The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, May 15, 1898, Page 21

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, MAY 15, 1898. clubs being older. The C NE of the most energetic, active and prosperous yacht clubs on the bay ncisco—or, indeed, in all California—is the Corinthian, with ers in Tiburon Cove, Marin County. It is now twelve old s third in point of seniority, the San Francisco and ars Pacific nthian Yacht Club was founded in the spring of 1836 by several owners of small yachts who were members of the Pacific or San Francisco clubs, but had become dissatisfied with the treatment accorded to small boats on club cru of yachting own boats and s S SSSSSS =< 700 i) A it fl V) nw ) 7 (A SSSSSSS boatkeepers, several enthusiastic young yachtsmen met in Irving Hall building on the 31st of March, 1886, to discuss question of organizing a new club, in which no boat of a -ater length over all than forty-five feet should be per- tted to take part in regattas. The meeting was under the chairmanship of T. F. Tracy, and George E. Billings acted as secretary. Among the most active spirits were L. B. Chapman, Ward Battles, H. D. Keil, W. C. Moody, E. S. Emmons, F. D. Spaulding and G. F. Byxbee. W. C. Moody of the schooner Bonita was chosen first commodore, L. B. Chapman of the sloop Spray first vice- commodore, and G. E. Billings of the yawl Ripple secreta T. F. Tracy was financial secretary, F. D. Spaulding trea. urer, and S. H. Williams measurer. The following yachts were enrolled: Schooners Bonita and Neva, sloops Spray, Thetis, Live Gertie and Anita; yawls Ripple and Pearl, the latter having formerly been named Startled Fawn and now Seven Bells. The objects of the club were defined to be the encourage- ment of small boats and the handling, management and sailing of them by amateurs only. Lovers of all aquatic sports, as well as yacht-owners, were invited to join the club, and several owners of rowing boats did so. The first club cruise took place on May 29, 30 and 31, 1886. On the evening of the 29th the yachts sailed to Martinez 1d on the 30th to Vallejo, returning to Tiburon on the 3ist, At the present date a Corinthian cruise is attended by from {wenty-five to thirty yachts. In 1886 there were about one- hird of this number. There being little difference in size .en the boats they kept close together throughout the 1e first Corinthian regatta took place on June 19, 1886, hapman’s sloop Spray, of a sailing length of about 6 feet, beating on corrected time the yawl Pearl, which a sailing length of about 43 feet, and making better al time than all the rest of the fleet. The sloop Lively won the flag in the second class. A good ff breeze was blowing in the channel so that the race afforded a good test both of the speed of the yachts and of the seamanship of their owners and crews. In the year the schooner Bonita was taken down, without accident, to Mazatlan by W. C. Moody and S. H. Williams— an excellent performance for a 40-foot boat. In the winter of 1886 and the spring of 1887 the peninsula to the west of Tiburon ferryslip was chosen as the site for a clubhouse and was secured largely owing to the liberality of J. Marvyn Donahue. The members held an informal opening in 1887, the clubhouse being not yet finished. During the winter, L. B. Chapman being commodore, the fleet cruised to Martinez and thence up Suisun Creek to Suisun, where a reception was given by the townspeople to the vachtsmen. The season of 1888 opened on April 28 with dancing and aquatic sports. During the winter of 1888-89 the accommo- dations for storing boats were much improved by the build- ing of a boathouse, which was opened on February 22, 1889. On the opening day of 1889 nineteen yachts flew the club flag. Without following the history of the Corinthian minutely vear by year down to the present date, it may be ‘said that the enthusiastic spirit in which the club was founded ani- mates it still, and that its quarters, convenient and well situated as they are, have long ago become somewhat cramped for the accommodation of the 170 or 180 members now enrolled. The principles upon which the club was founded have be - adhered to throughout its history, viz: the building es and at regattas. Believing that the sport s enjoyed best by men who take care of their ail them without the aid of professional and handling of small boats by amateurs and the acquisition of a knowledge of navigation and of skill in the art of sailing yachts and other vessels. To be entitled to representation at a meeting of yacht-owners or to be allowed to participate in the annual club regatta sailed on Decoration day, yachts must either not exceed 37 feet on the load water-line or must not exceed 45 feet over all, the latter provision being made to avoid barring out some boats built ac- cording to old models. For example, the sloop Clara has a load water-line of 38 feet, but her length over all is only 44 feet 10 inches; similarly the sloop Elia has a load water-line of 38.11 feet, but a length over all @b of only 41.6 feet. Both boats are, therefore, entitled to take part in the Corinthian regatta. TR e S e T W SSSSSSSSSSSSSSYY The officers of the Corinthlan Yacht Club for the present season (1898) are: Carl Westerfeld, commodore; Andrew Thorne, vice-commodore; E. B. Lathrop, secretary; Charles L. Barrett, treasurer; John H. Keefe, port captain; T. L. Milier, measurer. The commodore, vice-commodore, secre~ tary and treasurer, with O. Eastwood and Fred E. Schober, make up the board of directors. The regatta committee con- sists of John H. Hopps, P. J. Martenstein and W. F. Dixey, and the delegates to the Pacific Interclub Yacht Association are ‘John H. Hopps, P. J. Martenstein and ex-commodore Alexander J. Younsg. The Corinthian fleet is made up of about thirty sloops, eight yawls and one schooner. The sloops in class 1 are ex- Commodore G. E. Billings’ Nixie, 51 feet 7 inches over all, the largest and probably best-appointed yacht in the fleet; E. Donohoe’s Speedwell, 45 feet over all and 34 feet on the water line; ex-commodore A. J. Young's Clara, F. L. King's Lois, B. B. Lathrop’s Pride, and the Elia, chartered by F. F. Ames. The sloops in class 2 are F. R. Cook’s Harpoon, S. B. Stevenson’s Thelma, Frank A. Bartlett’s Queen, J. M. Patrick’s Thetis and Rounard’s Freda. The sloops in class 3 are ex-Commodore J. W. Pew’s Truant, well known as one of the swiftest and best-handled yachts in the bay; Commo- dore Carl Westerfeld’s Aeolus, flagship for 1898, and winner last year from the Encinal Yacht Club’s champion Fawn of the perpetual challenge cup offered by the San Francisco Club; J. M. Mattoon’s Amigo, W. P. Humphrey Jr.’s Mignon, ex-Commodore T. F. Tracey’s Secret and H. H. Gorter's Feu Follet. The sloops in class 4 are R. R. I'Hommedieu and S. C. Delamater's Phoenicia, Breitzmann’s Cupid, M. A. Newell’'s May and W. C. Howe's Cisne. Class 5 includes T. L. Miller’s Idler, W. Romaine’s Venture, H. D. Kiel's Dart and C. G. Barlage's Dreadnaught. C. C. Bruce’s Rover, which last season was in class 1, is for sale, as are also the Secret and Feu Follet, the Petrel was lost and L. E. Hart's Pride, a small sloop in class 4, is not in commission. In the Corinthian fleet are the following yawls: Vice- Commodore Andrew Thorne’s Seven Bells, the Kelleys® Naiad, W. S. Grover’s Arcturus, T. L. Miller's Guinevere, F. A. Schober’s Pinta, W. Brooks’ Witch, O. Eastwood’s Kittiwake and F. E. Baker’s Phyllis. The only schooner now on the club’s rolls is W. L. Oliver's Wave. To the list of sloops are to be added F. E. Baker's Emily, formerly named Florence, and enrolled in the Encinal Yacht Club; Ed Segar’s Edna, formerly owned by C. J. Lancaster, commo- dore of the California Yacht Club, and Harry Simpkins® new half-rater Mistral, the prettiest and best-appointed boat of her size on the bay. All the vessels in the Corinthian fleet are centerboards, except Feu Follet, Naiad and Wave, which are keel boats. Naiad and Arcturus have auxiliary engines. The keel boat Nereid, chartered last season by W. F. and E. Fisher and C. Gerlach, has been chartered to Peat and others, and is no longer-on the rolls of the Corinthian Club. There are also eight launches, of which the largest is George A. Knight's Athlete, which is thirty-seven feet over all and fourteen horsepower. Though the Corinthian Yacht Ciub does not, in the year of grace 1898, “own the Cove” in quite the sense in which it did some years ago, before the advent of the “ark angel” and the enterprising housebuilder, it has never been more prosperous than it is at the present moment, and has never had brighter prospects for a successful season. ARTHUR INKERSLEY, Aluminum balls are coming into use in England for golf, tennis, cricket and billiards, the metal being alloyed to make it hard, or the balls can be formed with an alumi- num core and a harder metal covering of the right thick« pasa ta siva tba ball praner waight,