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The following list of the club fleet in 1855 is furnished by Mr. Armstrong: Albacoro—Mr. Stow. Every yachtsman in Canada has heard of the famous White Wings, the Cuthbert sloop that has, since 1893, been doing duty as a stone-hooker. At the present time there is little about |
Mr. Jarvis sold the White Wings to a Hamilton syndicate, composed of Messrs Lester, Birley, Chambrook, Townsend, et al. She was raced with varying success up to 1891, when she was again sold. She over-run her anchor, in the autumn of 1892, when attempting to bring up in very shallow water near Wilson, N. Y. She was taken to Port Credit for repairs, and shortly afterwards was bought by Captain L. Nash, who took the topmast out of her, reduced the size of her big cabin trunk and sailed her in the stone trade, becoming the envy of all the stone-hooker captains on the lake. It was impossible to capsize the White Wings, but this very nearly happened on one occasion. She was coming down the lake with everything set, when a heavy squall struck her when abreast of Humber Bay. She lay over |
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her dingy black hull, with its battered rail and dumpy little cabin trunk, to indicate the famous racer. Yet a second glance at th easy sheer, long, shart entrance and clean run, as well as the cut of the patched mainsail and staysail and jib, comprising the hooker's entire spread of canvas, will show that she has seen better days. White Wings was built a Cuthbert in 1886 for a Mr. Cooley, of Trenton. She was 42.83 ft. on the water line, and of 45.74 feet racing length. She was raced at Belleville and Oswego, and showed good speed, but failed to take first place. Mr. Aemilius Jarvis, commodore of the Royal Canadian Yacht Club, bought her in 1887, and sold her in the spring of 1889. It was under his ownership that she won the White Wings Cup, at Put In Bay regatta, a trophy that was subsequently presented to the Hamilton Yacht Club for perpetual competition. |
on her beams' ends, and the frightened crew promptly scrambled into the dinghy and cast off. Ere they reached shore the White Wings righted. The crew pulled towards her, and , like a sportive colt, she payed off and ran away from them, faster than they could possibly row. After she had jibed two or three times, and the weary mariners were almost dead with rowing, they caught up to her and clambered aboard, exhausted and extremely thankful. The first Canadian vessel, as well as the last schooner yacht, to challenge for the America's Cup, was the Countess of Dufferin. She was built at Cobourg by Alexander Cuthbert, a famous designer of yachts of the old centreboard type. She was owned by a syndicate composed of various lake yachtsmen. Colonel Gifford, Mr. Frederick Lucas, of Hamilton, and Major Torrance were among the members. |
