is the sailing length of the yacht. Time allowance is found by the following table: TIME ALLOWANCE IN SECONDS AND DECIMALS FOR ONE MILE COURSE 71 44.61 57 64.45 43 93.31 70 45.83 56 66.14 69 47.07 55 67.88 68 48.34 54 69.67 67 49.64 53 66 50.97 52 79 35.73 65 52.32 51 78 36.76 64 5371 77 37.82 63 55.14 76 38.89 62 56.59 75 39.99 58.09 CAAAA 41 42 95.91 98.60 40 101.40 71.51 39 104.30 73.41 38 107.31 75.35 37 110.45 50 77 36 36 113.71 49 79.43 35 117.12 60 59.62 46 62.80 44444 48 81.56 34 121 67 47 83.76 33 124.39 45 44 NOTE.-Yachts over 120 feet shall be classed as 120 feet. Yachts are divided into classes as follows: SCHOONERS.-Class 1-To comprise all those whose measurement for time allowance length is 100 feet and over. Class 2-All those of less than 100 feet and not under 80 feet Class 3-All those of less than 80 feet. SLOOPS.-Class 1-All of 55 feet and over. Class 2-All those less than 55 feet and not under 45 feet. Class 3-All under 45 feet. To find the time allowance for fractions of a foot, as for instance, what a 50-foot yacht must allow a 45 1-2 foot yacht: Add to the seconds and decimals opposite 45 feet one-half the difference between 45 and 46 feet, namely: 88.38-86.03=2.35, which divided by 2=1,175. Add to time for 46 feet: 86.03-|1,175-87.205. Now subtract the time for 50 feet 87.205-77.36=9.845. Multiply that figure by the length of the course in miles, say 40, and the product (39.38) is the number of seconds which the large yacht allows the smaller one. For the change to the present rule the Seawanhaka Yacht Club of New-York deserves a great deal of the credit. Racing upon a basis of comparison by length has also been tried in America. The New-England Yacht Racing Association, formed in 1884 by all the clubs in that part of the country, adopted this rule. The length of each yacht is obtained by adding to the water line length one-fifth of the overhang of the stern. Corrected time in a yacht race is found by means of an elaborate table of time allowances for every inch of length from 12 feet up to 116 feet. A yacht finds in the table a certain number of minutes to the mile set opposite to its racing length. It multiplies the given minutes by the length of the course in miles, and subtracts the product from its actual time. The following is the table, excluding fractions of a foot: Length Allowance in minutes Length in minutes Length inminutes Length Allowance in minutes in feet and seconds. in feet. and seconds. in feet. and seconds. in feet. and seconds. The war with its long years of gloom and oppressive horror was at last over. Great prosperity prevailed at the North; and there was a new spirit of adventure amongst the young men of the country, which had been engendered by the excitement of the war, and which now sought an outlet in sports as well as in business enterprise. Yachting felt the influence of the new state of things, and the lakes, rivers, and harbors of the populous parts of the country soon swarmed with a great multitude of pleasure craft of all descriptions. It was a natural result of the great increase in the number of pleasure boats, that new clubs for organized yachting and racing were soon formed in all localities where pleasure boats abounded. The moment the national pride was aroused by the English challenges for the America's Cup and by the victories of the American defenders of that great trophy, yachting became a popular passion in all the sea ports, large and small. Club after club was organized in various parts of the country; private yachting increased outside of the clubs; and by 1880 this sport had taken its place, as was fitting, among the most im'portant of the open air amusements of a nation having the longest navigable ocean, river and lake coast in the world. Many a bluff fishing boat was lengthened, sharpened, and fitted up as a yacht during that period; and the production of new boats for pleasure sailing only was enormous. These new boats, the small ones at any rate, were at first all modelled after the practical working craft of their various localities. A yacht is not a type of vessel different from all others, a class apart by itself. A yacht can be made out of the heavy cat-rigged oyster boat of New-Jersey, the narrow sharpy of Long Island Sound, the tuck-up of the Delaware, the canoe of the Chesa peake, the fruit lugger of Louisiana, the pound boat of the Lakes or the lateen-rigged double-ender of San Francisco Bay; or, to mention larger craft, the coasting sloop and the fishing schooner. The yacht differs from the practical working boat merely in being fitted up in dainty style, and having finer lines. A few new rigs have latterly been introduced, but the yachts of America still remain merely very elegant specimens of our fishing and working craft. In 1886 the American Yachting List comprises 75 clubs, as follows: The total number of yachts in these clubs is 1870, the great majority of them being sloops and cat-rigged boats. New-York is the principal centre of yachting in the United States, as appears by the list. There are 22 clubs, as follows: A good many yachts appear in the lists of two or more clubs, but there are many small yachts whose owners do not belong to any club. The clubs all have houses, some of them fitted up at great expense. There are ten yacht clubs in Boston. That is, there are ten clubs composed of Boston men, although the club houses are not all within the city limits. They rank in relative importance about as follows: (1) The Eastern Club owns a club house at Marblehead Neck with extensive grounds attached. The house is supplied with a hall, library, sleeping rooms, and other accommodations. The membership numbers 435. (2) The Hull Yacht Club, although younger than some of the others, is a very enterprising organization, and has grown rapidly within a few years. There are 483 members on its rolls. It owns a very handsome club house located at the end of Hull Pier, which, by its pretty architectural proportions, attracts the attention of the thousands who every day during the summer months go to and from Nantucket. (3) The Boston Club has a fine club house at City Point, and a membership of 225. (4) The South Boston Club has a membership of 200, and owns a club house at City Point. (5) The Dorchester Club owns a club house at Dorchester, near Commercialst. It has a membership of 225. (6) The Corinthian is a young club and is destined to take an important place in yachting circles. Its members include many of the finest men interested in yachting. It has a membership of 185. Its club house is located in Marblehead, near that of the Eastern Club. (7) The Beverly Club has a membership of 118, and does not own a club house. (8) The Great Head Club is also a comparatively new organization, with a membership of 135, and a small house at Great Head, Winthrop. (9) The Jeffries Club owns a house at Jeffries Point, East Boston, with a membership of 75. (10) The Bunker Hill Club has a house near Mystic Wharf; membership, 85. The membership of some of the other New-England clubs is as follows Salem Club, 81; West Lynn Club, 60; Quincy Club, 115; Sandy Bay Club, Gloucester, 131; New-Bedford Club, 235; Portland Club, 145 members. There are a large number of yachts owned in Providence, R. I., both steam and sailing, but at present there is no club or club house Nevertheless, there are several good regattas on the bay in the summer time. The Sachem and other prominent yachts owned here are in the New-York Yacht Club. In Philadelphia there are five sailing clubs, as follows: (1) The Quaker City, comprising the owners of 2 schooners, 7 sloops, 6 partly decked boats with cat rigs, and 8 open boats. The club house is at Cooper's Point, Camden, N. J., where most of the yachts have their moorings. The total of the club membership is probably 200. (2) The Philadelphia Yacht Club comprises the owners of three classes of boats. The first class includes boats of 15 feet in length and 6 feet beam, each carrying seven men. The second class includes 10 boats 15 feet in length and 4 feet beam, carrying six men. Third class, 18 boats, 15 feet in length and 3 feet 7 inches beam, and carrying five men. Each crew owns its boat and club house, the entire colony being located at Otis-st. Wharf, Kensington. The houses are two stories high and well adapted to the purposes for which they were built. (3) The Pennsylvania Yacht Club is composed of the little double end and square stern yachts known as "Tuck Ups." There are twelve in the fleet. On racing days they are restricted to 45 yards of sail around the bolt rope. Their length is 15 feet and beam 4 feet 2 inches. Each crew owns the house in which the boat is kept, and in the twelve houses there is a membership of 90. (4) The Southwark Yacht Club has two classes of boats. All are similar in build to those of the Philadelphia club. There are 120 members, representing twenty yachts. Their headquarters is at the foot of Mifflin-st. in the extreme lower end of the city. They have twenty club houses similar in construction to those of the Philadelphia Club. (5) The Bridesburg Yacht Club is located at the place named on the Delaware River and within the city limits of Philadelphia. There are six yachts, all cat rigged, which carry crews of from twelve to fifteen men. They have no club houses and the boats are anchored in the stream when not in use. The total membership is 115. There is also a steam yacht club with a fleet of twelve steamers. None of these is over 35 feet in length. Each one is owned by a company. They are devoted entirely to pleasure. The club is not regularly organized, but the members chiefly congregate at No. 1,109 Beach-st., which is in close proximity to the spot where the boats are moored. Baltimore is far behind her sister cities in yachting. There are no large yachts here except a couple of steamers. There are a few informal clubs with catboats, and social clubs which, in summer, hire a schooner and go on a cruise of pleasure. The Yachting Association of Cleveland, Ohio, has fifty active members. Some of the leading citizens belong to the society. George W. Gardner, Mayor of Cleveland, is the Commodore. Twelve sailing boats and two steam yachts are owned by the members. They are all good boats. One steam yacht is owned by Daniel P. Eells and cost |