Sport: 6-Metre Meet

A large steamship slid alongside a Manhattan pier and disgorged four little ships—Thistle, Zenith, Echo, Betty. They were the British boats that will set their sails against U. S. craft beginning Sept. 6, for the International 6-Metre Yacht Trophy. The races will be held at Oyster Bay, L. I. under the auspices of the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club.

International 6-metre yacht racing began in 1921. The British Royal Yacht Squadron offered a trophy. U. S. skippers took their craft to Cowes, sailed wild races in the gales and heavy seas of the Solent, suffered overwhelming defeat. The 1922 races were sailed on Long Island Sound before light summer breezes, the U. S. winning 111 points to 104. Last August, the squadrons met off the Isle of Wight and the British won, 129 points to 86.

This year, U. S. 6-metre mariners launched a squadron of eight new boats, pitted them against ten older barks to determine which four were fleetest. After four days of trial tacking on Long Island Sound, last week, a selection committee, composed of Gherardi Davis and Philip R. Mallory (New York), Robert W. Emmons and J. Emmons II (Boston), named the following:

Dauphin, one of the new boats, designed by Gardner, built by Nevins, owned by Hoyt and Tobey, to be sailed by Cornelius Shields of New Rochelle N. Y. Lea, high scorer for the U. S. in the 1922 and 1923 races, designed by Gielow, built by Robert Jacob, owned by J. F. Birmingham of Oyster Bay, to be sailed by Harry L. Maxwell of Glen Cove, L. I. Paumonok, a new boat, designed by Gielow, built by Lawlet, owned by the Seawanhaka Syndicate, to be sailed by Sherman Hoyt of Oyster Bay. Heron, a new boat, designed by Crane, built by Nevins, owned and to be sailed by C. F. Havemeyer of Cold Spring, L. I. Madcap, a new boat, designed by F. M. Hoyt, built by Nevins, owned by Harry L. Maxwell, to be held in reserve in case of an accident to one of the four contenders. The international competition is a series of races over various courses of varying distances. The scoring system gives each boat one point for starting and one point for every boat she defeats.

Yachtsmen were somewhat surprised at the absence of a Herreshoff-designed boat among those picked. The Herreshoffs of Bristol, R. L, are descended from an ancient line of New England boatbuilders. John B. (died 1915) blind from boyhood, was a great ship-designer and head of the firm, but it was Captain “Nat” Herreshoff (brother of John) who made the name famous. He invented a cata maran that sailed 21 m.p.h. He also introduced the “fin” keel for racing sloops, now used the world over.

Captain Nat, called by many the “greatest yacht designer the world has ever seen,” designed the last five defenders of the America’s Cup, all winners—Vigilant, Defender, Columbia, Reliance, Resolute.

Last week Captain Nat announced that he had sold his shipyard, was retiring. Newspaper men in England rushed to Sir Thomas Lipton with the news, asked him if he would challenge for the America’s Cup again now that his nemesis had departed from the seas. Said Sir Thomas: “I wonder if he really has retired for good?”