sc
HICAHnAI /kl