PLEASURE YACHTS OF THE LUXURIOUS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2722, 16 May 1906, Page 71

PLEASURE YACHTS OF THE LUXURIOUS.

— 'Most Famous of All. —

To Lord Brassey belongs ol right the first place in these notes upon the floating palaces of the modern Croesus. (For many years before the possession of a cruiser yacht was deemed necessary to a man of means the Sunbeam was sailing far and wide, and to-day it would probably still be true that she holds the mileage record of the yachting world. Fift«en years ago, when the Sunbeam's breezy owner went for a second honeymoon, Lord and Lady Biassey spent six months amid the bays and inlets of Spain and Italy, and since then they have taken their well-tried craft to India and Australia. A special feature of the yacht is its roomy deck house, which is a veritable museum of curios from every land, and these possessions overflow into the saloon, and even into my lady's cabin, whose trim bookcase betokens the thoughtful relaxations indulged in by the intrepid yachtswoman even while at 6ea.

— A Bachelor's Sea Den.—

For several years past all England has followed with eagerness the plucky efforts made by Sir Thomas Lipton to bring home the coveted America Cup from the "other side." It is. however, not in the Shamrock, but in the lordlier Erin, that the genial baronet plays the role of host, and it is in the harbours of the Mediterranean, from Nice to Smyrna, from Naples to Alexandria, that the modern Jason loves to linger. When the writer las>t saw the Erin, not many weeks ago, her owner was just bringing ashore an honoured guest in the person of the exEmpress Eugenic, after a morning's run along the Riviera coast from Cap Martin. The State bedchamber is, indeed, with its canopies and electric pendants, its lounges and choice water colours, fit for an Imperial guest. Its drawing room is a dream of elegance ; the fireplace, surmounted by a dainty clock, flanked by marble statuary groups, stands between a pair of marqueterie cabinets ; padded chairs are set upon skin rugs; there are fresh flowers ever on the table, and charming landscapes, after the manner of Corot, artistically bedeck the silk-lined walls.

— Work and Play. —

That some of the finest floating homes should be possessed by the monarchs of the shipping world is in accord with the fitness of things, and the name of Sir Donald Currie at once springs to the reader's lips. As a typical yachtsman of this class, however, may be chosen the comparatively youthful chairman of the Fairfield Shipbuilding Company, Sir William Pearce — another bachelor baronet — who is well content with the dainty charms of his eea-bride, Lady Torfrida. This delightful craft is a sort of edition de luxe of an Atlantic liner — its main saloon is adorned with exquisite pictures, framed in the pillared panels of the walls, and the Btriped silk upholstery of its

French chairs accords well with the deft comfort of the cosy corners that enclose the fireplace. . - — La Belle Sauvage. — The pow« S. gold is admirably shown in the lordly yacht of 743 tons to which -Mr J. B. Robinson ha 6 given the nam. of La Belle Sauvage. , Its crew of 45 car get up steam in half an hour, and yet they can at will crowd on an acre, of canvas, and sail the seas as if steam were a thing unknown. The drawing room, ample as it is, appears still larger by reason of the huge mirrors by which it is enclosed. In one corner a perfect piano, in another a huge aloe growing cut of a table potj every chair with its cushion, every portal . with ■ its fluted Corinthian shafts. Even the vestibule is a vision of elegance," and the appliances devised by modern science are untold. — America's, Biggest " Yacht. — The record ior huge pleasure craft of American build is held by Mr Howard Gould's 1900-ton yacht, which bears the name of Niagara. With an initial cost of £100,000, and a monthly expenses bill of £2000, it was designed in part by the owner's youthful bride, and is thlast word in "transatlantic opulence. Its dynamos run 400 electric lamps, its refrigerator produces half a ton of ice a day, its linen lockers enshrine £2000 worth of embroidered Irish linen ; it has its hospital and laundry, and its glasspaned observation room for gusty weathei — Built in Britain. — There are two sons of Uncle Sam, however, who have surpassed their compatriot by having their sea palaces built for them in Great Britain. A dozen years ago MrW.- K. Vanderbilt provided the Mersey with a new sensation by laying down a craft the cost of which must have been nearly twice that of the Niagara. This huge schooner, th( Valiant, is in a sense a museum oi the decorative styles of the last five centuries, from Francois Premier to Louis Quartorze, from Chippendale to Sheraton, from Wedgwood to Cawthorne, from Adams to "iynecastle. One of its curious features is an ample bicycle track. A newer yacht, less than five years old, is the superb Margarita, which was designed by Watson for Mr Anthony Drexel, the Philadelphia banker, who invited several hundreds of his friends to the ball which preceded the departure of the family foi their firs, 1 European trip in tbeu new home. — A Marine Museum. — Not much smaller than either of these, the Princess Alice II was expressly built in England for the Prince of Monaco, who has sailed the seas for more than 30 seasous in quest of the hidden treasures of the deep. It is a pleasure yacht, but the pleasure is turned to account for the furtherance of the world's knowledge of the mysteries of the sea, and the steadiness of the laboratories amidships is so perfect that the scientists who accompany the Prince upon his expeditions are able to work the microscope as easily as ii they were perched upon a stool in the Royal Institution. Sometimes the captain scents ?. whale, and the excitement of

— The total production of wheat in 1905 | —A Scarborough liner has lan<k4 one in Great Britain amounted to 58,802,489 of the largest ood ever s^en on tae Scer-fceiiels-22,000,0Q0 bueHek more than in borough fish market. The fish weighed 1804 J " ye w€l S^t- I* was sent to London^

the chase is added to the delights of dredging, for which the yacht possesses a cable seven and a-half miles long.