Yacht Race -- July 29, 2013

From the 02-July-1895 San Francisco Call. William A Coulter did many maritime drawings for the newspaper. Click on the image for a larger view. 

With the America's Cup and preliminary races coming to San Francisco Bay this summer, I thought I would post pictures of some racing yachts. 

TO SAIL TO SANTA CRUZ. 

The Yachts of the Pacific Club All Ready for the Ocean Race. 

A GREAT UP-RIVER CRUISE. 

Corinthians and San Franclscos Out for Fun — The Perpetual Challenge Cup.

The Pacific Yacht Club will start for Santa Cruz this morning for a holiday cruise and incidentally a race down to the city by the sea. Only five craft will start, the original programme having been disturbed from various causes. Ten vessels entered for the race, and the first to withdraw was the schooner Lily L. The reason for her withdrawal was that the heel of her bowsprit proved to be too weak for the trip, and Donald Host, her owner, is putting in a new stick. Mr. Ross confidently hoped to have the repairs made in time, but yesterday he gave the job up as a hopeless task and concluded to stay home.

Another vessel which had entered the list was the Rover, but she left for Santa Cruz on Sunday and will remain there to participate in the festivities of the fleet.

Yesterday afternoon the Annie, flagship of the Pacifics, Commodore Caduc, the Lurline, ex-Commodore Spreckels, the pilot-boat Gracie S, Captain McCullough, the Idler, Captain I. C. Wilson, and the Whirlwind, Admiral yon Schmidt, came to anchor off the seawall, between Powell street and Meiggs wharf, with everything in readiness for a race down the coast.  All hands went on board the yachts last night, and this morning, some time between 6 and 7 o'clock, the fleet will be towed to sea. It was intended to make a beat of it down the bay, but the programme was changed, as it was feared that the trip might not be made in a day. The yachts will remain at Santa Cruz until the Fourth, when the start will be made for San Francisco.

Every club on the bay will be represented under sail over the holidays, and the boats will be out from to-morrow afternoon until Sunday next The Corinthians and San Franciscos will make the up-river cruise, most of the yachts leaving Tiburon and Sausalito on Wednesday afternoon. Three of the Corinthian boats are already in the river, having left on Saturday afternoon. They are the Speedwell, Donohoe's new boat, which captured the Corinthian prize this year, in command of Ed Howard; the Belle, John and Joe O'Brien and the Harpoon, Captain Cook. To-morrow afternoon the following yachts will leave the Corinthian Clubhouse for the river: The Truant, Commodore Pew's flagship; Freda, Secret, Mignon, Dawn and Morrow, and Westerfield's new craft Aeolus, built this year by Frank Stone. The fleet will sail to Martinez and there spend the night.  Next day the yachts will go to Suisun, where they will meet the Speedwell, Harpoon and the Belle, and there spend the night. On Friday the entire fleet will come back to Benicia, and on Saturday leave for Vallejo. Sunday the fleet will race from Mare Island to Tiburon.

The San Francisco Yacht Club will also make the up-river cruise, leaving Sausalito on Wednesday afternoon. The first leg will be to Mare Island, where the night will be spent, and on the following day a run will be made to Haggin's ranch just this side of Suisun, where the night of the Fourth will be celebrated. On Saturday the fleet will rendezvous at Martinez and on Sunday the return home will be made, the yachts coming down the bay in company with the Corinthians.

The perpetual challenge cup to be raced for by all legitimate yacht clubs on the coast from San Diego to Puget Sound was placed on exhibition at the Merchants' Exchange yesterday. It will remain there for a week and on next Wednesday at noon it will be presented to the Encinal Yacht Club, which will strive to hold it against all comers. The presentation speech will be made by Uncle George Bromley and it is expected that all the prominent yachtsmen in the bay will be present.

The California and Encinal Yacht clubs have no regular programmes for the observance of the holidays, and the yachts will sail about the bay at their owners' sweet will.