Only seven out of the seventeen were timed, several having
either come to grief or given up. Fortunately the tide was
sufficiently high to let the yachts into dock. 'Egeria' got pooped by
a heavy sea when running in under small canvas, luckily without any
unpleasant consequences beyond a ducking for all in the after part of
the ship.
[Illustration: 'EGERIA'
_153 tons. J. Mulholland, Esq. (Lord Dunleath), 1865._]
'Blue Bell' raced again in the schooner match of the Royal Thames
Yacht Club, and was beaten by the 'Gloriana' and 'Circe.' But in the
R.Y.S. race round the Isle of Wight she was successful against both
'Egeria' and 'Pantomime.' A little later, however, she raced against,
and was beaten by, the 'Aline' at Ryde.
It was not until 1868 that anything noteworthy occurred in schooner
racing. In that year the 'Cambria,' 188 tons, was added to the
schooner fleet. She was built by Michael Ratsey of Cowes for Mr. James
Ashbury, and was destined to obtain some celebrity, not only in our
own waters, but also from winning the race across the Atlantic with
the 'Dauntless,' American schooner, belonging to Mr. Gordon Bennett,
and from being the first to challenge and compete, though
unsuccessfully, for the 'America Cup.' She made her first appearance
in the matches of the Royal Thames, New Thames, and Royal London Yacht
Clubs, but was beaten by both 'Egeria' and 'Gloriana.' The contests
between the 'Cambria' and the 'Egeria' during the time the former was
owned by Mr. Ashbury were frequent, and keenly contested. They met in
most of the principal races, with varying results, but on striking a
balance the 'Egeria' appears to have been the victor. Mr. Charles
Thellusson sold the celebrated 'Aline' to Sir Richard Sutton, and
brought out the 'Guinevere,' 308 tons, which was built for him by
Camper and Nicholson of Gosport. There was good racing in the Solent
among the schooners, in which 'Guinevere,' 'Aline,' 'Cambria,'
'Egeria,' and 'Pantomime' took part. 'Cambria' proved herself to be a
fast and powerful vessel, especially in strong winds, and sailed about
level with the 'Aline.' 'Egeria' also sailed well, but there was
little opportunity of estimating the qualities of 'Guinevere,' as she
was only entered for one race. Two of the races were across the
Channel, one from Ryde to Cherbourg, the other back to Ryde. The
latter was not completed until long after dark, and the night will be
remembered as one of the dirtiest in which a race was ever sailed; a
hard, squally wind, intense darkness, and blinding rain made the
sailing anything but agreeable. 'Cambria' won, beating the 'Aline' by
7 min., but it was not until after their arrival that they were aware
they had been in the darkness such close competitors.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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