HIS EXCELLENCY THE ADMIRAL

Otago Witness, Issue 2545, 24 December 1902, Page 71

HIS EXCELLENCY THE ADMIRAL-

. 2L YACHTING ROMANCE.By Xbnophon-. The ..admiral stood on. the. navigation bridge as his vessel steamed leisurely into the harbour of a fashionable watering place late "in the afternoon of an American summer day. ' H.M.S/ St. Georgt, first-class cruiser, 12 guns, 'flying the, pennant of Rear-admiral .:Sir John Parker,, G.C.8.-^ such. was the official style of the warship and;ier commander. The yachts were j,uss "finishing the first of. the series of five races for the Presidential CJpp, and everybody was there to see the Atlanta, sailed by Tom Dillon, the " demon -skipper/ '-win the -.event, with Mr ■ Morgan's handsome Jersey Lily a good second. - „_ Such small matters, of course, do not interest the admirals of navies, and Sir .'John Parker ~vraa totally -ignorant of the proceedings, .except "in so far as they " affected" ,the\. navigation-' of/ 'the" 'harbour.'' '- Bit ! th"e;yisit 6f >a warship.] -in-^he' height'of •' " tMe annmn^r season "'twas ■ airf- "event,"- .and - created' quite"> -a^'furore among the'patri- ■ cian-^-if- -a- isep>ul»lK( admits of; such—resi- %- flents of^'the^AittEricaßiicrty,- most" especially "" tKe ■■feminine^secfion.' " • The- admiral was, soon made aware .of the importance of "the " - occasion, and-hewell knew how, through long . experience, to be dignified, as well as gracious, ' under all circumstances. While lie refused many of the favours-thrust upon him, he most courteously allowed his vessel to be the 'flagship for the remaining races, ' Which .were to extend over several days. And right well' did he cany • out his part. It was a -fine sight to see the warship 'upon the following days, covered from~ end- to" end'- in 'gay streamers. But his Excellency took' no Apparent interest in the contests; he .was, <7bld and formal as ever. During- the afternoon of the second race, however, he noticed what had at first escaped his notice. "What yacht is that?" he said, indicating a boat in the distance. "The Princess Alexandra — Englteh-built, I believe/i sir;" was the /prompt response. "Ah S f so I" should judge ; my glasses 1 ," and the admjral.said.no more, though he scanned critically through his, powerful glasses, the prettiest picture of a yacht that ever he had seen. After a few minutes' scrutiny, he called for a programme of the races. ; Along ; i^ie deck a group of boys, the junior officers of the ship, watched the race •with th'at- interest which youth always attaches to rivalry ; and, naturally," the English boat, held their attention. -She was "' cjean-built, .'finely-shaped, -and loftiry ' tjfelrred/and , most. perfect suit' " . of canvas.. 'Although not. so' rakish as her ' Tivak-r^chose artificial water-lines^ adjecting" end«, and aieas of sail were,:won'der£ul- „ to' Bei6ldf^yet'*hb J jone could, doujbt that sHe y»s iheant to, sail ; apS the' fruitless sail plan and beautiful lines fostered the illusion . .-.that she was . smaller. th<Cn" her opponents. -But, whichever might be the faster sailer -.in.the race," as calculated by the methods of American, handioappers, anyone who saw --the turmoil of the Americans could judge which was the happier when the wind was "fresh; for all were over-sparred and over- ■■ canvassed, x many ridiculously, and ifc required, considerable sailing skill on the part of the crews ( to negotiate the course without disaster. ~' : Tik Princess Alexandra was a British model par excellence, and the others American decidedly ; and hence the rivalry became a national one. It almost seemed, indeed, as if the supremacy of England or America were to be decided by these frail shells, 24ft long. ■ The British yacht was one of the smallest - and daintiest that h^id ever -left the Clyde for American waters — built to the order of Miss Grace Somerville, an English lady resident in the United States, and called by her after England's favourite, Princess Alexandra ; and the price — well, not many would have liked the price of the tiny craft, even if they possessed the revenues of the amiable Miss Somerville. -.The admiral gazed at the , programme/ and soliloquised— -". Miss S^mervMle ; English; I," suppose?" - junior officers' ■watched the race, and criticised — especially ; the sailing of the -English yachts, and they completely lost their- patience and stood , up and said expressive things when- the pretty boat lost a length in "going about, 1 ' and when Tom Dillon "cut her out" round: ing the flag buoy. One young officer, more irrepressible than the rest, aptly expressed in general terms the feelings of all : "Look here! Isn't it a d shame to see him making such a, mess of it! Wonder who he can be? We'd give a month's pay to see you aboard of her, Wan-en." The officer thus. addressed was Lieutenant Gerald Warren, of Killarney, Ireland ; and many and many a day's sailing had he had at -bis old home. He was not hand- ; • some-Kis ■ all young officers and youjng | gentlemen in stories should be. He was tall and" strong, with dark hair that curled slightly, blue eyes, a prominent forehead, /tnd a chin to mateh — reliable, but not ' brilliant — a man to be trusted ; nothing jnore. Yet, somehow, he was the favourite of the crew. The second day's racing was just a repetition of the first — Atlanta 1, Jersey Lily 2, Alexandra 3. Tom Dillon had sailed J his boat home, just as it. was expected he ; r would, and the. same arrangement was ; looked upon as settled for succeeding races ; j Jtmt these expectations were upset by the sudden illness of Mr Barnes, the - middleaged and self-satisfied American gentleman fWho sailed Alexandra, in an honorary capacity, for "friendship" of the owner. L Some persons said it was an attack of the —gout, to .which he was subject ; others said it was an. attack of the "sulks,"- to ./which he was als-j subject. But which-'ever'-13aight.be .the more correct diagnosis of .the malady, the "result was equally untefcuft&t* fer Miss jtamfiKKiUSi and it .was

j duly announced that the Princess Alexandra would not take part in the concluding races. A yachting skipper, it would appear, is one of those rarities whose price is above rubies ; there was not one to be had in the place, for love or money. And thus it turned out that Miss Somerville had to depend upon the skilfulness of Mr Barnes. How she had doted on her pretty boat, and how delighted she had been with the two thirds she had secured ; and now, how great her disappointment! Poor Miss Somerville ; she was utterly disconsolate ! But' the gallant fidmiral had been watch- • ing the course of events, quite unknown to anyone else, and, indeed, almost unknown to himself; and he came to the rescue with the- promptitude of a true sailor. He, most -unaccountably, had "been observing the proceedings, while "awaiting despatches from the Admiralty"; and when he discovered that the Alexandra was not going to sail, he sent for the second .lieutenant. "Warren," he,/ said, "I understand that the English yacht will not start in the remaining races, for want of a captain. I think," he / continued, in an assumedly casual manner, "that this would be rather a pity. Do you' think some of the midshipi men, with, yourself, could take charge of ', her?' '. I expect that we^shall be here for 'some days more: It" so',' l should vlike you •j to go to ' the- owner, and; 1 presenting my ;'cqm,pUfi«ht^»-'f*ay-the admiral regrets that I the Princess"- Alexandra is prevented from' }■ continuing the contest-, and wishes to know ! if some of the young genfclenien of the St. 1 George could be of any service to her. ' i Of course^ there was nothing in the world that Lieutenant Warreu would like so well ; ; and Miss Somerville, her surprise and' hap- ! piness now exceeded her former despair, :if that were possible. A message from the admiral, and delivered by one of his officers ! She ai* once called in her j ounger -sister, Ethel, to explain to her the rnesspge; and her shy glances bore eloquent testimony to the admiral's kindness and thoughtfulness — at least, Lieutenant Warren thought f SO. y } "Tell his Excellency," she .said in a ' graceful, girlish way. " .we. are quite touched by his kindness, and -is w,e, too, are of England, although residing here, we shall be > extremely pleawd to allow our yacht to "be sailed by officers of the Royal Navy, at his ; direction." And so it was arranged.* A trial spin was \to be made that afternoon ; and the stern ; old admiral beumed (to himself) as he saw the yacht pass the warship, sailed by such , a gallant crew. " She's just your old boat, j the Eileen, over again, Warren," said one of I his enthusiastic companions j "Yes; but about three times prettier," • was the reply. " And look how she stands •to windward, just, like a~ little witch ! Tomorrow we. must lay her alongside of Tom Dillon, and see if Clyde boats are as good .as New York." -The- 'young officer was not at all in the habit of betraying his feelings,- but to-day ■ he ' nyas 1 as proud of the pretty boat as though' he owned her. ' * ' * Attd bn> the morrow these two boats were ' side "by side ; th-a Atlanta and the Princess Alexandra fought a close duel. It was a neek-and-neck race from start to finish, and the English yacht won by a few lengths — even according to the American system of reckoning. Sir John Parker had come up on deck, "just for an airing," during the progress of the race, though lie earned his powerful naval glasses, which he used as continuously as if observing the manoeuvres of a fleet; ' and when the result was made known he Avent below, and appeared in a very agreeable frame of- mind during the evening. , And Miss Somerville. her happiness may be imagined — not described. 1 ■ On the next day of the regatta the wind was blowing frssh and free — as sailors say, — and it was quite laughable to see the 1 eccentricities of the Yankee cracks. The Atlanta, in spite, of all efforts, was beaten by Jersey Lily, which in turn was beaten by Alexandra. Admiral Parker had consulted his weather glass more frequently than usual during the early part of the morning, and observed drily to his lieutenant, " I &cc you had the ?ood fortune to win by a short piece yesterday. I think we shall have a breeze of wind to-day ; so that those boacs that go out snug will have the race all to themselves." Although not th'e7leasl bifc'/pf a 'yachts'; man, the ' admiral » was no mean judge of " weather indications, aud this the young officer" was shrewd enough to profit by. . When the race started the favourite yacht careered somewhat •' wildly, but Dillon said lightly, "Oh, it's nothing*." .The race, however, was what might be described by a sportsman of the turf as ' a " one-horse affair." and Atlanta -was not the " one horse." On- the Friday following the regatta was to be concluded, and as the sailing conditions were ideal, even for those waters. the yacht from New York was considered by "those who knew" to have the main chance, principally.- perhaps; on account of the experience and sagacity of her sailing ; master. The wind was so light that the I young captain of the Princess Alexandra felt some misgivings as he sun-eyed the acres of canvas his formidable rival displayed; but he noted with the pride and I satisfaction wrich only yachtsmen feel how his own silken, mainsail filled to the gentle, steady pressure of the air. " The system of scoring in the series of rpces was &uch that three points were allowed for a win. two for a second, and i one for a third place, tli3 highest number ;of points to deterniinz the lesult ; and any ; yacht winning three firsts, if unsuccessful", I had by arrangement the right \o challenge the winner. Sucb were the conditions, and it eventuated that in _ the final heat the Princess Alexandra crept to windward, her mainsail drawing superbly, and won a splendid race by a lew *e;onds only, and stood on exactly level terms with the ledoubtable American. Dillon was enraged beyond measure at liis bad fortune : to be beaten three times in snecessiou was more than most men could stand — at least, most yachtsmen. And so -iia juEocft^tuudry g£t£t ftad jjecaliar oatlia

, that he would whip the' English " dingey" to — — (the word, 1 though fervently enun- ; ciated, was 'inaudible) }n the next' encounter, i Matters had now reached an interesting i stage, even for the dignified admiral, who, ; in the goodness of his heart, announced that- as the English yacht was being sailed by officers of the navy he would allow them to carry the blue ensign during the decisive event; and, he added, with gr-sa,t condescension, "As you will be carrying the : flag I may myself view the race from my launch." The admiral thought it would be a fine thing to see the blue ensign flying i on the winning yacht. He did rot con- j sider how it would look at the -peak of the losing boat. This consideration, howi ever, entered into his mind later on. j The following Tuesday ' was the day ; selected upon which the issue was to be : finally determined. The beautiful harbour i was literally alive with gliding yachts — everybody who could beg, borrow, or hire , a boat wr>s afloat ; and watermen asked ■ what seamed unto them good for their ser- ! ; vices. ' | The two competitors faced the starter. ■ j Atlanta looked magnificent, and was the ' favourite; for it was widely known how i _ deeply her veteran skipper had sworn to , redeem his fortunes and tha -traditions of ' 'his beautiful boat. Tom Dillon, when first . apprised of the change in. his rival's crew, prc«id of Ms ~ own,, skill' and reputation, re-- ,'. marked 1 that ," them navy; irien might know j .how. to sail an , iron ship, mit, d- it all, , they don'b know how to manage these little • cockle-shells." The starting gun was fired ; the Princess Alexandra had rushed across the line 10 seconds too soon. Dillon, warily sailing Atlanta, carrying a pyramid. of white canvas, .stood across to" the fraction of a second. With a smile of satisfaction he judged that he had gained three lengths good, to windward ; and Admiral Parker stamped his foot with vexation, used sundry little " d — s,V and wondered how '" his"' , crew had blundered so (he meant ."badly"), and wished with all his heart' | he had not allowed them to carry the blue „- ensign. But everyone of us is liable to be . mistaken — even an admiral and an Ameri- , can yachtsman. „ The English yacht put about, as the g^n ■ . was fired, got way on her as her great mainsail filled, and gybed round the flagbuoy — the crew judging the distance soaccurately that the momentum of the yacht, • with the impulse of the gybe, sent her three lengths clear past the American, taking the wind fairly out of her sails. Upon this change of fortune the admiral kept his [ thoughts discreetly to himself, whatever j they may have been/ but his features re- } laxed slightly ; Dillon's short comment, as ■"his boat was "blanketed" and stood upright, with shaking sails, was — " The devil !" Well, the race finished just as it began — • j three lengths was. the verdict— the- gybe . round the flag-buoy had won the Presidential Cup. • i ' 1 The "despatches from the Admiralty" were received oa the -following day, but the t admiral did not put to sea as •'promptly as ' was his custom. He was detained-j-30 He explained to his chief officers— by unforeseen" circumstances which required his personal attention ashore for some* days. The Princess Alexandra now " sails in English waters, and is known as Lady Par- J ker's pretty yacht; while Lady Parker's younger sister. Ethel, now takes "her yachting at Killaruey, in Ireland — and is just as charming as ever. At least, Gerald Warren thinks ho.