YACHTING AT COWES

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 156, 30 December 1925, Page 3

YACHTING AT COWES

MEMORIES OF EARLY DAYS

COMIC OPERA SAILING

MATCHES

DUTCH EAST INDIA .COMPANY

THE PIONEERS.

To give a detailed histo?y bf the sport so closely identified with the name of Cowes' is quite beyond the scope of this article, writes A..G. H. Macpherson in the ''Tatler."., If one goes back far enough it can be argued that Noah was the first yachtsman, but his claim is stoutly contested by the Clan M'Lean, which asserts that one of its ancestors owned a boat at the time of .the flood which at least was not .% floating menagerie., So it is evident that the subject from the start is a long and controversial one.

The term yacht is of Dutch origin, and the pastime owes its inception . to the magnificent Dutch seamen .who gave,England in the 17th century one of the toughest .jobs, to which she ever put her hand. The first "yacht" to make her appearance iti British waters was the . celebrated, Mary, which accompanied Charles over at the Restoration, ■* and was a present from the Dutch East Indi* Company. • She created a tremendous sensation, and the great Phineas Pett was soon busy laying the foundations of a fleet of similar craft. These, however, were purely State vessels, and used for purposes of State. . We .do indeed read of Charles taking.part in one or two- comic-opera sort of Bailing matches, but the hobby proved to be only one of his many passing fancies, and it was not,till the establishment of the '' Cumberland Society'' in-177'5 that the. sport began. to assume definite shape. The "Water Club" at Cork, fbuiided half-a century earlier, claims the.' distinction rof- being ac--tually tho : first British yacht club, but though sailing certainly figure^ in its programme; the records point to its running a good second, to conviviality. ■ Not that tho "Cumberland Sbciety," was behind hand in 'this respect, and, Vauxhall • aud tho. other river gafdensj' all prominent, as SonoTs' of cups," received on occasion a similar stylo of patronage 'from its members that boat-race . enthusiasts used to accord the old Empire. Bac-" ;in'g between,iheso 'little, : Thames boats gradually .becatno - - excessively■keoii, wand wasi^by ; no means-devoid of incident, btat'?Wav still' stalked the sea, and the pressing, the'land;,and the. sport generally, made .littlp headway tilt the founding of the. "Squadron' • in Waterloo year. The riso ■of the historic;."Thames."..eight' -years later out of. the ashes of the ."Cumberland. Society" was followed by that of other clubs. One' of. these, the "London," is represented at Cowes, whilst the "Thames" has also recently acquired . a club . house near-by at Byde.-» GROWTH OF COWES. - ;In'Spito; of its Shipbuilding yards, which; included the Batseys (worldfamous hereafter for their canvas) arid the still existing one of White's, Cowes attracted little notice till the commencement,, of jthe ,19th century, wh/m the fashionables of the day began to recognise its merits as,a summer and bathing resort. England was -then at grips with Napoleon, and an'outward-bound fleet of merchantmen waitiu'g an escort from Portsmouth' was no uncommon sight in the'Roads. As a consequence there was no lack of the seafaring element in the town, and with the obvious advantage of the Solent as a safe cruising ground, those of the leisured visitors whose tastes lay- on, the water were not slow to add sailing to the amenities of Cowes. ■ Small regattas began to be held amongst the local watermen and fishermen; then camo sporting little matches, till finally, thore was a sufficient nucleus of enthusiasts to justify the memorable '-'Thatched Houso" meeting and the installation at Cowes of the 8.Y.5., or "The Yacht Club," as it was theii called. ' The original,fortytwo members 'were : inore than fortunate in their first choice of commodore Lord Yarborough filling that, position with the most conspicuous success for twenty-two years. A uniform of white ducks and blue jacket was subse- i quently adopted—"a far from unbecoming dress,',' we are told, "for those not too square iii the stern." The club's long and honoured connection with royalty was inaugurated by the Prince Regent. If the latter's ' patronage was in some ways hardly a distinction, his presence at' Cowes as king gave a great fillip to. the- town, and apparently also to the sport. '<■ In 1825 the club received'the title of "Royal," and tenyears later became The Squadr.ou.' The quarters at thV castle were taken over in '58, the original clubhouse being the present Gloucester J Hotel, which was leased for that-pur-pose iu '35.

EARLY PAYS dF THE SQUADRON.

During its early existence'the flub exercised little influence on the sport, and it is not surprising. that some of the sailing members grew restive with tho boredom, of club cruises, aquatic meetings, and social functions. Even at the annual regattas the chief excitement consisted in a procession of yachts, and in small-boat sailing the "Cumberland" continued to lead the way. The day of the big'. .cutter I,' However, 'had . arrived. After a aeries of stirring private matches, in which heavy; gambling and keen racing predominated—accompanied at times by a hearty .expression of opinion—Tho Squadron launched its first Gold Cup at Cowes on 10th August, 1826. With its introduction saltwater racing became an ' established sport. " The course ran up to the West Channel, round Tho Nab, and home, dud the prospectus 1 concluded with tho announcement of the now time-honoured ball and fireworks. There were seven starters, all cutters, and the event was won by Mr.. Joseph Reid's famous Arrow (83 tons), followed by Lord Belfast's Harriet (93 tons), and.*' Mr. Assheton-Smith's Menai (163 tons). It is recorded in The Squadron memoirs that although the bay and: roads were crowded with craft, there were no accidents;' also that some,of the yachts fired a salute of guns, and. that there were many elegant females'in carriages in front of the King's house. The first Town Cup followed in September, and a pot of money was lost over the victory of the new 147-ton cutter, Miranda. Amongst ..the. competitors . was the little 34-tgin' yawl, Eliza, "and " the American-built 7C-ton schooner, Mary, bo it was quite a mixed grill. In fact, raving continued on these lints

till the introduction of the Acker's system in '43. .'; '

By a curious though appropriate coincidence, ,tne three above owners represented perhaps the most striking personalities in The' Squadron." Of Mr. Weld it might truly be said that he was the father of British yachting,' and with smashers like Arrow, the two Lulworths, and Alarm, boats built to his own desigh, he practically, dominated the sport right up to the.'sixties. Arrow was undoubtedly the wonder • yacht of the period. She .was launched in '21, and when beaten by Pearl —owned by Lord Anglesey, one of the earliest enthusiasts in spite of a leg lost at Waterloo —she lay on the mud for years till purchased by Mr. Cham-; berlayne, a great sportsman and president of. tho M.C.C. Replankedand lengthened, she resumed her place, racing with amazing success year, after year. Even in .'79. she..got ten prizes in nineteen starts, and finished her career on the Solent by a sensational victory over tho crack cutter, Formosa. The latter was subsequently purchased by the Prince of Wales', who saiTed. his first yacht race in Arrow. The'memory, of Mr. Asshefon-Smith is immortalised in the hunting world as tho "King'of Poxhunters." But this was only the winter side of his career; the sea found Vn him an equally ardent devotee during the summer months. He was onp of the original members, and his yacht Menai, successor to Elizabeth,' figured in many of the great early duels. He was subsequently mainly responsible for the introduction of the steam-yacht..* - In 1827 it was resolved that "anyone applying a steam-engine to his yacht should cease to be a member. 11 Mr. Asshe-ton-Smith promptly withdrew his name, and devoted his energies to the building of a number of these vessels, the first being Menai, a 400-ton Napier craft costing £20,000. It was not till '53 that the Squadron finally overcame its objections to the "steam kettle" and. removed all former restrictions, one of which enacted '' that all; steamers were to consume their own smoke"! ■ ■■•-.' ...;.. , METHODS OF LORD BELFAST. A volume might easily bo written, on the yachting career of that eccentric nobl«mari, Lurd Belfast. Like Gilbert's Jack Tar,"his'fist was ever ready fbr a knock-down-blow, "as the raciiig records of Harriet and' Louisa; testify; He- carried' his pugnacity, moreover, into tup ; columns' of tho. Presß, much to the diversion of ■ tho Cowes folk and the annoyance of; his follow members. His election* to com.--in6doro"(as- Lord D<Jfncgal),iir- Mffy and .his 'subsequent resignation in favour of. Lord;Wilton,- is one.of the unpleasant" episodes in squadron history. , , For all that^Lord Belfast rendered great -service, not only,, to. yachting butto the'Empire, in'his' efforts to .improve ship design. The 10-gun "coffin' brigs" were then' the cent Co of-naval attraction, and'their futflo' efforts to deal with the speedy Dago Slaver had" filled to overflowing the cup of their misdeeds'. With > a patriotic desire to produce a better modp', Lord Vernon and the Duke of Portland built the Columbine and Pantaloon. These proved so satisfactory that Government acquired'' them,, and constructed other vessels on similar line's.*" Lord" Belfast iiow en'ter.id, the arena, and had the Watenvitcb built by Whites. She was 330 tons; one of the most beautiful little brigs . that ever left the ways, and in'an Admiralty trial fairly made mincemeat. of' her opponents. A violent controversy then started raging in the Prx»s as to~ the merits of the two schools. Tills was punctuated by. Lord Belfast seising every opportunity to waylay a King's ship off Cowes and give her a drubbing—much to the enjoyment of the watermen and townsfolk. in the end, Government purchased tho. Waterwitch after she had been din- ] mantled for racing and had won her celebrated match against the Galatea',:; over which £50,000 changed hands.

The yachts mentioned jabove were by no means the only miniaturo war vessels in the earlypleasure fleet of The Squadron, but all were surpassed by Lord Yarborough'a"Falcon, a magnificent ship-rigged yacht of 330 tons built by List" of , Wooton iii '24. Sho'carricd a cvcw of fifty-four, and strict naval discipline was maint.aiued, even to the "application of tho cat. Lord Yarb'orough flew his fhg in her at Navarino; also in some of the historic' cruises The Squadron lnado .across channel. As the result of an accident at sea, the Conimodo:o sold her, but afterwards replaced her with Kestrel, on board of which ha died at Yigo. Falcon was given a set of portable paddles and sent out ,to Calcutta, and has, the distinction of being the first auxiliary in thoss waters; she finished her career as an opium clipper. A number.' of prints testify to tho beauty of these sturdy little armed ships, and they inust have made a fine show in the early Cowes • regattas. In addition, they werc: a distinct, national asset, anl The Squadron can look back to their existence with considerable pride. ENTER AMERICA. , . . Except for the inclusion of outside clubs in the ea-rly 'forties, when tha "Thames," in- particular,' provided some excellent sport, racing' at Cowes underwent little radical'change up to • the beginning of the 'fifties. Several schooners were in evidence, but .attention was still mainly riveted on the struggle for supremacy in the cutter class. Mr. Weld's Alarm (101 tons) was tho most-notable . addition to these, and '38 she annexed the first Queen's Cup when the innovation, of . time allowance was tried. These cutters.were.all of the."cod's head and mackcrel-stail" persuasion, viz., bluff bows with a fine run aft. Arrow was tmilt on the lines of a wrecked French smuggler; .indeed, r.i tho earlier days a smuggler and a revenue cutter were sometimes laid down side by side, and Government given the ..pick' of tho two.. But though many now yachts were launched, the type remained the samo, dospite the unheeded, buccoss of Lord Londesborpugh 's (little iron wonder, Mosquito, with her fine lines and hollow bow. Then cjmo a still biggi'r mosquito in the America, and everything went bang. • .. ■ A study of that memorable racs round the Isle of Wight on 23rd An^-i ust, 1851, adds little actually" to tho dazzle of' tho performance of Stovens's famous"pilot boat,"for such was the origin of the America's model. Tho-British schooners, without question, were hopelessly whacked,^ and'it is well to remember that Commodore Stevens's challenge was. confined'to this class, arid that cutters were not included.. The cutters' wevo ouf main 1 strength, and these, excepting the Alarm, wero anything from a half to a quarter tho tonnage of America (170). It is no excuse for defeat to quoto the misfortunes tViat caused tho retirement of the lluoe urack^

■■•■ . v... viz., Alarm,, Arrow, and Volants, but it can be urged that the Aurora (.4? tons), which finished second, would have, won the race under any conditions of handicapping, -Whatever thn merits-of the victory, however, the effect was astonishing. It revolutionised English- yachting. Owners went schooner-mad, whilst the cut of the visitor's. cotton sails and the glamour of her lines set a new fashion in canvas, and administered a knock-out to the old "cod's-head'' type of vessel. Indirectly, the.effect was even more far-reaching. The cup which Commodore Stevens took home from Cowes laid the seed of sporting good— fellowship- between the-two nations, and though Britain's efforts to recapture ■ the trophy have resulted . so far in many, weary stern ■ chases, the Cup rac?s have done more than anything else to enc.oura.ge enterprise . a^id to keep i/i----terest alive in yachting. The main hope of salvation for the big cutter seems to lie in arcnewal of these contests.

And here we must take leave of these beautiful little ships and tlio fine old whiskered gentlemen who owned them. They belong to the ago of good hemp and good port, when sailing was a much-prized art' in tho island, and the men of the sea were sailors, not mechanics. The Boyal spirit of King Edward is still reflected at Cowos in the Britannia, and the Weld'tradition in Lulworth —but the day is that of the "30-horse."