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
At the third regatta another famous old ship threw down the glove to
the 'Gadfly' and Mr. Arthur Glennie's 'Sonata,' viz. the 16-ton
'Satanella.' On August 13, by the special command of Her Majesty, the
club had the honour of holding its Annual Royal Regatta in Osborne
Bay. The entries were large for all the items of the programme, no
fewer than twelve boats starting in a class for 30 ft. and under, and
thirty-one for the race for centreboarders. In this last race the
Prince of Wales sailed his little crack 'Belle Lurette,' and won the
second prize. In the race for yachts of 40 tons and upwards the
'Samoena,' 'Annasona,' and 'Sleuthhound' started. It may be stated
here, that on the day of the regatta the club had 400 names on its
list of members, the greater number of whom claimed some pretensions
to being yachtsmen. This was a rapid increase of 180 in less than four
months, and distinctly proved that the club was already satisfactorily
filling the much-desired need on the Solent, and it was most
gratifying to those who had given their time and their energy towards
the success of the venture that nothing but praise poured in from all
quarters, because of the perfect organisation with which all regattas,
matches, and general arrangements were carried out. Perhaps it is not
too much to say here that the club owed much at this period of its
existence to its honorary secretary, the late Mr. Charles McCheane,
whose unflagging zeal and well-known gift of organisation helped to a
very considerable extent to bring about the prestige which it was
beginning to enjoy.
One great feature of the season of 1881 was the addition of a rule
allowing any boat that had been hired by a member for a space of over
three months to enter for the club races, in order to give every
encouragement to the sport of yacht-racing. Many have been the times
that such a rule has been begged for by yachtsmen, especially tiros at
the game; but the Yacht Racing Association, and, in fact, all Royal
Yacht Clubs with the exception of the Royal Portsmouth Corinthian,
have placed a veto on any proposition which included in any way its
introduction. With the Royal Portsmouth Corinthian the rule proved in
the early days of the club a great success, but latterly, as yacht
tonnage was added to the club and members became provided with their
own ships, the rule gradually died out, till at last it has
disappeared altogether from the Book of Rules and Regulations.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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