History.........
Golden Dazy......a permanent place in the LCYC logbook
Item 1 is a chronological list of North American yacht clubs founded
during the 19th Century. This list is available as a Microsoft Word file.
LCYC's place in history.
Item 2 an historical account of the very first Ladies Cup.
North American Yacht Clubs, Power Squadrons & Sailing Clubs
Founded in the 19th Century
Source: North American Yacht Register - 1978 & 1979Rank Yacht Club City St/Prov Established*
1 Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron Halifax NS 1837
2 New York YC New York NY 1844
3 Midshipman’s Sailing Club USNA, Annapolis MD 1847
4 Pass Christian YC Pass Christian MS 1849
4 Southern YC Lake Pontchartrain LA 1849
6 Royal Canadian YC Toronto ON 1852
7 Carolina YC Wilmington NC 1853
8 Buffalo YC Buffalo NY 1860
9 Neenah Nodaway YC Neenah WI 1861
9 Yacht Club de Quebec Sillery PQ 1861
11 Detroit YC Detroit MI 1865
11 Raritan YC Perth Amboy NJ 1865
13 Boston YC Boston & Marblehead MA 1866
14 New Hamburg YC New Hamburg NY 1869
14 Portland YC Portland ME 1869
14 San Francisco YC Belvedere CA 1869
14 Savannah YC Savannah GA 1869
18 Eastern YC Marblehead MA 1870
18 Williamsburgh YC College Point NY 1870
20 Milwaukee YC Milwaukee WI 1871
20 North Shore YC Port Washington NY 1871
20 Toms River YC Toms River NJ 1871
23 Beverly YC Marion MA 1872
24 Albany YC Renssalaer NY 1873
25 Lake Geneva YC Fontana WI 1874
26 Chicago YC Chicago IL 1875
26 Varuna YC Brooklyn NY 1875
28 Florida YC of Jacksonville Jacksonville FL 1876
29 New Bedford YC So. Dartmouth MA 1877
29 Rochester YC Rochester NY 1877
31 Cleveland YC Rocky River OH 1878
32 Louisville YC Louisville KY 1879
32 Monmouth YC Red Bank NJ 1879
34 Larchmont YC Larchmont NY 1880
35 Chelsea YC Chelsea on Hudson NY 1881
36 Beach Haven YC Beach Haven NJ 1882
36 Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club Puget Bermuda 1882
38 American YC Rye NY 1883
38 Harlem YC City Island NY 1883
38 Lake Beulah YC East Troy WI 1883
41 Winthrop YC Winthrop MA 1884
42 American YC Newburyport MA 1885
42 Corinthian YC Marblehead Neck MA 1885
42 Shattemuc YC Ossining NY 1885
42 Toledo YC Toledo OH 1885
46 Annapolis YC Annapolis MD 1886
46 Chelsea YC Chelsea MA 1886
46 Corinthian YC of San Francisco Tiberon CA 1886
46 Fishers Island YC Fishers Island NY 1886
46 Queen City YC (The) Tontonto ON 1886
46 Red Dradon Canoe Club Beverly NJ 1886
46 San Diego YC San Diego CA 1886
46 Shelter Island YC Rye NY 1886
54 Chesapeake YC Easton MD 1887
54 Housatonic Boat Club Stratford CT 1887
54 Lake Champlain YC Shelburne VT 1887
54 Pleon YC Marblehead MA 1887
58 Bay Head YC Bay Head NJ 1888
58 Riverside YC Riverside CT 1888
58 Tarrytown Boat Club Tarrytown NY 1888
61 Cedar Point YC Westport CT 1889
61 Edgewood YC Cranston RI 1889
61 Horseshoe Harbor YC Larchmont NY 1889
61 Indian Harbor YC Greenwich CT 1889
65 Keystone YC Woodmere NY 1890
65 Newport YC Newport RI 1890
65 Stamford YC Stamford CT 1890
65 Stuyvesant YC City Island NY 1890
65 Tower Ridge YC Hastings-on-Hudson NY 1890
65 Winter Harbor YC Winter Harbor ME 1890
71 Conanicut YC Jamestown RI 1891
71 Hempstead Harbour Club Glen Cove NY 1891
71 Ocean City YC Staten Island NY 1891
71 Ponquogue Yacht Squadron Hampton Bays NY 1891
75 Capital YC Washington DC 1892
75 Columbian YC Chicago IL 1892
7 5 Corinthian YC of Philadelphia Essington PA 1892
75 Hobe Sound YC Hobe Sound FL 1892
75 Little Traverse Bay YC Harbor Springs MI 1892
75 Manchester YC Manchester MA 1892
75 Manhasset Bay YC Port Washington NY 1892
75 Poughkeepsie YC Hyde Park NY 1892
75 Sea Cliff YC Sea Cliff NJ 1892
75 Seattle YC Seattle WA 1892
85 Jubilee YC Beverly MA 1893
85 Metropolitan YC City Island NY 1893
87 Cohasset YC Hingham MA 1894
87 Duxbury YC Duxbury MA 1894
87 Huguenot YC New Rochelle NY 1894
87 Huntington YC Huntington NY 1894
87 Inter-Lake Yachting Association Vermillion OH 1894
87 Nahant Dory Club Nahant MA 1894
87 Norwald YC Norwalk CT 1894
87 Put-in-Bay YC Put-in-Bay OH 1894
87 Royal Kennebeccasis YC St. John NB 1894
96 Brittania YC Ottawa ON 1895
96 Chippewa YC Chippewa NY 1895
96 City Point YC New Haven CT 1895
96 Hartford YC South Glastonbury CT 1895
96 Hingham YC Hingham MA 1895
96 Saginaw Bay YC Essexville MI 1895
96 Yacht Racing Assoc’n of LI Sound NY NY 1895
103 Annesquam YC Gloucester MA 1896
103 Halifax River YC Daytona Beach FL 1896
103 Kingston YC Kingston ON 1896
103 Pootatick YC Stratford CT 1896
103 Sachem’s Head YC Guilford CT 1896
103 Tarratine YC Dark Harbor (Isleboro) ME 1896
109 Houston YC LaPort TX 1897
109 Indian River YC Cocoa FL 1897
109 Mantoloking YC Mantolocking NJ 1897
109 Sag Harbor YC Sag Harbor NY 1897
109 Woods Hole YC Woods Hole MA 1897
114 Canopus YC Carmel NY 1898
114 Island Heights YC Island Heights NJ 1898
116 Manasquan River YC Brielle NJ 1899
116 Ocean City YC Ocean City NJ 1899
116 Seaside Park YC Seaside Park NJ 1899
119 Oak Island Beach YC Oak Beach NY 1900
119 Unqua Corinthian YC Amityville NY 1900
119 Vallejo YC Vallejo CA 1900
Total count – 121
* Earliest date given among year founded, year incorporated, etc.
Compiled by Dale D. Hyerstay, Lake Champlain Yacht Club Historian - 05/03/98
THE
FIRST LADIES CUP RACE – 1888 From an
article by Frederic W. Mather "Lake
Champlain Yacht Club" Published
in Yachting Magazine in 1888 "The regatta
should have taken place on the first Tuesday in August, and that will be the
date hereafter, but ... it was postponed till September 21, in the hope that
certain new boats might be finished and enter the races. The Nautilus, the most
eagerly expected of all, failed to appear. [See more on her below.] [The races on Friday,
September 21, included three sailboat class races (boats over 33 ft., 20 to 33
ft., and under 20 ft.), and one race for steam and naptha launches under 50 ft.]
The "under 20 ft." race was canceled when only one boat entered. The
original text of the following is all one paragraph; for ease of readability
here, paragraph breaks have been inserted.] "The greatest race
of all came off upon Saturday, September 22, the second and final day of the
regatta. This was for the $500 cup made by Tiffany, and presented by the ladies
of Burlington. It is an elaborately-made punch-bowl, with a fine engraving on
the outside of the harbor of Burlington. "According to the
rules of the club, "the Ladies’ Cup" shall be a perpetual challenge,
and shall be sailed for each year by the yachts belonging to the members of the
club at their annual regatta. The course shall be about ten miles, and the
sailing allowances, etc., shall be governed by such rules of the club, as from
time to time may obtain. The course, etc., may be changed from time to time by
the regatta committee as the exigencies of the club may require. "They or their
successors in office, are made custodians of the cup for the club, and shall
award the same each year to the successful yacht; which yacht shall have its
name and the date of the regatta engraved on the cup by the committee, and shall
hold it until the next annual regatta, giving bonds to the committee in the sum
of $600 for the safe keeping of the same. "Any damage or
loss to the cup while in the possession of a yacht shall be appraised and
deducted by the committee from the bond on the return of the cup, which shall be
one week before the next annual meeting. Owners of yachts failing to return the
cup at the time specified, shall sacrifice their bonds and cease to be members
of the club. "A yacht holding
the cup and not competing for its possession, is considered as having competed
and lost. In all races, at least three yachts must start or no race, unless a
race has been postponed; but should the yacht which is in possession of the cup
be a competitor, she may sail the course, without this limit as to the number
starting. "The wind being
from an unfavorable quarter, the course of 9 7/8 miles was reversed. It led from
the south end of the breakwater, south of Rock Dunder, south of Juniper Ledge
buoy, west of Juniper Island, north of Appletree buoy, and around the north end
of the breakwater." The article goes on to
describe the race. Eight yachts entered, including two Canadians. The eight
crossed the line in the space of 1m. 14s., considered "a splendid
start." "... on turning the Ledge buoy they were so closely bunched as
to be in each other’s way." The Agnes T was in the lead. On the
beat from Ledge buoy around Juniper to Appletree buoy one boat capsized and
three dropped out, including the two Canadians, leaving only four to finish. The
Agnes T. had narrow beam which kept down her sail area, "while the Flyaway
spread her gaff-topsail and shot ahead. ... It was evident the race belonged to
the Flyaway or the Agnes T. The latter was 6 1/2 min. behind in
turning the Appletree buoy. Then the race homeward was commenced. The Flyaway
set her jib-topsail, and the Agnes T. set her spinnaker. It was to be a
very close thing – for the Flyaway had allowed her rival 2 m. 26s. ...
Had not the spinnaker gone overboard the Agnes T. might have won. ... As
soon as the Flyaway crossed the line there was a welcome from all the
steam-whistles in and about the harbor, such as old Champlain had never heard
before." RESULTS
Elapsed
Yacht Owners Boat Type h. m. s. h. m. s.
Flyaway W.S. Webb Sloop 2 03 19 2 03 19
Agnes T. T.A. Taft Sloop 2 09 10 2 06 44
Gypsie Phelps & Son Sloop 2 17 20 2 07 30
Burlington Joseph Auld et al Sharpie 2 16 28 2 22 55
White Wings C.B. Gray Sharpie Capsized
Ripple Adsit & Bigelow Sloop Withdrew
Surprise Joseph Labelle (CN) Sharpie Withdrew
Virginia Peter Thrust (CN) Sharpie Withdrew
The sharpie was a type of oyster boat developed for Long Island Sound. It was introduced to the lake by Rev. W.H.H. Murray, better known as "Adirondack," who was credited with "calling attention to the broad expanse of lake opposite Burlington that had not been used as it might be by sails and hulls of modern cut, and everyone agrees that the present yacht club is the outcome of his earlier efforts, although it has outgrown what he developed and contended for at the first."
The sharpie combined "cheapness, light draught, broad bottom, ready handling with the sail or oar, sea worthiness, and fair sailing qualities." The article goes on to point out that this race showed that the sharpies were outpointed and outfooted by the sloops. Their narrow beams also kept down the area of their sails. "As racers, therefore, the regatta showed them to be failures – although they are safe, roomy and comfortable boats for cruising."
"The other extreme – to which the club seems to be tending – is the salt-water sloop of the latest design. Such an one, the Nautilus , [owned by Horatio Hickock, Treasurer of the new club] was expected to be ready for this regatta, but it will surely be on hand next year, prepared to beat all comers, if what is claimed can be proved. ... Burgess, of Boston, finished the lines, and they are very nearly those of the Volunteer, the defender of the America’s Cup, but on a smaller scale. The length on deck is 53 feet, and on the waterline 40 feet. The beam is 15 feet and 3 inches, and the draught is 5 feet – or about 13 feet with the 12-foot center-board down. The color is white, but the gunwales are of oak, and the combings are of mahogany. Steel rigging is used. The mast is 42 feet high, and the topmast is 34 feet more, a total of 76 feet from the deck. From the step of the mast to the end of the bowsprit is 39 feet, while the boom is 47 feet long. This makes the lower edge of the sail-plan triangle 86 feet. With a single rig of sails spread the Nautilus will carry about 350 square yards, but if the flying-jib, the spinnaker, and other extra sails are included, the area will reach about 700 square yards.
"Of course the building of the Nautilus is tentative. It remains to be seen whether as much sail area as can be spread to the steady breezes of salt water can be spread with profit, or even with safety, to the comparatively unsteady and uncertain winds of an inland lake that is surrounded by mountains. ... Experience has shown that a moderate area of sail, well handled, wins the day; but there are times when a light wind gives the race to the man who has the largest area. The same experience is likely to come to the yacht club, and our prediction is that it will soon be shown that the Nautilus has too many and too large sails for her hull, and that by the time of the regatta in August she will appear with a smaller area.
"But if the Nautilus can go through the narrow pass in the lake known as Split Rock, with its varying currents of air and water, and its sudden and terrific squalls from off Whallon’s bay, then she can do anything; for that is the test of seamanship, according to the old sailors on the lake. Such a severe trial, however, should not be asked of the Nautilus, or of any other new boat that is built for the same purpose. Her mission is not so much to tempt Providence as to mark an era in the advancement of yachting upon the unsalted waters."
Note: We do not know if Nautilus had to reduce her sail plan. We do know that beginning the next year she went on to win the Ladies’ Cup five out of six years – she won it four straight years, 1889-92, lost it in 1893, winning her fifth and final cup in 1894. No other yacht has equaled this record. Three yachts have won four times: Kid, New World, and Mame. Five have won three times: Witchcraft, Madamoiselle, Escapade, Golden Dazy, and Sonar. Four have won twice: Sandolphin, Snapper, Horsefeathers, and Intrepid.
Text by Dale. Hyerstay, Historian – 05/29/98