​Noses Out Tamwock in Classic Event on Barnegat Bay; Mary Ann, Inquirer Regatta Winner, Is Third

by Levi Wilcox

SEASIDE PARK, N.J., Aug. 9.
Battling a stiff breeze from the southward The Spy, owned by Commodore Thatcher, of the Seaside Park Yacht Club, captured the historic Sewell Cup here today in one of the greatest races ever conducted on Barnegat Bay.
So close and interesting was the race that The Spy only nosed out Tamwock, of the same club mate, by the scant margin of seventeen seconds. That was not all, however, for these two boats kept so close together during the entire course of thirteen miles that at no stage of the race was there more than half a minute separating the two boats.

Although it was conceded that the famous Mary Ann, winner of the Sewell Cup race last year and which has done some tall winning this season over identically the same course, was the outstanding favorite prior to the race, all that the noted Island Heights entry could accomplish was third position.

The breeze kept increasing from the southward throughout the entire race and on the second lap it was very doubtful if the boats could carry their large Marconi rigs to windward. All the boats had to lug sail and the three leaders proved not only that they had the speed, but that they were able to stand up under a stiff blow and face a heavy sea.

So stiff was the breeze under which the yachtsmen battled that five of the smaller boats capsized and, of course, were out of the running in their respective races. The Bat, which was fourth in the Sewell Cup race, the feature event of the day, almost went over on the last leg.

The Bat made quite a showing on the first leg of her journey, but when she started to poke her nose on the second round she couldn't stand the wind. In fact, she was almost overturned gibing around one of the buoys and one of the crew very nearly fell into the water. He managed to hold to the craft and regained his stance. This was a mighty close shave for the Bat, which sports the colors of the Toms River Yacht Club, for had he fallen overboard she would have been put out of the race.

​Big Crowd on Hand
Never before in the history of this historic event has there been such unusual interest in the result. With ten of the most highly developed catboats in the world facing the starter, all of which are considered the acme of perfection insofar as craftsmanship and rigging are concerned, the Sewell Cup race brought together not only the great racing craft, but also the greatest crowd in the history of the race for the last twenty-five years, a crowd which witnessed every inch of the course with a fond hope of catching a glimpse of the various entries as they poked their noses into the home stretch.

Excitement was intense when the Spy and Tamwock first came into view on the last leg of the race. The boats were not more than half a length apart on the last half mile. They kept together for several seconds before the expert maneuvering of the sheet tender on The Spy, together with the splendid judgement of Commodore Thatcher, who sailed the boat with remarkable skill, just about decided the issue.

Mary Ann kept plugging along, but not once during the whole race did she look like repeating last year's triumph and also that of July 4, when this same boat won the Inquirer Regatta. Mary Ann was also handled remarkably well by Judge McKeehan, but she did not exhibit the same speed over the heavy going as she has done heretofore when the sailing has not been so rough as it was today.

The Seaside Park Yacht Club entries conclusively proved that they are built and were properly handled for such heavy sailing.

Tamwock, let it be noted, was the only catboat competing in the big event today, which previously had won three legs on the $1000 trophy. This trio of victories all happening in three consecutive years, 1911, 12 and 13, constitutes a record that her owner, F.B. Larkin, who has sailed the seven seas, is mighty proud of.

​Many Clubs Represented
Mr. Larkin, however, after the race today, even though he finished second and, as stated was so jubilant over the result that he informed the writer after the grueling battle that even second place against such boats was far more noteworthy in his estimation than the three previous races in which he piloted his boat to victory.

With every yacht club along the North Jersey coast participating in today's regatta, the many victories captured by the Seaside yachtsmen today were most convincing. The sloop races brought together the Barnegat entries against the Beach Haven sloops, with the former sweeping the bay by taking first, second and third prizes, although the Beach Haven boys were anxious prior to the races for a good stiff breeze.

For the first time in Ardo First and Ardo Second meetings during the last two years, the sloop sporting the title Ardo First turned the tables, the latter winning the race with such remarkable ease that she crossed the line approximately four minutes ahead of her rival. Both boats represented the Seaside Park Yacht Club.

The first of the Beach Haven one design boats to finish was the Cesco, sailed by Mr. Johnson. Cesco had the satisfaction today of defeating her sister ship over the line by eleven seconds.

This was one of the closest races of the afternoon, with the exception of the Sewell Cup event.

Seagull Shows Speed
One of the most popular victories was that of Captain Pennock, sporting the home club's colors, with his sneak box Seagull. Ten boats faced the starter in this event, but four of the entries capsized through trying to accomplish the almost impossible in such heavy going by carrying too much sail. Second place in this race went to the Allure, of Lavallette.

In the Class B catboats, which are the old type racers, the winner turned up in the Stepper, property of Herk Atkin, representing the Seaside Park Yacht Club. She was closely followed by the Vim, a scant fifteen seconds behind. The Stepper, however, was never headed, maintaining a steady speed, and was also splendidly handled over the entire course.

Twenty-two boats crossed the starting line in the fifteen-foot one design, this race being won by C.U. Later, owned by Mr. Dale, of Bay Head, N.J

At the conclusion of the regatta the Sewell Cup was presented to Commodore Thatcher by ex-Senator William T. Read, of New Jersey. The presentation which was made before a huge gathering in the well-adapted club rooms of the Seaside Park Yacht Club proved a fitting conclusion to such a noteworthy event.
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Those who so successfully managed the regatta today were the following: George B. Ferrier, Henry Coles and Hon. William T. Read, Seaside Park Yacht Club; Benjamin Adams and Frank Henry, of Island Heights Yacht Club.

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BBMM Members ONLY - RSVP with the Barnegat Bay Maritime Museum no later than Wednesday, Aug. 14th via email: [email protected] with number of attendees (payment made upon arrival at club on day of event with cash or check).
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RACE BEGINS 6 PM
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Entry includes club view of the A-Cat races plus dinner of sausage, pepper and onion sandwich, pesto pasta salad and dessert plus the opportunity to meet and talk to the skippers and sailors of these majestic sailing craft.

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INQUIRER'S REGATTA EPOCH IN YACHTING
Events on Barnegat Bay Were Brimful of Keen Competition and Most Enjoyable to Devotees of Sail and Water
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From a Staff Correspondent.
SEASIDE PARK, N.J., July 5.
All Barnegat Bay is now pondering over the results of the various races in the Philadelphia Inquirer's regatta staged yesterday on the bay before the Seaside Park Yacht Club here. The yachtsmen of this section are also joining in a unanimous vote of thanks to The Inquirer for the impetus which its regatta has given to the sail boat racing game here. The stirring victory of Judge Charles L. McKeehan's Mary Ann, over Commodore Thatcher's Helen, of Seaside Park, a boat which in past seasons was never a match for the faster boats of the bay in the cat boat class, is one of the prize topics of conversation, not only among the populace generally who follow the doings of their sailors on Barnegat as their pets and know their every move.

The other results also come in for a word. Bay Head's sweep of the sneak box races largely through the doings of the Dale family in which the father, Orton G. Dale, triumphed in the 20-foot sneak box class with the Scotia and his son, F. Slade Dale, landed the triumph in the 15-foot sneak box battle with the C.U. Later.

The third Bay Head victory in the sneak boxes was one for the fair sex as well as for pretty young Miss Elizabeth Cox scampered away with the honors in the junior 15-foot sneak box class race yesterday morning over a group of sixteen other masculine and feminine skippers of the younger generation with her Betsy Bobbit. And now she is the queen of Barnegat.

Skipper Ritner Walling is Hero
That the Ardo 2d, owned by Ritner Walling, of the Seaside Park Club, did the expected and gained the victory in the sloop class in which she won the championship last year, saved the day for the local club is admitted, and now he is the hero of Seaside Park for his yacht was its only winner.

The committee is still very busy inventing new mathematical systems and further methods of solving Chinese puzzles in its effort to solve the class B cat boats tangle. But still it is very much in the dark as to just what the new rule in this connection means. Yesterday's race was the second for class B cats, and therein lies the trouble. The first race a week ago was solved after a fashion, but when it came to sort in several boats which did not appear in that race and properly handicap them it became almost impossible.

The sponsor of the new rule was one of the contestants in the race and he could not be called upon to enlighten the committee as to what the rule means. And nobody else knows. So it looks as if the Bequet, owned by T.F. Brooks, of Island Heights, which was awarded the trophy on the preliminary figures, might continue as the winner, simply because nobody is able to check up the figures.

Class B is for cat boats which do not meet the strict requirements of Class A, and consequently quite a few different types of "cats" appear in the group and it is very difficult to so handicap them that they all have a fair chance.

The yachtsmen of Seaside Park are all overjoyed with the exceptional success of the regatta in every way from Commodore Frank Thatcher down to the youngest of the boy skippers. The banner entry list, the splendid weather conditions and the series of stirring races are all that any one could ask for, and now all hands are feeling fine after having slept off the celebration which followed the races at the club house last night.

Barnegat Bay In For Big Year
Barnegat Bay is in for a big season. The point races for the season's championships in the various classes were opened with the various events in The Inquirer regatta and the winners are now on their way to their respective crowns with an edge which their rivals must overcome. These point races are held virtually every week all year with the seven member clubs of the Barnegat Bay Yacht Racing Association taking turns as the hosts for the events.

Next Saturday Mantoloking Yacht Club entertains the Barnegat Bay fleet. A series of leading events then follow. On July 19 the famous Morgan Cup will be races for from the Island Heights Yacht Club. On July 26 there will be races for the Wanamaker trophies. August 1 and 2, the Barnegat Bay fleet will cruise to Beach Haven for the open races by the Little Egg Harbor Yacht Club.

The following week is the season's headliner on Barnegat when the Seaside Park Yacht Club will be the host for the staging of the annual Sewell Cup race which every year is the foremost contest of the season. Thereafter, Lavallette, Bay Head, Toms River, Seaside Park, and Island Heights take their turns with regattas.
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The success of sailing on Barnegat Bay is one of the features of American yachting. No other place in the country has the real true sporting rivalry which exists among the various clubs lying around the famous bay. And in no other spot do the sailing craft turn out in such numbers and do such wonderful races result as here. They are all real sailormen from boyhood to old age. And the girls must not be forgotten, either. And even the clubs scattered about Long Island Sound, which have for so long specialized in the windjamming games, will have to keep mighty awake if they are not to be left behind.