Mr. C. Thellusson also brought out the 'Boadicea,' 378 tons, this
year. She was built by Camper and Nicholson, but was intended for a
cruiser rather than a racer, though she raced occasionally. One of
the races in which she sailed was the memorable one from Torquay round
the Eddystone and return, when the weather was so tempestuous and the
seas so steep and heavy, that even 'Boadicea' and 'Latona' were
compelled to run for shelter under the Start headland, and it was some
hours before they were able to continue the race. 'Boadicea' beat the
'Latona' by two hours. Their competitors, unable to face the weather,
were disabled, or retired very soon after they got round the Start and
fairly into the Channel.
The following year--1877--the 'Miranda,' 139 tons, was built by
Harvey, of Wivenhoe, for Mr. G. E. Lampson, and with Lemon Cranfield
in charge proved one of the fastest and most weatherly of the schooner
fleet. Her specialities were that she had large displacement, with a
fine run aft, a considerable weight of ballast in proportion to her
tonnage, and the mainmast placed far forward, so as to increase the
size of her mainsail, and make her as near an approach to a cutter as
practicable. She was raced for several seasons, and frequently
competed both in the schooner and mixed races, with varying results.
In 1879 the schooner 'Fiona,' 150 tons, was built for Mr. E. Boutcher,
the owner of the famous cutter of the same name; and the following
year the 'Waterwitch,' 160 tons, was commissioned by Mr. E. Baring,
afterwards Lord Revelstoke. Both were by the same builders, Camper and
Nicholson.
They did not race for long, but sufficiently to show that they were
powerful and fast vessels, though they did not make any great
reputation in the racing world.
Schooner racing began to decline in the early eighties, and indeed the
building and racing of all large yachts rapidly fell off, for the
reason given in the early part of this chapter. But a race took place
in 1887 which is worthy of record.
[Illustration: RACING FLAGS.
SCHOONERS, CUTTERS, YAWLS, 40's, 20's, 10's.]
In commemoration of Her Majesty's Jubilee, the Royal Yacht Squadron
gave large prizes to be raced for by schooners, cutters, and yawls.
The match was open to all yachts above 30 tons, English and foreign,
but no foreign yachts entered. The prizes were 500_l._ for the first
vessel within her time allowance, 200_l._ for the second vessel of a
different rig within her time, and 100_l._ for the winning vessel of
the third rig. The course was from Cowes round the Nab Lightship,
Cherbourg Breakwater, and the Eddystone Lighthouse, returning to Cowes
round the south side of the Isle of Wight and the Nab Light, a
distance of about 330 miles.
The entries were:--
SCHOONERS
Rating Owner
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