Yachting, Vol. 2Dufferin and Ava, Frederick Temple Blackwood, Marquis of
History
Yachting, Vol. 2
Dufferin and Ava, Frederick Temple Blackwood, Marquis of
Yacht racing; Yachting; Yachts
The year 1800 was again kept as a septennial one, or, as the papers
prefer to call it, a 'Jubilee,' and there is in existence a print of
the 'Cumberland,' Captain Byrne, winning the cup. Mr. E. Smith, owner
of the 'Atalanta,' which won the Vauxhall Cup in 1801, presented the
same year a cup to be raced for, and it was won by the 'Mercury,'
Captain Astley. Another septennial (or Jubilee) cup was given by the
proprietors of Vauxhall Gardens in 1807, and this fell to the
'Bellissima,' owned by Captain Farebrother. This year the contractors
for the State Lottery gave a cup to be raced for on the Thames, and
all the boats entered for it belonged to the Cumberland Fleet. A new
public Garden was started in 1809, called the Minor Vauxhall, and Mr.
Sheppard, its proprietor, gave a silver cup to be sailed for on the
river. The first two attempts failed to come off, but at the third and
final one the 'St. George,' Captain Gunston, won the prize. The last
cup given by the proprietors of Vauxhall Gardens, in 1810, was won by
the 'St. George,' and the same year Mr. Sheppard (who had changed the
name of his Gardens to 'The New Ranelagh') again gave a cup, which was
won by the 'Sally,' belonging to Captain Hammond. The proprietor of
the New Ranelagh Gardens also gave cups in the years 1811 and 1812,
and although the club is not mentioned in connection with them, none
but vessels belonging to the Cumberland Fleet were entered. On July
16, 1812, the club gave two cups, by subscription, to be raced for
from Blackwall to Gravesend and back, which were won respectively by
the 'Mercury' and the 'Vixen.' As the years roll on the newspapers get
rather confused about the sailing matches, and the name of the old
club very rarely occurs, although we have seen an account book where
the subscription of one guinea is mentioned as having been paid to the
secretary of the Cumberland Fleet, in the year 1818.
The years 1814, 1821, and 1822 have no sailing matches recorded
against them, but these, with 1783 to 1785, are the only ones in which
we have failed to find a race of some sort or other. After Commodore
Taylor's retirement it is believed that Mr. Edward Nettlefold was
elected in his place, but there is, great confusion on the subject,
for in 1817 he is called commodore of the 'London Yacht Club,' which
in another number of the same paper is called the 'New Cumberland
Fleet.' Most probably there had been some dissensions among the
members of the club, but whatever had happened, there is no getting
over the fact that in the year 1823 the Cumberland Fleet had a
below-bridge race, and that it was under the direction of Commodore
Edward Nettlefold.
The year 1823 is a most important one in the history of the club. On
July 17 there was a race for a silver cup in honour of the King's
coronation,[20] and the newspapers[21] go on to say:--
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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