Year: 1866

gatta and Review.


The annual regatta of the New York Yacht
Club will take place to-day. The annual re-
view of the Yacht Squadron will be held at the
Horseshoe next Tuesday. By this arrange
ment, which was unanimously approved last
year, the yachtemen will enjoy an ocean race
around the lightship to-day, instead of skim
ming over the smooth water from Hoboken to
the Southwest spit, and next Tuesday the
ladies and other friends of the Club will be
conveyed to the Horseshoe in a chartered
steamer, and will there witness the man9uvres
of the squadron, sail about for awhile in the
yachts and partake of collation. OF the two
gala days, therefore, next Tuesday will be the
most generally enjoyable, although to-day will
be the most interesting to yachtsmen. We
hope that there will be good breeze, lively
sea and spirited contest at the regatta and
that crowds of ladies, who need no longer have
any fear of sea sickness, will be present next
week at the review.


II viii be noticed in the list which we pub
lish elsewhere, that the number of entries for
the regatta is unusually small. Year by year
the yachtsmen seem less and less inclined TO
participate in this contest, and now it seems
almost entirely confined to the smaller yachts.
In view of the fact that the Club is now COM
posed of very active, enthusiastic members, and
that several new yachts have been added to
the squadron during the year. this decrease is
all the more remarkable. We look in vain for
the names of such fast and splendid vesaels as
the Palmer the Flectwing, the Widgeon, the
Alarm, and many others that might be men,
toned among the entries for to-day. Why do
the owners OF these large and swift yachts de-
cline to participate in the regatta Is 1t be-
cause the allowance for size Tells so severely
against these vessels in the short race OF forty
miles that they do not have tair opportunity
to display their sailing qualities? We ore in
clncd to believe that this is the correct expla-
nation; for certainly there is no lack of en ter
prise upon the part of the owners, and they are
always ready to contribute in any way to the
prosperity of the Club.


Let us suggest then, that, in the sam, spirit
which separated the regatta from the review,
the Club should institute an annual ocean
sweepstakes for the large yachts, the course to
be around Block Island and return. That the
yachtsmen are ready for such an addition to
the Club programme is evident from the hearth
ness with which they engage in matches to ba
sailed upon the open sea and in which the sea-
manship Of the captains and tho discipline of
the crews can be tested, as we'll as the excel
lcnce of the yacht models. Only the other day
two small yachts, tie Whitening and the
Bonita, sailed an ocean race to Cape May. In
short race like that of the regatta to-day the
| first ten minutes decides who is to be the win
ner, and good seamanship, tact, knowlcige Of
the coast, the winds and every expedient for
fast sailing goes almost for nothing. Such
races may give us, and have given us, good
| yachts; but the long ocean races alone
can give us first class yachtsmen like those
| with whom we shall have to contend when
| the English muster up courage enough to
| come over to redeem the America challenge
cup. For these reasons we urge the New York
Yacht Club to provide officially for an ocean
sweepstakes next year and thus to ey.e.a .ne &
operations Of the Club, improve Its practical
efficiency, and revive the popular excitement
upon all classes Of people in regard to its per-
| formances.