Yachting Volume Ii Part 26

These are the sounds of the south-western extremity of the island. To get to them, however, many miles of open ocean must be sailed over.

Rarely does the wind blow from the east, and hard threshing against the wind is the usual condition of sailing from the 'Bluff' to the sounds. When they are reached, the giant mountains which hedge them in on every side shut out from some, for days and weeks together, the least puff of wind to fill the sails of the yacht; while the deep gullies running down the sides of the mountains in others admit sudden and violent gusts of wind full of danger to the small sailing craft.

There are interesting places to be visited on the way, such as the harbours of Timaru and Oamaru, where man at vast labour and expense has wrested from the violence of the ocean a small s.p.a.ce of calm water in the long straight coast line, well named the Ninety-mile Beach, on which the rollers break and roar with ceaseless monotony; or the beautiful harbour of Port Chalmers, leading to Dunedin, the Scotch capital of Otago. The uninviting looking harbour of the Bluff, where the traveller may touch the most southerly lamppost in the world, lies opposite to Stewart's Island, and is separated from it by Foveaux Strait, one of the most extensive oyster beds in the world. There are several fine harbours in Stewart Island, especially the s.p.a.cious port of Paterson's Inlet, full of coves and bays.

Yachts bent on visiting the sounds should be warned that a strong current consequent on the quant.i.ty of water pouring down from the mountain torrents is usually found to oppose the entrance of a yacht into each sound, and that it is very rarely that the wind blows strong enough to bring yachts in. Generally speaking, within a mile of the entrance a dead calm with heavy swell will be found, rendering it both difficult and dangerous to make the entrance.

Once inside the depth is so great that, except where a river runs in at the head, there is little chance of anchorage, and the vessel must be made fast by tying her to a tree.

There is land communication with one sound (Milford) alone, and that only by a foot track. One or two men manage to eke out a hermit's existence in certain of the sounds, but are chiefly dependent on the periodical visits of the Government steamer; otherwise the only living things on the land are the wingless kiwis and kakapos, and an occasional seal lying upon the rocks. Probably no one visiting New Zealand will care to omit a trip to these sounds; but let the yachtsman leave his vessel snugly berthed in the harbour of Lyttelton or Port Chalmers, and pin his faith to the screws of the Union Steamship Company's well-found vessels, rather than to the sails of his own craft.

For a yachting expedition to New Zealand the month of January, February, March, or April should be chosen. During these months in the northern parts of the colony and on the coast a N.E. sea breeze sets in daily about ten in the morning, and dying away at sunset is succeeded by a westerly or land wind. The yachtsman may generally reckon on these winds; but if the land wind should not set in towards evening the sea breeze may increase to a gale, when he can remain safe at his anchorage till it has blown itself out--a proceeding which generally occupies not more than twenty-four hours. These gales occur on an average but once in six weeks, and should be looked for when the moon changes or comes to the full.

I have already spoken of the winds of Cook's Strait; those likely to be met with between it and Banks Peninsula will be chiefly north-easterly and light in summer. Southerly and south-easterly gales, known as 'southerly busters,' often last three days, and bring cold rain and dirty weather. Very strong, hot north-westers blow across the Canterbury plains to Banks Peninsula, and are particularly drying and unpleasant. Their approach can generally be foretold by a remarkable clearness of the atmosphere, and an arch of cloud over the Southern Alps, showing blue sky between the cloud and the snow peaks.

The climate in the central and southern parts of the colony is remarkably like that of Great Britain, with more wind and more sunshine, while the northern part resembles that of the sh.o.r.es of Europe washed by the Mediterranean. Indeed, if one takes the map of New Zealand and turns it upside down, imagining the two islands joined together at Cook's Strait, its general similarity in outline and configuration to Italy will at once become apparent. The Southern Alps, the Spencer Mountains, and the Ruahine Mountains, like the Alps and Apennines in Italy, form the head and backbone of the country. The rich plains of Otago and Canterbury answer to those of Lombardy and the Campagna, while the palms and fern-trees of Auckland wave against a sky as blue as that of Naples.

The coast is more indented, the harbours more s.p.a.cious than those of the Mediterranean; the islands in the north are more numerous, and though the winds blow stronger and the sea runs higher when gales come on, the weather is far less treacherous than that of the Mediterranean, and gives better warning of its approach. For those who wish to enjoy two summers without a winter, to see some of the most remarkable natural phenomena of the world, and the most interesting and most developed savage race with which Englishmen have come in contact; to explore fresh waters; to find an ample supply of good provisions, suited to European requirements; to live among fellow-countrymen who will a.s.suredly give a hearty and hospitable welcome, and to realise something of the extent, the variety and the vastness of the Queen's Empire, I can suggest no better nor more enjoyable cruise during the English winter months than one round the beautiful islands of Antipodean Britain.

CHAPTER VIII

FOREIGN AND COLONIAL YACHTING

FRANCE

BY R. T. PRITCHETT

[Ill.u.s.tration: Frascati and pierhead at Havre.]

The year 1891 will be memorable in the history of French yachting as the date of the beginning of a thorough organisation for the encouragement of what in France is called 'navigation de plaisir,' a term which will soon contract to our simpler word 'yachting.' The French have long, however, had a taste for the sport. For half a century at least Havre has been _en fete_ in the month of July with a great deal of rowing and sailing, encouraged by crowds on the quays of the port, whence they could enjoy the sport much more than if they were afloat. All this is due to the energy and encouragement of the Societe des Regates au Havre, under the patronage of the Minister of Marine and the City of Havre.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Havre Regatta Chart. Havre.]

In the year 1891 the regatta was first conducted in a business-like manner. A yachting tribunal was inst.i.tuted in Paris to make rules and arrange the details of racing. The society, styled 'Union des Yachts Francais,' 45 Rue Boissy d'Anglas, Paris, was very heartily taken up by all the best men in France, and absorbed the other clubs. The President is Contre-Amiral Baron Lage; Vice-Presidents, M. E.

Perignon, Baron Arthur de Rothschild, Comte Alain de Guebriant, and M.

Henri Menier, with a Council of twenty-eight, and a tremendous administration of commissions or committees for everything. The list of members amounts to 520, and their yacht list comprises over 300 vessels of sorts and sizes.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Harbour at Havre.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Nice Regatta Chart.]

After Havre, Nice ranks as a French yachting centre. The regatta is always held about the 12th to 15th of March--a time of the year when we are generally experiencing a kind of weather which totally removes any idea of yachting from our minds. The Union des Yachts Francais patronise this _fete nautique_, which is sometimes a.s.sisted by English yachts that are in the Mediterranean; for instance, Lord Dunraven's 'Valkyrie' has been amongst them, and Lieut. W. Henn's 'Galatea,' he being a member of the Club Nautique, 8 Quai Ma.s.sena, Nice, a club founded in 1883, with rather more than one hundred members. At the present time several English gentlemen belong to it. Their 'Siege' is No. 12 Rue St. Francois de Paula a Nice. These foreign yacht races do not offer any inducements to our finer and larger craft, as few of the compet.i.tors are over 20 tons. The City of Nice gives good prizes, as under:--

_Above 20 tons_

Francs 1st Prize for yachts above 20 tons, } 'City of Nice' } 5,000 and gold medal

2nd Prize for yachts above 20 tons, } 'City of Nice' } 2,500 and silver medal

3rd Prize for yachts above 20 tons, } 'Societe des Bains de Monaco' } 1,000 and silver medal

_Under 10 tons_

1st Prize for yachts under 10 tons, } 'Monte Carlo' } 1,500 and gold medal

2nd Prize for yachts under 10 tons, } 'Monte Carlo' } 750 and silver medal

3rd Prize for yachts under 10 tons, } 'Monte Carlo' } 400 and bronze medal

The courses are very short--about 11-1/2 miles in the triangle once round; and in the race from Nice to the flagboat off Monaco the course there and back is only about 19 miles. The whole arrangements are carried out according to the rules and regulations of the U.Y.F., which have given great satisfaction at Nice as well as at Havre.

It was at Nice that the idea of a race for steam yachts was first carried out. Two vessels entered, and only two; and as the 2nd prize and medal was 120_l._, they both had something to try for. The two were the 'Eros,' 850 tons, Baron A. Rothschild, and 'Francisca.' The 'Eros' won the first prize, 600_l._ and medal.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 'Valkyrie,' No. 1.

_53 tons_ (_Commendatore Florio, Nice Yacht Club_).]

GERMANY

His Majesty the Emperor William having bought the English yacht 'Thistle,' 170 tons, and Prince Henry of Prussia having built a new 40-rater, the 'Irene,' designed by G. L. Watson (as also a small rater, the 'Niny,' from Arthur E. Payne), the idea of an Imperial German Yacht Club naturally arose, and in 1891 one was established at Kiel, a place admirably adapted for the purpose. The whole matter was taken up so heartily along the coast that there are at the present time more than 550 members belonging to the club. Of course the number of yachts is not in proportion as yet, but this will gradually develope, and in the meantime it is very pleasant to know that the 'Thistle' has become the mother of such a club.

SWEDEN

The Swedish Club, established 1832, is very strong, having five yachting stations--Stockholm, Goteborg, Norrkoping, Malmo, and Ornskoldsirk--the members owning vessels of good tonnage, schooners, screw steamers, cutters and yawls, numbering over 170.

CANADA

BY G. L. BLAKE

Yachting in Canada dates back as a pastime almost to the first days of its colonisation. Halifax, Toronto, and Quebec can boast of yacht clubs which were formed long before the seventies, one of the oldest, if not the oldest, being the Royal Canadian Yacht Club at Toronto, which was started as far back as the year 1852, and now has a fleet of forty yachts and more. On Lake Ontario, a superb sheet of water some 200 miles long by 40 in breadth, with a depth in places of over 100 fathoms, and well adapted for either cruising or racing, the sport has been cultivated as a science for many years, so much so in fact that, in 1873, a leading authority on such matters wrote, 'Yachting is fast becoming the national pastime of Canada.'

In 1872 there were yachting stations at Toronto, Coburg, Kingston, Hamilton,--the club at Hamilton was made a Royal Club in 1888--Belleville, and other ports on the confines of the Lake, where numerous regattas have been held each season; but, as the prosperity of colonial yachting entirely depends on the state of trade, these small communities have seen many ups and downs. During Lord Dufferin's tenure of office as Governor of Canada a great impetus was given to things maritime, and the author of 'Letters from High Lat.i.tudes,' who owned and sailed a small 7-tonner at the time, lent a very able helping hand to all that concerned yachting in Canadian waters. Yachts of all descriptions are to be found there, from the small skimdish of a 'sharpie,' with its enormous centreboard and cloud of canvas, to the stately schooner of 200 tons and over. In 1872 there were only one or two vessels of English design or build on Ontario (which is practically the chief yachting centre), of which the best known was the little 'Rivet,' 17 tons, that had been built at Glasgow and was brought out in frame some years before. At the present time, however, anyone visiting Ontario would see many old Scotch and English favourites cruising about; more than one of our smartest 10- and 5-tonners are now registered on Canadian books, while most of our princ.i.p.al yacht designers have representatives of their skill flying racing flags and built to the Canadian tonnage rule.

As there is communication with the ocean by ca.n.a.l and river _via_ Montreal, Quebec and the St. Lawrence, besides through ca.n.a.l with New York, yachts from outports are not infrequent visitors, and they take part from time to time in the several local regattas. The lake, as might be expected, is often troubled by severe squalls, which now and then, if of long continuance, create a very heavy sea disturbance.

Luckily, this does not occur very often, though moderately greasy weather sometimes has its advantages in giving tone and colour to the enjoyments of open sea navigation.

Of the princ.i.p.al Canadian outports, Halifax and Quebec are the oldest and most sporting. The Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Club, which was established in 1875, and is stationed at Halifax, is one of the leading clubs in the Dominion; that at Quebec dates back over twenty years; and the St. Lawrence Club, at Montreal, with its fleet of eighty yachts, some five years. At Halifax there used to be a very sporting club, called the Royal Halifax Yacht Club, which would hold precedence of the R.N.S.Y.C., as one of the oldest societies of the kind in Canada, did it exist as such, but it is believed to have been blended into the latter club and to have a.s.sumed its new name.

Canada is rich in all the necessaries that are called into play in ship-and yacht-building, the woods she provides for the purpose being some of the finest in the world. Nothing can come up to her timbers, such as the spruce, yellow and red pine varieties, either for length, evenness of grain, or freedom from knots, and it is to Canada that we in England are so deeply indebted for most of the timber used in our shipbuilding yards.

AUSTRALIA