May 11 - 17, 2014: Issue 162

Port Jackson’s Pleasure Fleets
No 1 and no 2

 

The Yacht 'Era'  1890. photo By Henry King. Courtesy of Powerhouse Museum [85/1285-165] (Tyrrell Photographic Collection.

Port Jackson’s Pleasure Fleets – No 1 and no 2
ANCIENT AND MODERN

Beginning in October 1907, and ‘written by LANYARD’ for the Evening News – Sydney (1869-1931) until December 1907, are twelve articles which give insights and illustrations into some of the early yachts and their sailors of Sydney. Broken Bay sailors are frequently mentioned, as are races to and from our auspicious body of water.

Unlike the pen names of many of our writers 'LANYARD', is not one ascribed too easily to a person holding that pen - a little investigating is called for; into the times, the papers that ran then, who was running them and what they were trying to achieve, and who was on the water and who was writing about being on the water as much as who was teaching all these aspiring writers how to...write. 

Australia has always had a strong literary backbone born of poets and their cliques - once we have run this series fortnightly,  the story of how these articles came about, and the people involved, shall prelude an expansion of this shared knowledge in further articles during the decade following. We have already run an article 'by LANYARD' in the Summer mix of January 2014. That piece was titled 'A BRIEF RESPITE, OUR TRIP TO BROKEN BAY' in which the author speaks of spending time with Bayview friends and strolling through their orange orchard... and was first run in August of 1907.

Following on for 12 consecutive weeks in the Evening News (Sydney, NSW : 1869 - 1931) of 1907, beginning during the 'opening of the season' of that year, this was, and still is, a celebration of vessels and sailing from one who wanted, from a very early age, to 'go to sea', who often did and was surrounded by the premier yachtsmen of their day... and those who knew the history of Australia's maritime vessels... 

SAILING SONG
Oh, give me a boat with a nut-brown sail,
And a nor-east breeze with the brine in its tail—
Then the white wind-toss'd sea-horses I'll ride,
To the melody of the murm'ring tide.
For the love of the spindrift, and the scent of the sea;
The surge of the ocean, and its mystery;
So let me; a subject of King Neptune be,
And I'll ride his horses for Eternity. .
P. P. Packham.
SAILING SONG. (1934, December 27). Referee (Sydney, NSW : 1886 - 1939), p. 19. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13612636
Port Jackson’s Pleasure Fleets
ANCIENT AND MODERN.
BY LANYARD.
NO. 1.

Sails of silk and ropes of sendal,
Such as gleam in ancient lore,
And the singing of the sailors,
And the answer, from the shore.
Longfellow.

When a man gives an order for a yacht to be built, he may do so from a variety of motives, but whether these motives be sportsmanship, self-indulgence,'ostentation, or pot-hunting, he is bound to give a great amount of pleasure to many other persons.  Whilst the yacht is being built, the quid-nuncs of aquatics discuss her lines, and, unmindful of a couple of oft-quoted proverbs, make comparisons, admire or find fault. When she is launched the circle of admirers and critics increases; and when, a thing of beauty, she crosses the line-a winner with every stitch of canvas, set, they derive, an immense amount of satisfaction in saying, “I told you so.” - Apart too, from those more immediately interested in aquatics, there is a large section of the public whose sense of the beautiful and love of sport enable them to appreciate yachts and yachting— even from  the shore, and they display the keenest interest in watching the sails distend and become set and moulded, as if carved put of white marble. 

In all British communities, where there is water enough, yachting is popular; in Sydney It has almost always been so, though certain causes, at one time militated against its popularity among the classes who could best afford to indulge in it. Certain racing flags were hauled down, never, to be hoisted again, because of unsportsmanlike protests; and the stories, not always without foundation, though no doubt exaggerated, of gambling on board, of  wild orgies In Middle Harbor and Broken Bay, and of objectionable practical jokes, made some persons look askance at yachting; and there were yacht owners who had the bad taste not to care about being kept awake when they were out, on a holiday cruise by fools who made night hideous. Whatever the cause, yachting lost material support from the classes referred to. The reader can imagine the feelings of a father who had, perhaps, given his sons a yacht on hearing their enthusiastic eulogy by a paid hand. . 'Them's the boys- for whiskey; they don't drink it, they —well swims in it!' And there was a time when mothers were convinced that no good ever came of those trips. Still, yachting was too fine a pastime to become wholly unpopular- it suffered, but it survived, and the, yachting man of today, if his purse is not as long as that of his predecessors, is a good fellow who goes but for sport, for good fellowship and for health, and not to make a beast of himself. There may be one or two of the objectionable school extant but they are considered distinctly bad form; the hero of the bottle is to-day only a hero unto himself.

EARLY DAYS
So far back as 1846 seven yachts entered at the Anniversary Regatta in the race for yachts under 25 tons, four in the race for yachts under 10tons and seven in the race for yachts under 5tons, and during the fifties;- the racing fleet was considerably added to; but yet we find orders for cruising yachts and trading vessels coming from other states and New Zealand to Sydney designers and Sydney builders. And we have good builders in Port Jackson; even now you can see in the excellence of the work of some of them and fits 'ad unguem' finish, the example of old Andrew Reynolds, who took the first prize for a boat he sent to the International Exhibition London in 1862. As for oar designers, we have seen too little of their work in racing craft during recent years to gauge what they could do in that line, though judging from their work in-other classes of vessels and' their ingenuity and originality, it seems, to say the least of it, a pity that they are passed over at any rate for New Zealand designers when a racer is required.

The Opening of the 1866 Season by Yachts of the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron.

A HISTORICAL RACE.
It was In the sixties that the- race between the Xarifa and the Chance took place, a race that was talked about long afterwards, and the result of that race, followed by the Xarifa's victory over the stately Alert, which her owner, after his defeat in the Chance had imported specially to beat the Xarifa, made Sydney siders particularly proud of their local champion. The race against the Alert was hardly a test of the English yacht, which was immediately sent back to England via Cape Horn. An old print gives the following Interesting account of the Xarifa and Chance race: —'The contest between the English-built schooner Chance and the colonial-built cutter Xarifa terminated on .Saturday .. last in a victory for the colonial-built craft. The race had excited considerable interest in aquatic circles- for sometime past in consequence of the reputation that the Chance had obtained in England when belonging to the Thames Yacht Club. The match was made shortly after the Xarifa was laid down, a friend of Mr. Parbury's betting £100 to £70 on the new cutter yacht in a race from Sydney to Newcastle and back. The result has shown that in shipbuilding New South Wales need not be ashamed of comparison with the old country. The weather on Friday and Saturday was such that it was .looked upon as an advantage to the Chance. In beating, however, the colonial-built cutter proved herself the superior craft.

The Xarifa is rated at 31 tons, and the Chance at 81tons, although in the Thames Yacht- Club she is entered at 76, and considering that no time for tonnage was allowed, and that the cutter returned to the starting point three hours in advance, Sheeny, the builder of the Xarifa, may well be proud of his model. The Xarifa was sailed by Thomas Curtis and the Chance by Miller, of Newcastle.

The following is the log of the Xarifa: — Left our moorings in Farm Cove on Friday by the1 o'clock gun, got a splendid start, rounded Bradley's Head just before the Chance. The Chance passed to leeward between Bradley's and Sow-and-Pigs and .increased her distance to North Head; in rounding North Head the Xarifa was a quarter of a mile astern, and the Chance increased her lead to a mile, when the Xarifa held her own till she carried away the jaws of her gaff off Long Reef. Held on to the gaff till within ten miles of Newcastle with the lashing. Off the North Head  of Broken Bay carried away the back stay of the topmast, the topmast breaking short off with gaff topsail and raffee set. Got in the wreck, during which time the Chance increased her distance. The wind was blowing hard from the south all the way. Off Lake Macquarie lowered the mainsail and fitted the trysail gaff and the old gaff, which took half an hour; all that time sailing under square sailand jib; the Chance.increased her lead considerably; Set sail again,  double- reefed the mainsail, and changed the jibs. Lost sight of the Chance off-Red Head about dusk. -Rounded to of Nobbys, due west by compass, about 8.30, and then stood to the eastward till 10 o'clock and then tacked. Chance crossed our bows about 300 yards off; at this time the wind was blowing heavy squalls from south-east, and south and raining in torrents.  Carried double reefed mainsail, foresail, and second jib. Stood in for Red Head, went about and made nearly a southeast course for two hours, went about and sighted North Head of Broken Bay at daylight; entered Sydney Heads at 10.30, and arrived at the red buoy at 11 o'clock. Shipped nothing but spray all night,. no seas.”

The following is the log the Chance— 'Left our moorings, and were fairly under way at one minute and a half past 1 o'clock. The Xarifa, by this time, was nearly a quarter of a mile ahead. Running down the harbor, the schooner gained considerably on the cutter. When about due west of the lighthouse, we overhauled and passed her and rounded North Head in 28 minutes and a half from the start, the cutter two and a half minutes astern. The strong southerly wind continued with a heavy sea al the way. The Chance arrived at Nobby’s at 7.30; the cutter was then out of sight astern. Could find no boat to round but saw a blue light burning ashore. The schooner was now hauled on the wind and stood to sea till 9p.m. when she hove about and stood for the land, and about 10pm observed a light to leeward and made it out to be the cutter standing off. The schooner crossed her bow and kept well off the land during the night, and at daylight Bird Island was in sight. In a heavy squall the foresail was split, but beyond that no other casualty happened. Entered Sydney Heads at 1.20, having seen nothing ore of the cutter. Passed the red buoy at 2.17pm.


The Xarifa (Mr. Chas. Parbury).
SOME CELEBRATED BOATS.
It was in the sixties or early seventies that the Ianthena made her appearance, carrying the racing flag of the Deliottes well to the fore among the ten tonners of the day.
The Ianthena was a centre boarder, built on the lines of the 22ft skiff, the dimensions being multiplied by two. Like many another good yacht, she found her way to the islands. The dictionary will tell yon the yacht is, in effect, a boat, or vessel used for pleasure.' The clubs, here have not yet accepted that definition, though, in spite of many attempts, they have never given us another. Still, there are pleasure boats that could hardly be called yachts, and, for the purpose of classification, it is proposed to refer to them merely as boats or sailing boats. Now, the sailing boats of the sixties were deep-keeled 16 and 22-footers,without deck or half deck, which carried lead ballast and big crews. The late Richard Driver's Currency Lass was one of the most successful of the latter, and the Barb of the former class.
They were undoubtedly dangerous boats, and they gave way to the 16-feet dingey, the 22-feet skiff, and the 24-feet so-called fishing boat, all centre boarders. In the early seventies the 22feet skiff race was keenly contested, and it was either in 1872 or 1873 that George Ellis won, in Mr. L. Adams Fairie Queen, built by Reynolds, against the Curlew, built by Donnelly, the Hope, built by Hayes, and several other skiffs. George Montgomery, in the Reynolds-built Rica, beat the Donnelly Desdemona, in a championship event, shortly before that, time; but Donnelly, the most versatile designer and builder of small boats we have, eventually proved himself too good for his old master, Reynolds, who was sportsman enough to be proud of his former pupil! The Gardiners built the successful 24footer Kingfisher, which, oversparred and oversailed, led the Barnett-built Sea Breeze to Broken Bay, but had to run for shelter— while her rival, splendidly handled, worked her way home against a stiff southerly gale and a heavy sea. That race, which is worthy of mere than passing reference, will be dealt with later. Not very long afterwards, the Lottie, a Donnelly-built boat, triumphed over the Coryphene, the Snowdrop, and the Lizzie, all three by Longford, the Bronte, by Reynolds; and a big field of 24-footers, but had to give place to another Donnelly-built boat, the beautiful Carlotta, which beat her in a race to Broken Bay and back. George Ellis designed, built, and successfully sailed the Deronda, and another of his boats, the Aileen, won a long list of prizes. Perhaps, the most exciting open-boat racing we have had was among the 24-footers, and there are many who look back with pleasure to the big fleets of these boats beating down the harbor against the “'stiff nor'-easter,'' or running '' home with huge square sails set. There was no restriction to sail area, and the possibility of a catastrophe was always imminent. These boats were more often sailed in races by professionals than by amateurs and the names of George Montgomery, George Ellis, Podge Newton; and Tom Colebrook may be mentioned as some of the more prominent professional skippers, whilst Mr P. W. Creagh may be mentioned as one of the most successful of the amateurs who sailed this class of boat.

THE  AMATEUR. YACHTS MAN
On the other hand, Sydney yachts have generally been sailed, at any rate, in club races—by amateurs— and, amateurs do not stand out in the fierce light that beats on professionals.  Undoubtedly, some .splendid amateur yachtsmen have been produced in Port Jackson, but yacht owners are, as a rule, better remembered because of their sportsman like qualities then for anything else.

Among many of the old-time yachting men who have crossed the bar; the following names may be mentioned; Mr. James Milson was a good yachting man and the sire and grandsire of good yachting men. Dear old Dr. Milford, who took, somewhat late in life; to racing centreboard dingeys, - afterwards built the yacht Doris (successful here and in Hobson’s Bay) and the Isea. His extreme courtesy could never be ruffled, and when his 16-feet centreboard dingey collapsed, which often happened, he was always calmly apologetic to his crew. Mr. Alexr Oliver was a yachting man who believed that Port  Jackson was a nursery for yachtsmen and that too many stayed in the nursery when they were old enough to go outside. He poked his little yacht, the 'Possum' into every inlet . on the coast. Mr. R D White, who went through many a gale in his steam yacht White Star, was a great host and many who would never have had a chance of a cruise on board a yacht were indebted to him for an almost too lavish hospitality. His language was very much to the point and when in a gale off the Tasmanian coast, his engineer and stoker both crawled out to implore him to put back – “Go back to your post” he ordered “ What are you so afraid of? Haven’t you got a good boat under you, God Almighty above you, and me on the bridge?”

Mr Alfred Fairfax, a remarkably handsome man, won many a hard race in his Neried and Magic, on Saturday afternoons, but never neglected his church on Sundays. And Jack Want, brave, kind, careless, lovable Jack Want, prince of sportsmen and good fellows, the same old Jack Want whether fighting out a gale in Bass Straits, or on board his yacht at her snug moorings in Broken Bay, will long be remembered by Sydney yachtsmen, even admist their pleasures and their triumphs.
To be continued

Pictures:  
The Opening of the 1866 Season by Yachts of the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron.
The Xarifa (Mr. Chas. Parbury).
PORT JACKSON'S PLEASURE FLEETS. (1907, October 12).Evening News (Sydney, NSW : 1869 - 1931), p. 3. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article113897221
PORT JACKSON'S PLEASURE FLEETS.
No. 2
BY LANYARD.

'A wet sheet, and a flowing sea,
A wind that follows fast;
And fills the white and rustling sail,
And bends the gallant mast.'
—    Allan Cunninghams
'He maketh the deep to boll like a pot.'— Old Testament.

THE CAPUA OF YACHTING MEN.
An old fellow from the far west crossed from the Circular Quay to Milson’s Point on board one of the ferry boats. When the steamer arrived at her destination, he remained on board. 'We ain't goin’ no further,' said one of the deck hands. 'That's all right,' replied the man from the country, 'I only came for the sea trip.' Now, when a young man bases his claim to be a yachting man on a cruise to Vaucluse, or the buoy at Manly, the writer thinks of the old back-blocker and his sea trip. Too many of our fellows imagine that a quiet sail down the harbor, a good lunch, and a glass or two of whisky, are all that is necessary to make them yachting men, and, year after year, they take the same short cruises, whilst the long wash of the Australasian seas' calls to them in vain. Port Jackson, with its smooth waters, its delightful bays, and its' white beaches, is partly to blame for such a state of affairs, and the question, 'why go outside when we have such a glorious cruising ground Inside,' is unconsciously asked. Port Jackson is the veritable Capua of yachting men. It is true there are some who would like nothing better than a cruise on the ocean, but the claims of business are so urgent in these days that they cannot find the time for more than a sail in the harbor. Naturally, boatbuilders have fallen into line, and built boats for smooth waters, and the fashion in sails and rigging has altered accordingly. However, there is a growing disposition on the part of our senior clubs to encourage outside racing, and it is to be hoped that before long that we shall hear no more of the reproach, which, by-the-way, is of Victorian origin, that we are only duck-pond sailors. Some of our early yachts sailed all the way from England.

THE LOG OF THE CHANCE.
'Her march is o'er the mountain wave,
Her home is on the deep.'— Campbell.
The schooner Chance, whose race with the Xarifa was described in a recent article, left the Isle of Wight for Sydney on January 13, 1862. Her log, which is published in an old yachting magazine, shows that she met with particularly bad weather, and we find her, the day after her departure, hove-to under a double reefed main trysail, with the fore storm trysail and staysail stowed, the little ship pitching heavily, and some rare green seas taking charge of the deck occasionally. On the following day -she carried away some of the bulwark sheeting forward, and started two of the bulwark stanchions. On January 22, a sea struck her on the starboard bow, and smashed three of the bulwark stanchions. On the 31st, Madeira was reached, and the yacht lay becalmed under the lee of the island.

AN OCEAN RACE.
On February 1, in a smart South-east breeze, the master found that the Chance was a fair match for a clipper ship, neither going ahead of the other, although the bigger vessel set her foretopsail studding sails, and made every effort to get away. Subsequently she gained a couple of miles, when the skipper of the schooner took in his small Jib, set & larger one, and soon left the ship behind. On the 7th, the Chance passed St. Antonio, Cape de Verd Islands, and the crew took advantage of a calm to air and dry clothes, bedding, sofas, cushions. etc. On the 14th they spread the awnings, and turned up the boats to catch rain water.


The Schooner Yacht, Chance,THE PROPERTY OF MR. W. WALKER, COMMODORE, SYDNEY YACHT CLUB, PUBLISHED IN 'HUNT'S YACHTING MAGAZINE', FEBRUARY. 1863.
A BIG SHARK.
On March 13 a great floundering was observed astern; a large shark had swallowed the Massey patent log. The master put the helm down, and hove the vessel into the wind, and all hands tailed on to secure the monster. They hauled him up gently, hand over hand, but when they had him within a few fathoms of the stern he gave a tremendous plunge, lashing the sea into a white foam, burst the log line, and escaped, taking the patent log away in his stomach. The master adds that they gave him a tailor's blessing, and trusted that the pill would agree with him. They put Into Table Bay on April 3 for medical assistance for the sailing master, and after careening the vessel and cleaning the bottom they set Sail again on the 6th. On May 2 they sighted the island of St. Paul's, and on the 24th  a heavy sea broke on board, smashing three of the bulwark stanchions, and carrying away the bulwarks on the starboard how; they put the helm up, and ran before the Sea. - At midnight a fearful sea rolled over the taff rail, and pooped them, starting the bulwarks on the port side. The log states that their poor little barkie was completely overpowered, and lay over on her beam ends; the main rigging on the starboard side was carried away, and for a moment they thought the weight of the sea would master them.

SYDNEY GIRLS.
On the 21st they experienced strong westerly gales, accompanied by tremendous squalls and heavy rain, but the 'Sydney girls' voices were ringing' in their ears, and they determined to carry their gallant little ship through it like an ocean racer. On the 29th the welcome cry of 'Land oh!' was hailed with three hearty cheers; it was Cape Otway, and on Tuesday, June 3, they let go their anchors in Sydney Cove. They got their boats out, furled sails, cleaned the decks, made everything ship-shape and Bristol fashion, set the anchor watch for the night; and so ends the log of the Chance's cruise from the Isle of Wight to Australia in 141 days. The Vivid also sailed out from England to Australia, and the Alert made the trip out and back.

THE ILL-FATED MIGNONETTE.
The Mignonette, a yawl of 52 tons burden, left Southampton for Sydney on May18, 18? — ?. She- arrived at Madeira on June 1. The line was crossed on June 17, and from that date trouble commenced. Dirty weather began on the 18th, and lasted until June 30, when it blew a gale, which departed suddenly. On July 2 the yacht was becalmed;, but on the 3rd she was again before the storm, under reefed mainsail and square sail. In the afternoon, the master, Dudley, made up his mind to heave-to, and about 4 o'clock the squaresail was taken in. The mate suddenly cried 'Look out,' and the master, looking under the boom, saw a great sea coming. He clung to the boom until the sea had swept past. Turning round, he saw that all the bulwarks aft had gone; and the mate called out, 'My God; her side is knocked in.' Such was really the case, the butt ends were seen to be open. The boat was got out, and the mate, a seaman, and a boy took their places in her. The master had barely time to grasp a couple of tins — that turned out to be of preserved turnips — before the men in the boat shouted to him, 'She's sinking.' He tumbled into the boat, and the crew had just managed to row a length astern when the yacht went down. The rest of the story is too gruesome; suffice it to say that, after suffering akin to those experienced on the raft of the Medusa, the three seamen were picked up 24 days later by a vessel bound for Falmouth. Dudley afterwards came to Sydney, where he earned respect as a sailmaker and yachtsman, but his luck was out, for he fell a victim to plague during one of the early outbreaks here.

OTHER VOYAGES.
Among other ocean cruises may be mentioned Mr. James, Cox's voyage in the Jess to Cooktown, and Mr. and Mrs. William Bailey's  in the Archina to Melbourne. The 5 ton Doris sailed to Melbourne and back; the Boronia tailed in an attempt to reach the South Sea Islands; the Miranda and the S.Y. White Star cruised from Sydney to Tasmanian waters; but our most constant outside cruiser in small vessels was Captain Gettings, of the Simbo. He was not a yachting man; he was one of those ''who go down to the sea in ships that do business in great waters" But many yachts-men, in their sails abroad, met and admired the man who, at 72 years of age, undeterred by the shipwreck of one of his small vessels, and the sinking of another through collision, cruised — single handed — up and down our coast in his 30ft half-decker. Those 'who sail out of Careening Core, miss the old man, and wonder, perhaps, if ever he looks over the battlements of Heaven at his fine old boat chafing at her moorings.
'Home is the sailor, home from the sea.
And the hunter is home from the hill.'
One of the old sailing identities here speaks of a yacht ending her days. Many of our old yachts have ended their days on reefs in the Sooth Pacific, where, to we the expression of the same identity, they 'earned their living'- as traders after their owners had sold them. The second Era is a fishing smack of Fremantle, W.A.; the Magic is still a yacht, and hails out of Largs Bay; the Pleiades and the Possum are somewhere in the north; the Ianthena went pearling; the Electra and the Antidote are in New Caledonia; the Tritonia was cut down and made into a floating jetty; the Jess is in the South Seas; the White Star is In Queensland; and the rest of the old timers are scattered far and wide. What will become of our modern yachts, of light construction and long overhangs, after their owners have done with them? They will probably be broken up by the ship knacker?

The First Era (Mr. Jas. Milson), and the Chance (Commodore Walter).

SOUTHERLY BUSTERS.
Apart from the danger of being seasick, against which cap badges and brass buttons are no specific,  the heavy seas occasionally met with on our coast render it sometimes inadvisable for the small yacht to venture outside. A good skipper can see  at a glance whether the sea is too heavy, and he should be firm enough not to allow himself to be dared into risking the lives of his company by the taunt which can generally be expected from the least experienced member of the party. One of the best of our old coastal masters steamed one morning out of Barranjoey, and meeting with an exceptionally heavy sea, decided very properly to put back. 'It's no good,' he said; and shouted down the tube to the engineer to 'ease her up!' whilst he turned the vessel's head round. 'I always knew you was a cocktail, Jonathan,' called out a passenger. 'Let her go, Gollagher' roared the master, stung to the quick. All day long the little vessel climbed the seas, to fall shuddering into their trough, the master at the wheel watching every wave and negotiating it as only a man of his skill and experience could do. No one was in a worse funk than the passenger; he went down on his knees to implore the skipper to put back. Darkness came over the waters, and the storm-beaten, sea-swept steamer cray fished into Sydney Harbor under the long flashes of the Macquarie Light; but the experience had been a terrible one. When the steamer went alongside the wharf, the passenger picked up his belongings, and was about to go ashore; the master, who, through the long anxious day had been grim and dignified — magnificent even— felt the old Adam rise in him, and, giving vent to his pent-up feelings, planted the fellow one fair on the stern-sheets, with the remark, 'I'm a ? cocktail, ain't I?'

Of course, one may be caught outside by a southerly burster, but he should not be caught unawares if he watches the glass and the local indications. More treacherous, however, is the sudden, squall from the west, which is, perhaps, the greatest danger to vessels cruising along our coast. Mr. Henry A. Hunt, who was awarded the prize given by the Hon. Ralph Abercromby in 1894 (see -'Australian Weather,' Abercromby) for the best essay on 'Southerly Busters,' tells us that 'Even up to within 10 or 15 years ago the velocity of wind was frequently as high as 60 miles an hour, and occasionally attained the tremendous' force of 80 miles. On one memorable occasion it went far beyond this, and registered the unprecedented velocity of 153 miles an hour. Now, the - southerly burster rarely exceeds 60 miles an hour, and generally ranges between 20 and 40 miles an hour.' So our young yachtsmen need not put their tongues in their cheeks when the old hands tell of the bursters of by-gone days. Mr.  Hunt points out that, 'The climatic conditions proceeding a southerly burster are, -first, a period of high temperature varying from three hours, to three or more days, accompanied in the early part of the summer, or towards its close by wind from the west or north-west, and In the midsummer months, generally from the north-east. In the early morning of the day of a burst the sky is white and hazy of aspect. As the hour of the outbreak approaches, there begin to accumulate in the south ball shaped cirro-cumulus or pilot clouds.  An hour or so before the squall a heavy cumulus roll appears lowdown on the southern horizon . Mr. Hunt notes that the night preceding a burster however clear It may appear seldom,-precipitates any measurable quantity of dew, and that during a period jot hot Weather, should a fog assist at daybreak, a southerly change to 'almost sure to 'occur within 24hours.

Some 50 years ago the then Quaratine tender, the schooner 'Pearl, was capsized in the harbour by a southerly  burster. The late Mr. George Thornton's yacht, 'Haidee,' was also capsized by a burster when five out of her six of her company were drowned off Shark Point,  and there have been many similar casualties. One of the latest to be caught outside in a small yacht by a burster is  our old friend, Mr. George S. Brock, whose coach-house boat, ''Dolphin”,  was struck off Bluefish, and he had an exciting time running for shelter to Broken Bay.

A RACE IN A SOUTHERLY GALE.
A match that was much talked about at the time, was made in the fifties between Captain Bennett's ballast lighter 'Leveret,' and Mr. W. W. Burt's English designed 10tonner ''Surprise' for a race round the manly course. One of the conditions was that the Captain could choose his own day; he chose one when a southerly gale was raging, and the ballast boat defeated the yacht.

Illustration: The Schooner Yacht, Chance,THE PROPERTY OF MR. W. WALKER, COMMODORE, SYDNEY YACHT CLUB, PUBLISHED IN 'HUNT'S YACHTING. MAGAZINE',FEBRUARY. 1863.
The First Era (Mr. Jas. Milson), and the Chance (Commodore Walter).

 (To Be Continued.)
PORT JACKSON'S PLEASURE FLEETS. (1907, October 19).Evening News (Sydney, NSW : 1869 - 1931), p. 13. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article113900743