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
A more unfavourable racing day than that which opened the Royal Club
Regatta has never been experienced even on the unutterably fluky
Firth. Sudden spurts of wind, calms, a very long spell of what was
quite a deluge of rain, deafening thunder, blinding lightning and
depressing gloom, made up the sample of weather vouchsafed to the
competitors during the time that the 'sport' was progressing. The big
cutters mustered in full force, and had a light easterly breeze, which
gave a reach down the Clyde. Just before the start, 'Britannia' on the
port tack, with the wind pretty broad abeam, made 'Calluna,' which had
run down from the eastward with boom over the port side, come round;
and this was deemed cause for 'Calluna' to pursue a protest, on the
ground that a breach of the rules of the road had been committed.
'Valkyrie,' too, made a mark of 'Britannia,' the latter getting the
stem, and sustaining damage to the port bulwarks aft and the taffrail.
After an unsatisfactory start, 'Britannia' and 'Satanita' went round
the Ascog mark together, but just as the latter was stepping out in
style, and apparently in first place, her bobstay pendant burst and
the bowsprit broke off short to the stem-head. Topsails had been
shifted, as there was a prospect of a strong breeze, but the outcome
was a tempest without a rattle of wind. 'Britannia' sailed in fine
form, and simply lost her opponents directly 'Satanita's' accident had
put that boat out of the way. It was a wretchedly poor time, however,
and, thanks to not a little good fortune, 'Britannia' beat 'Valkyrie'
by 41 mins. 40 secs., and 'Calluna' by 62 mins. 17 secs., while
'Iverna' gave up. Protests were lodged against 'Britannia' on behalf
of both 'Calluna' and 'Valkyrie.' The 'Calluna's' objection was
considered, and about midnight the Sailing Committee decided to
disqualify the 'Britannia,' only one witness, be it said, from the
last-named vessel having been called. There was really not a semblance
of racing on the second day of the Royal Clyde Regatta, which was the
valedictory fixture in the so-called 'Clyde fortnight.' Flying chills
and draughts out of every 'airt,' with long spells of calm, kept the
vessels hanging about the lower part of the Firth until the shadows
were well slanting eastward. An evening breeze helped 'Valkyrie' home,
but it took her nearly seven hours and a half to cover one half the
course, and she finished 54 mins. 9 secs. before the 'Calluna,' 1 hr.
31 mins. 30 secs. before 'Britannia,' and about 2 hrs. 40 mins. before
'Satanita,' the last named taking 10 hrs. to cover 25 miles.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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