1939: Yachting

Building and Tank Testing.

A number of new yachts were built during the year and most of the successful ones had their models tested in the experimental towing basin, commonly known as the tank. This process of tank testing has been growing in importance during the last few years as it provides a comparatively inexpensive method of predicting the performance of a new design and permits the naval architect to make any necessary alterations in lines or trim before the yacht is constructed. The higher the skill of the designer, the greater is the value of tank tests to him.

Yacht Races in North America.

The most important race of the year was that from San Francisco to Honolulu which started on July 4. Twenty-six yachts competed and the winner was R. J. Reynolds' cutter Blitzen, designed by Sparkman & Stephens, Inc., and built at City Island, N. Y. Second place went to Harold Judson's cutter Joyce, and third to A. L. Marsten's yawl Brilliant. A fine fleet took part.

On the Atlantic Coast, the New York Yacht Club's race from Newport to Cape May and back to Montauk was taken by R. J. Schaefer's yawl Edlu, another Sparkman & Stephens design.

The Annapolis Yacht Club staged a race from New London to its home port and this turned out to be a close contest, being won on corrected time, by a narrow margin, by E. S. Bradford's yawl Estrella, designed by John G. Alden. Another Alden-designed yacht won the Eastern Yacht Club's race from New London to Marblehead from a good-sized fleet. She was R. O. H. Hill's Lucky Star.

On the Great Lakes, both races to Mackinac Island drew large fleets, some of the entries coming from Long Island Sound. The race from Port Huron was won by James R. Lowe's yawl Manitou, while that from Chicago to the Straits was captured by E. B. Lumbard's cutter Bangalore, designed by Philip L. Rhodes in 1930.

The race from Marblehead to Halifax, N. S., went to the new Alden-designed yacht Tioga Two, a 53-footer owned by H. K. and E. Pike Noyes, of Boston, neither of them yet of voting age. She won by more than twelve hours, sailing through fog much of the way, and competing against larger boats. The race was run by the Boston Yacht Club and the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron. Tioga Two did remarkably well on the port to port runs of the New York Yacht Club's Annual Cruise and also that of the Eastern Yacht Club.

Races Abroad.

Three important events took place abroad. The international championships of the Star Class were held at Kiel, Germany, just on the eve of the invasion of Poland. Pimm, owned by Walther von Hutschler, of Germany, repeated her former victory. The Italian Polluce took second place, followed by the German Muggel and the American Scout III.

The races for the Scandinavian Gold Cup took place at Helsinki. Although an American yacht had won in 1938, the Seawanhaka Yacht Club, holders of the trophy, generously offered to defend it in Europe. George Nichols took his Six-Metre Goose abroad to meet the best of the foreign 'Sixes' from Finland, Norway, Sweden, Italy, Germany, Denmark and France. The owner of Goose was stricken with influenza a day or two before the scheduled start and the yacht was sailed to a clean-cut victory of three straight wins by his son, George Nichols, Jr.

The only yacht built to the International Rule was Harold S. Vanderbilt's Vim, a Twelve-Metre. After a couple of inconclusive tuning-up races, Mr. Vanderbilt shipped Vim to England where she raced against the cream of the British 'Twelves,' emerging with a record surpassing that ever made by any foreign yacht in British waters. Out of the 28 races in which she took part, she won 19 firsts, 4 seconds and 3 thirds, an astounding record. After her return to the United States she raced again, winning a series against American Twelve-Metres by a rather narrow margin.

Motor-Boat Races.

In the motor-boat field, the Gold Cup was raced for at Detroit and was won by Zalmon G. Simmons' My Sin, which set a new record of 66.240 miles per hour for the 90-mile course. The President's Cup, the contest for which was held at Washington, D. C., was captured by a Canadian boat, Harold Wilson's Miss Canada III.

There was much record breaking also among the smaller classes, Jack Cooper driving his '225' Tops III over the measured mile at 87.448 m.p.h. Another '225,' Chauncey Hamlin's Voodoo, hung up a new five-mile mark of 66.176 m.p.h. John L. Hyde made 67.479 m.p.h. with his '135' Gypsy Lass, and Arno Apel made 53.894 m.p.h. for a mile in the 91-cubic-inch class.

Outboard records also were broken in many cases. See also MOTOR-BOAT RACING.