As all the yachts have not been ready long enough to allow of the owners taking out thei Corinthian crews, a handicap race was substituted for the Corinthian race hich it was intended should be the attraction of the Club for Saturday last, The start was the usual one, over an imaginary lino drawn from the Police Hulk to the Pootung Church spire; and the conditions of the race stipulated that the start was to take place on the lowering of the blue-peter which was to be hauled up on board the Police Hulk at five minutes to one o'clock, and, sailing down the river and round the uppermost foreign vessel or man-of-war of any nationality anchored at Woosung, the bouts were to lui! round the mark, all leaving it on the same hand the leading boat, and finishing on the starting line.
Though it was raining pretty briskly at the time announced for the start, there was a good all-sail breeze blowing. This was the first occasion of the season that the members of the Club have been so favoured as regards wind, the opening critise and the two previous races having eon little more than drifting matches with the tide; and the goodly number of nine yachts cruised off the Public Garden, where, notwithstanding the rain, several ardent lovers of the sport assembled seo them go away. The handicap was as follows The Arrow, Charm, Fairy, Lillie, HDL. Pinafore, and Undine attri sealch The Ariadne an 7 Arating ane} Feceived 7 7 minutes, The Alarion It has been customary for the blue-peter on the Police Hulk to be up five minutes before it is lowered for the start, but on the present occasion the absolute conditions of the race did not stipulate how long it was to be up, and it was lowered after being hoisted two minutes and Bity seconds. This was tin expected, and a Aisadvantage to those who concluded that {t would be up five minutes, ax was shown by the fact that some of the boats were a long way up the river when it was lowered. And another drawback to two of these boats was the unskilful manner in which the Fearless was mancevred by the native Iowdah, who. seemed bent on running into something. By a sudden change of course, ho only just missed the Arvow, and shortly afterwards he hooked the aft gear of the Undine late Lorelei.) Meanwhile H.MLS. Pina (fore, which was ina most advantageous position at the time the blue-peter was lowered, had crossed the starting line and obtained alead of fully a quarter of a mile. The Fairy was next to her, but she was far less Fortunate, as she fouled the bow of the Police Hulk and ripped her mainsail rather badly in two places. Getting clear, she returned to the E-we jetty, and after an inspection of the damage she again started in the race, By this time, all. the competing boats had crossed the line, the Hime they did s0 being as follows home Ariadne Maid of Kent Lillie 155 15 0 1 5 30
Marion Ondine 1 6 20 173 Germ 1 8 20 The tide was the last of the ebb, and the airy wind was E. by S. All the boats carried a full mainsail and a working jib; and it was a dead beat down to Silverthorne's Point. The Maid of Kent passed the Ariadne opposite the China Merchants Company's Wharf; and soon afterwards the Ariadne and Lillie fell behind the Arrow and Undine, These two latter boats made tack and tack together, and between the Naval Yard and the Tannery they overhauled the Maid of Kent, which then took fourth place; all the other boats were now along way behind. The Undine went ahead of the dvvow just before reaching Collyer's Dock, and, making a long leg on the starboard tack, she managed to weather Silverthorne's Point, and, setting a large jib in place of her working jib, she crawled down along the Hongkew shore, while the Pinafore, which still held a good lead, stood out in the middle of the river and was followed by the Arrow. The Maid of Kent and all the other boats as they came down, took the course steered by the Undine, meeting, as they did, the young flood tide which had commenced to make up the side of the river. Passing the Point, large jibs were set and the mainsails were cased off. The Pinafore had the misfortune to take the ground on the shoal about three-quarters of a mile below the Point, and before her crew could get her off, the Arrow was up to her and took the lead; the Undine now stood out into the stream and had a splendid tussle with the Pinafore down to Woosung. The Undine kept close on the stern of the Pinafore, the pair being a couple of hundred yards behind the Arrow, while the Maid of Kent was nearly half a milo behind them, and the others were following on, the Murion fifth, Lillie sixth, Fairy seventh, and the Charm and Ariadne bringing up the rear. The last mile of the ran down was made against the first of the flood tide, and the order of the boats we have just given was maintained, with the exception "that the Lillie passed the Marion, which took the ground near the place where the Pinajure had been unfortunate in the same way. The four leading boats rounded the first man-of-war at Woosung in the following order Arrow 31 15 2 Pinafore 2 32 30 Undine. 2 32 40 Maid of 2 38 0 With the exception of the Lillie we believe all the others went round, but we did not take their time, a thick mist making it impossible to see them in the distance. The three leading boats took a short tack to the Middle Groundand then another tack close in tothe Hongkew shore, after which the Arrow and Undine made a long leg to as near the Middle Ground as possible, Here they came in rather dangerous proximity to each other, and to avoid a collision the Undine had to luff up in the wind, and the Arrow fell under her lee. The Undine then took the lead. Meanwhile the Pinafore, close-hauled, was crawling up the Hongkew shore in the first of the flood, and she obtained a good advantage of the Arrow, which was now in third place, and the Maid of Kent still fourth. The Undine, which is ten feet longer than the Arrow, maintained a strong lead, the wind being very suitable for her. At Half-way Point she was quite a quarter of a mile ahead of the Pinafore; the Pinafore was about the same distance in front of the Arrow, and the Ayrow was more than a quarter of amile'ahead of the Maid of Kent, which now hag as company the yacht that did not round the mark-boat—the Lillie, The other four boats were all pretty well together. Passing the Point House the big jibs were set, Nearing the Camp the wind fell light, and being almost dead aft the mainsails were eased off and the jib-booms squared. No material alteration took place in the relative positions of the boats, and they crossed the finishing point in the following order Ondine 880 Pinafore " 56 50 ALTO sssgevsvecsersvsne 8 BT 85 Maid of Rent 0000 48 80 Lillie 5 35
Marion.. 18 45 Charm 23 10 Ariadne 24 15
The following is the time that the different boats took to go over the course.
2 45 40
252 5
2 54 50 Maid of Kent 2 58 30 Fairy 3 5 30 Marion. 3 li 40 Charm: 3 14 50 Ariadne 3 20 15
The Undine, sailed by the noble owner of the Oiavm, therefore won the first race she has started in after changing ownership at aratiier high price; and the Arrow, the winner of the two previous races during this season, made the second best time over the course, Miscellaneous,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.