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Fifth Annual Yacht Club Regatta |
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At the Columbia Yacht Club |
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Power Boat Regatta of the Columbia Yacht Club |
1906 Columbia Yacht Club Regatta
Power Boat Regatta of the Columbia Y.C.
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The conditions on Saturday last were anything but favorable for the holding of successful races, either from a spectacular standpoint or for the bringing out of a large number of the entries. However, out of the thirty-six boats entered, seventeen took part and a number of the others started for the races, but were delayed by fog and heavy weather. The principal event of the day was the performance of J. H. Hoadley's Den, the Charles Herreshoff designed craft, which performed so miserably last year. On Saturday, she ran over the course without a mishap and easily beat the other boats in her class. Unfortunately, E. J. Schroeder's cracker jack Dixie, formerly the property of E. R. Thomas, met with an accident while coming through the Harlem River, which put her out of commission. Owing to the swift current under the bridges, she ran into an abutment and was badly damaged. The strong tide and lumpy sea, on the river, made fast time an impossibility, and none of the boats competing approached the best time of similar boats in previous events. The Knickerbocker Y.C. sea-skunks, which usually provide interesting racing, showed up only two strong but they put up a very close contest. The first race started at 11:35 A.M., and was for cabin boats of from 26 to 40-ft. rating. Only two boats started, Dossi and Scat, Dossi winning easily. The next race was for open boats over 40-ft. rating, and brought out four starters. One of the boats, Nanita, owned by Harry Stephenson, of the Knickerbocker Y.C., and known about the club as the "pine coffin," looked about large enough or small enough to serve as a tender to Kit, about a 55-ft. Morris Heights flyer. The other contestants in this race were Omeomi and Tormery, the latter, one of the Electric Launch Co's mahogany yacht tenders with 25-h.p. Standard auto-marine engine, won the race with minutes to spare.
The next class got under way at 2:15 P.M., the competitors being Beldame, Lucania, Shawna, all boats over 40-ft. rating; Beldame winning easily. The Knickerbocker one-design class got off at 4 P.M. After chasing one another around the course they finished close together.
At 4:35, the auto-boats over 80-ft. rating got away; Den winning easily over Brush By and Simplex IV. Simplex IV is a brand new craft of only a few days, and though hardly warmed up as yet, ran over the course in good style. She is very similar in style to the previous boats of the same name. Brush By is a large powerful looking boat with glass house forward and standing room aft, and she is equipped with full cruising outfit, she was beaten a few minutes by Den, an extreme racing craft. Brush By is a new boat this year and is equipped with a 4-cylinder Speedway engine; from the way she performed on Saturday, it was the opinion of the sharps and the spectators that she could more than hold her own with any craft of similar type in the country.
The races for yacht tenders, which were to be in two classes, were run off in one event owing to the small number of entries. Carmen, owned by C. A. Starbuck, Commodore of the club, easily won over her competitors.
The last race on the programme, for auto-boats from 50 to 80-ft. rating was started at 5:25 P.N.. The contestants were Colonia, Anona, Twentieth Century and Chum. Colonia won easily, the others finishing in the order named.
The races were held under the rules of the American Power Boat Association, over a course four nautical miles in length. The larger boats covering this course twice and the smaller ones once.
The starts were made on handicap, with the exception of the race for yacht tenders, in which all boats were sent off together. Music was provided in the afternoon, and a dance was held in the evening. Despite the unpleasant weather, a number of well-known yachting and society people witnessed the various events from the veranda of the clubhouse.
Transcribed from Power Boat News, June 23, 1906, pp. 284-286.
[Thanks to Greg Calkins for help in preparing this page. —LF]
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