on the line to get the start being a sight to behold, especially in
the one-rater class. There were considerably over a dozen of these,
and almost as many half raters, all determined to get the start of the
others over the line, and that sometimes a very narrow one as in the
Hamble river. The _Morwena_, champion of her class, was owned by one of
the sisters of Miss Winnie Sutton, and though her success did not cause
such a stir as _Wee Winn's_, she made almost as good a record. Miss
Cox's luck again failed her in _Kismet_, a two-and-a-half rater built
by Payne. I believe she also was a very hard boat to steer, in fact
worse than _Fiera_. My brother sailed the majority of races that year
in _Gareth_, whose performance was a good one but not so good as the
_Meneen's_. _Gareth_ started five times more than _Meneen_ and won two
more prizes, but _Meneen's_ figure of merit came out the highest. These
two consequently pretty well monopolised the prizes, but a few being
left for the other six, of which _Kismet_ picked up two firsts and six
seconds.
Mr. Jessop was the owner of the _Molly_, twenty rater, and _Coquette_,
half rater. He consequently often required a helmswoman for the latter,
which office he kindly offered me. Little _Coquette_ was an extremely
fast boat of Mr. Nicholson's design, and made one of the longest string
of flags ever recorded. _Wee Winn_, fortunately for us, only started
eleven times that season. In the same year (1893) the majority of
boats and the largest prize winners were of a good wholesome type,
but the three following seasons they went steadily down hill in this
respect. _Elf_ was considered an unsightly monster then, but there
have been many like her since, not a whit uglier or less exaggerated,
which have proved themselves also the fastest movers. _Flat Fish_
was a case in point. She was most aptly named; indeed, I think the
_Flounder_ would have been a still more appropriate designation. She
was put together with most wonderful despatch by Fay and Co., from Mr.
Soper's design, for my sister, Mrs. Schenley. The first two races she
came to pieces, owing to the hurry over her construction, and had to
go back for repairs. To hear the flump of her bow on to the water, it
was marvellous that anything could hold out; she was just the shape
of a spoon forward, and when driven against a head sea she naturally
made the splinters fly. Her nose was quite four inches higher in the
air by the end of the season, in fact she presented the most cheeky
appearance. A most powerful boat in a breeze, in all senses of the
word except perhaps the individual frame, she also required a Goliath
to steer her. My sister's and my united forces were unequal to the
task, and it used to amuse us to watch for the signal of distress
held out towards the end of a race by the boastful amateurs, whom we
requisitioned to steer on hard windy days. They were never keen to
repeat the experiment, and if they did, they were glad enough for us to
take turns. Our chief antagonist was _Fleur-de-Lys_, built by Fife and
owned by Major Montgomery, one of the few lucky yachtsmen who have not
followed up their successes, although a dweller on the scene of action.
Lady Sophia Montgomery occasionally accompanied her husband, and took
a keen interest in the fray and kept a jealous eye on the records of
the rival craft. Theirs was undoubtedly the better "all round" boat, as
_Flat Fish_ was no more good than a barge in light weather, although
she was conscientiously sailed in all the races for which she was
entered. In 1894 two new aspirants for yachting fame joined the ranks,
namely, the Hon. Mrs. Oliphant and Miss Lord. I can hardly say which
has proved herself the keenest sailor. Mrs. Oliphant was most fortunate
in securing an excellent two-and-a-half rater from Sibbick, called
_Zivolo_, which made a very good record, taking twenty-nine flags in
thirty-six starts. Although the boat was her own property, she very
wisely got others to steer at first, though she always accompanied the
ship. Now she no longer needs assistance, and though not possessing a
boat of her own this year, she has had several mounts on other peoples.
The _Rosemary_, a formidable customer to steer was in her hands the
latter part of this season, and though a slow boat Mrs. Oliphant often
led the fleet in her, and won two or three prizes. Miss Lord has had a
succession of one-raters since her début in 1895. She favoured Soper's
design at first, but latterly has adopted Sibbick's. All her boats have
been large prize winners.
[Illustration: _West and Son._ _Southsea._
_FLAT FISH._]
In 1895, yacht-racing was distinctly the fashionable sport. Lord
Dunraven was no doubt in a great measure responsible for this, he
having persuaded several friends to join the twenty-rater class. Lord
Lonsdale owned one of these, Lord Dudley another, Prince Batthyany
Stratmann, a pretty boat painted blue, and the unfortunate Baron von
Zedtwitz, who was subsequently drowned off his twenty-rater, the
_Isolde_.
Even Royalty patronized the Solent classes. The Duke of York had a
one-rater built at Sibbick's in less than a week, in which he took
a great interest though he did not venture himself to join in the
sport. The _White Rose_ was, however, in good hands, being most ably
sailed by his equerry, the Hon. Derek Keppel. She was not a success,
however, and when Mr. Keppel, who was called away at the end of August,
confided her to me, I made but a poor show with her, gaining only
one first in tour starts. Miss Cox was well to the fore in the same
class, also having got her craft from Sibbick. She made a string of
twenty-five flags, eleven of which were firsts. My brother had bought
an unsuccessful one-rater, he re-named _Fusee_, the year before. He and
I sailed this little boat in several races, I steering and he doing
the work. It _was_ fun, and the boat was well suited to this game as
she was only good for light water, directly it blew up at all she was
passed in spite of all we could do. So when my brother went abroad
at the end of June I got a boy to help, and sailed in the light wind
races throughout the season. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and got ten
prizes out of twenty starts, though poor little _Fusee_ was invariably
beaten on a reach except in the lightest air, and had to make up all
her time on the "beats." That August was a busy month, for on looking
back I find I raced every day, Sunday not excepted, as we used to have
duels in _Fusee_ and _White Rose_ with amateur crews. The class to
which these belonged (one-raters) was then and has remained the most
popular of all classes on the Solent. Once at Yarmouth, fourteen of
us started together over the line. It was grand fun and I was very
proud of leading at the end of the first round in little _Fusee_, but
unfortunately the wind dropped completely in the second round, and only
a few of us managed to complete the course at all. I think Mr. Paget's
_Soper_ got in first, and Miss Cox's _Mavis_ second.
1896 was also a great one-rater year, and Miss Cox had the honour
of leading the whole fleet in almost every race she sailed. She
had returned to her old ally, Arthur Payne, who designed her the
_Speedwell_. No praise is too high for this little champion, for she
still holds pride of place and has proved herself as seaworthy as
she is fast. I never steered such a wonderful boat, to windward she
positively edged along in the teeth of the wind and made all the others
look foolish, as she outpointed them to such a ridiculous extent. I
often sailed the old _Meneen_ that year, and she also was dependent on
her windward powers for her success, as being much shorter than the
others she could not be expected to reach with them. This was well
shown at some races at Seaview in August, when we headed the _Florence_
(Sibbick's crack owned by the Marquise de Serramezzana) every time to
windward, whereas she would pass us again on the reach. The _Florence_
got two firsts and one second, and we secured two seconds and one first
out of the three races. Mrs. Schenley had bought the _Corolla_, a
success of the previous season. We did very well with her until about
the end of July, when _Tatters_ became too much for us, some slight
alteration having given her the advantage over us. _Florence_ then
came out, and we left those two to fight it out to the bitter end.
These boats, both of which were of Sibbick's design, were extremely
fast, though they were not remarkably close-winded. Lord Albemarle
built _Valeria I._ at Payne's, and I sailed in her many times but
failed to score, there were certainly numerous and formidable rivals
and _Valeria_ came rather late to the fray. It must be an unlucky name
I think, as _Valeria II._ has not proved any better, though she is a
beautiful boat and great things were expected of her, being Payne's
design. _Tatters_, with Miss Lord at the helm, won first prize in
the Ladies' race (promoted by the _Gentlewoman_) on August 4th, Mrs.
Oliphant who had a good mount in the _Florence_ was second, Miss
Bucknill being third in _Meneen_, I fourth in _Valeria_, my sister last
in _Mem Sahib_. There was a fresh wind, and as the harbour was full of
yachts, and the course was all amongst them, considerable skill was
required in the handling. There were happily no casualties. Another
ladies' race in one-raters, with a diminished crew of one amateur,
was got up one evening at Cowes by Lord Harrington. There was a fine
scrimmage getting on board, most of the women or their boats being
late, the starting-gun--a 12-bore--was fired off in one of the bathing
machines, regardless of the entreaties of the competitors for time.
I was dragged on board the wrong boat at the last minute, my "mount"
being late, and off we went after _Speedwell_, but she was already a
speck in the distance, and we found we should never catch her again.
My sister and I had a deadly encounter in _Tartar_ and _Bodagh_, and
after jostling each other round and round and tacking and filling in a
remarkable manner only known to ourselves, I came out the best of it
and she gained third honours.
[Illustration: _Becken._ _Cowes._
_COROLLA, STEERED BY MISS HUGHES._]
In 1897, Mrs. Schenley joined the one-design class--with _Cresta_---
started the year before by Major Colville and Colonel Bucknill. These
boats proved very popular and much good racing has resulted. They are
ugly but wholesome, not very fast but answer their purpose well. We
did not race very assiduously that season as we were often otherwise
engaged. _Cresta_ won us about fourteen prizes, in thirty starts I
think. Many women sailed in this class, Mrs. Parry and Mrs. Tower
constantly accompanying their husbands, also Mrs. Towers Clark and
Mrs. Alwyne Greville were occasionally to be seen on the _C'lerk_ and
_Eileen_. These latter, however, never ventured to take the helm,
though they were much attached to the sport and nothing daunted by
weather. The boats owned by women this year were the _Fairy_, Miss
Lord, _Cresta_, Mrs. Schenley, and _Speedwell_, Miss Cox, while Mrs.
Oliphant was Queen Regent on the _Rosemary_. My sister, Miss Hughes,
constantly sailed the _Meneen_ and _Speedwell_, but she will never make
such a record as she did with the _Viva_, half-rater, lent her by Mr.
Wood, which was one of the largest prize-winners and most successful of
her class ever floated.
Half-raters are too small for my taste, and I think a two-and-a-half,
as the boats are built now, is the best size for a woman. Possibly
the day may come back when the five-raters will be as easy on their
helms as they were in 1891. My sister tells me she steered _Forella_,
five-rater, in quite a fresh wind this season and had no difficulty in
managing her, so perhaps I am not too sanguine in anticipating more
sport for us in this class.
[Illustration: _F. G. Stuart._ _Southampton._
_FAIRY, STEERED BY MISS LORD._]
My ideal mode of yachting would be to have a new two-and-a-half-rater
whenever the old one was worsted, with a five-rater perhaps now and
then to vary the monotony. A fifty-ton steamer, or one perhaps a little
smaller, to act as convoy is essential, and it should be fast and have
a good saloon, and a couple of rooms to change in if needed. Cowes is
the most convenient _pied-à-terre_ from a racing point of view, being
very central with regard to the more frequent regattas. Racing is not
a cheap amusement, but then, nothing nice ever is. To put it roughly,
the two-and-a-half-rater would cost £300 to build, and £100 to "run."
The steamer £2,500 to build, and £300 to "run," and the little house
at Cowes, one or two hundred for the season. Of lesser items connected
with racing there are several, the numerous club subscriptions for
one thing being no small matter. The expenses of yacht-racing have
been steadily on the increase, and I hope now they have attained their
maximum. We have had sixteen racing boats in the family during the last
twelve years, our last effort being made in the poor man's class, the
one designers, which fact speaks for itself. Many others are in the
same hole as ourselves, and are glad enough to find a means of racing
without so much expense. The one-design class was specially instituted
to meet this demand, as the boat only costs £200 to begin with, and all
the costs, wages, etc., are limited and prescribed by the rules. They
are fine little craft too, stiff and dry and light-helmed, in fact very
suitable boats for a woman to start her racing in. About fifty prizes
are given by Solent clubs for this class, though, of course, they are
not so well catered for elsewhere.
A trip to the Westward at the end of the Ryde week is a pleasant
change, the regattas at Torquay and Dartmouth being quite unique
spectacles. I know of nowhere in England where ceremony is so lightly
disregarded, or where conviviality is so essentially the order of the
day.
The late Prince Henry of Battenberg did honour to these festivities in
1894, and won himself golden opinions by his geniality, and genuine
enjoyment of the fun. He asked my brother to sail his twenty-rater,
_Asphodel_, during this time, and proved himself not only a lenient
master, but a kind friend and a keen sportsman.
My chronicle is now at an end. I am conscious of having made many
omissions, and though my love of yachting makes even writing on it a
welcome task, still I feel the futility of my endeavours to portray
adequately the pleasures of the sport, which it has been my life
interest to enjoy.
Barbara S. Hughes.
The following list of Racing Clubs of the Solent may be of use to those
interested in the sport:
Ent. Fee. Sub.
Royal Southampton Y.C. 2 gns. 3 gns.
Royal Portsmouth Y.C. 0 " 3 "
Royal Albert Y.C. 4 " 4 "
Royal Victoria Y.C. (Ryde) 5 " 6 "
Royal Southern Y.C. (Southampton) 4 " 4 "
Castle Y.C. (Calshot) 3 " 3 "
Bembridge Sailing Club 3 " 1 "
Island Sailing Club (Cowes) 1 " 1 "
Minima Y.C. (Hamble) 10/6 10/6
Hythe Y.C. (Hythe) 2 gns. 2 gns.
Seaview Sailing Club (Seaview) 1 " 1 "
[Illustration: _Lombardi and Co._ _13, Pall Mall East._
_MRS. W. L. WYLLIE._]
PUNT RACING.
The first punts on our river--the Medway--were simply flat-bottomed
shoe-shaped boats, which were built to slide over the mud, and were
principally used by muddies and watermen, or by those people who,
having boats anchored off the shore, required something they could push
over the intervening flat. With a wind astern or on a slight incline
in the mud, the slipping process was simple, the happy owner of one
of these primitive punts finding himself on the river with but little
trouble. A friend of ours at Gillingham determined to build himself one
in his own dining-room to use for rowing, and being of an ingenious
turn of mind, as he had to pull the punt up into his garden every time
she was used, he added a detachable wheel under the bow, and then by
fixing her oars on either side of the gunwale as handles, he was able
to wheel her up and down the causeway with the greatest ease. This
friend had long since found out that the Gillingham boy, boats, and
mud did not agree. He it was who first saw the possibility of the punt
being turned into a sailing boat, and when this idea occurred to him
he started building the _Snowflake_, an ordinary mud punt with square
chime, a centre plate and lug, which in its turn gave place to another
named _Crystabel_. A small club was then thought of, for the purpose of
opening up the healthy enjoyment of punt racing to the working class,
and it was soon formed and my husband invited to become Commodore. A
small subscription of half-a-crown, and a shilling entrance fee, made
it possible for the working man to enter, and most races were arranged
to suit his convenience. The money was paid to the officer of the day
before the start, and only by the boats competing.
[Illustration: _CRYSTABEL._ _NELSON._
_Sketch made by W. L. Wyllie_, A.R.A. _For The Sportswoman's Library._
_PUNTS RACING._]
Punts in those days only cost from £4 to £5, and we soon had several.
Our eldest son was promised a boat as soon as he could swim, which
hurried matters, and a new punt was laid down, finished and christened
_Nelson_ before the summer was out, but this, as well as all the
earlier ones, leaked. Then a real start was made. My husband being
fired with the idea of improving the breed, began cutting out
and drawing many models preparatory to building. The greenhouse was
found to be the only place long enough, so the boat throve though the
flowers faded, the pots grew chips and copper tacks to the despair of
the gardener, and we had no show of flowers that winter. In the early
spring, the new creation was taken into the little wood close at hand,
and there with the sweet primroses and bluebells growing all round her
was turned bottom up for all who were interested to come and sand-paper
her whenever there was a "spell oh" in the course of the day's work.
She was then finished off with a scarlet coat, and carried on the
shoulders of four men in procession to the beach, where the christening
ceremony was to be performed. At the moment, the family being full of
Lear's Nonsense Songs and Stories, the little girl insisted she must
have lavender water tinged with pink. So this of course was supplied.
The boys ran up flags and hurrahed enough for the launching of a
first-class cruiser, the men gave a big shove, and the little girl
broke her bottle, calling out good luck to _Scarlet Runner_. This
punt never leaked a drop, and sailed splendidly for her size, though
unlike the accommodating bicycle of a well-known song, she would _not_
hold two, and in a sea little but a man, mast and sail could be seen.
At this time bigger punts were built, principally by Mr. Baker, a
fruit-grower of Gillingham, who introduced a stronger, larger type with
much higher freeboard. From his little yard were launched _Tar Baby_,
_Go By_, _Satan_, and lastly _Black Bess_, which held her own against
all comers. The blacksmith also built _Ethel_ and _Mud Puppy_, so that
altogether there was a nice little class. _Scarlet Runner_, after
several alterations, ultimately beat _Black Bess_. Then came a decision
to sail under Y.R.A. rules, and bring the boats up to half-rating. This
in most cases meant building afresh, so once more Commodore started
chipping bits of nice soft wood, till the desired shape for the new
punt to hold two was arrived at. We then hunted for a building shed,
and at last settled on a loft over the stables, a nasty draughty place,
but one with plenty of room. The punt was drawn out life size on the
floor in chalk, and five nice fir planks were procured from the village
carpenter for the bottom. The centre plank was one inch thick, and the
two on either side three-quarter; a grown oak knee formed the stem, and
another the stern post, and to these a strong rope was fastened to
make into a tourniquet to give the proper rocker to the bottom. Every
day as it grew dusk, off we all went to that horrid cold loft, lit up
the lamps and started an abominable din of hammering, a boy generally
buzzing round the while with a broom to clear away some of the chips.
When I grew tired of crouching and holding a hammer to the rivets,
then the boy was victimised. The wheelwright came to lend a hand in
the evenings, and envy seized my soul as I watched him send home screw
after screw as if they were going into so much butter. Commodore
would not even leave his work to come in to dinner, and looking back
now, I really think it must have been a very uncomfortable time. The
sides were made out of one wide plank of Kauri pine without a join.
This was riveted to the beams and angles of Bull metal, and a devoted
friend put in the mast step, which to this day holds all the water it
catches, sending up a spirt as the mast drops into place. The centre
board case gave a good deal of trouble, but even this gave way to
patience. The seams were gone over with the greatest care with putty
and varnish, as we were determined she should not leak, and the mixture
proved most satisfactory, as whatever water the punt shipped ran out
of the centre board case, and never a drop came through the seams. I
was greatly distressed when the well was put in. I really could not
see how I could be expected to sit in any comfort on a butcher's tray,
which it resembled. The idea in itself no doubt was lovely, for any
water coming on board emptied itself out of the tray, which was flush
with the top of the centre-board case, down the case, thus making the
boat absolutely unsinkable. But fancy sitting for hours with one's
knees up to one's chin in a calm. I argued for a long time, and was
made to sit in position over and over again, my husband declaring it
was quite comfortable, but I could not see it. I agreed, however, to
waive the question till the punt should be afloat. So a light deck was
put on her, with canvas strained and painted over it, and then she
was turned bottom up on the tressels, and Commodore planed, whittled
and sand-papered till every line was beautifully fair. The rudder was
shipped on to the transom on the curved Bull metal gudgeons, so that if
it touched the bottom it slid up the gudgeons without coming off. It
could also be triced up with a line when sailing in shallow water.
[Illustration: _From a Drawing_
_By W.L. Wyllie_, A.R.A.
_PUNT: SEA MAIDEN._]
At last came the happy day for launching, when a cart was brought up
from the farm filled with straw, and pulled up close under the door
of the loft, the punt being lowered away carefully on the top. In
procession we followed down the old road to the brickfields, the little
girl[1] bringing up the rear in her chair. When the cart had been
backed as close down the river as possible, Sweet Pet dashed her bottle
of wine against the boat's side, and with a little excited shriek,
called out good luck to _Sea Maiden_, as the punt plunged into the
water.
That same evening, _Sea Maiden's_ sail plan was calculated, and drawn
out. We have very strong ideas of our own on the sit of a sail, and
had proved by many experiments that a sail that sits dead flat is a
mistake, but to make sure, we made one more trial with a lot of little
paper vanes stuck on pins, and setting our sail, pinned these right
across, shifting them time after time as we sailed about. Then we
came to the conclusion that there should be a fairly flat after-leach
curving very gradually to the luff, and that seams carried across
the sail in the direction of the wind, caused less deflection than
the usual seams up and down. Now the carpet was rolled up in the
drawing-room, and our union silk cut and ruled with the greatest care,
each seam with half-an-inch curve towards the luff over-lapping to form
pockets for the light ash battens, and a nice round after-leach and
foot. Then came the machining, which was simple enough, and fell to
my lot, and in time the sail was bundled up and sent off to be roped,
with strict injunctions that it was to be sewn loosely to the rope,
especially the luff. When it came home it was set between a tree and
a fence, where through the early spring it flapped gently up and down
whenever there was a light breeze, stretching and improving itself in
the sun. Sailing was then started in real earnest, so that we might
learn the ways of the boat, and get all the gear to work with the least
amount of trouble, before the racing came on. Our balance-jib looked
after itself, being laced to a light ash boom. In going to windward the
sheet was always fast, and when off the wind it could be goosewinged in
a second by letting the sheet run, and pulling on the lee-guy, so that
what little we lost in the size of the sail was counteracted by the
speed with which we could handle it.
[Illustration: _Drawn by W. L. Wyllie_, A.R.A. _For The Sportswoman's
Library._
_PUNTS RACING._
(_THE RACE._)]