PETREL II 1904
Although U.S.-born, George Owen lived as a young man in Hamilton, and many of his early (and later) designs were for Lake Ontario owners. His credits include many R-Boats (Swamba, Vivia II, Scrapper), P-Boats (Patricia, Bernice, Italia, Stranger), Commodore Gooderham's fine ketch Oriole IV, the steamer Dalhousie City and the America's Cup aspirant Defiance.
One of his earliest designs was Petrel II, built to the 25-foot L.W.L. class and winner of the RCYC championship for that class in 1906.
George Owen moved to Boston about 1910, became Professor of Naval Architecture at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and enjoyed a long and distinguished career.
L.W.L. 25 ft.
GLORIA 1898
It is doubtful if a faster yacht than the cutter Gloria ever flew the Royal Canadian Yacht Club burgee. Designed by A.E. Payne of Southampton to meet and beat the cutter Esterel in the Riviera Regattas, she wrested the Coupe de France from that flyer in 1898. She was soon afterwards purchased by H.C. McLeod, and sailed out for him from Southampton to Sydney, N.S., making her appearance in Toronto in 1900. She was a beautiful white cutter, with a spoon bow of the bold profile characteristic of A.E. Payne, a bronze painted underbody, long bowsprit and topmast, and exceedingly racy appearance. Although 50 feet on the waterl1ne and 78 feet overall and drawing 10 feet 6 inches, she was only 5 feet deep in the hold.
Composite built, copper fastened, with two-inch mahogany planking, she was a thorough racing machine, but a noble one, and Mr. H.C. McLeod had a standing offer of a pair of binoculars for any yacht which could leave Toronto with the Gloria, sail with her around the Niagara bell buoy and make port again within an hour of her. The binoculars were never claimed.
It was a great blow to Mr. McLeod to find that he could not race the Gloria on the lakes on any terms. Mr. F. Arnoldi introduced a motion at a special general meeting of the Club on July 9, 1902 "that all yachts owned by members of this Club having sailed across the Atlantic Ocean on their own keels shall be permitted to race in all Club races in their own class." This was intended for Gloria's benefit, but it was referred to the sailing committee and received an adverse recommendation – not that the Club wished to penalize Mr. McLeod, whom, indeed, it delighted to honour, but because it was felt that special club rules would be unfair to the Lake Yacht Racing Association. The Lake Yacht Racing Association would soon be disrupted by the importation and acceptance of yachts that would not conform to lake scantling restrictions.
In the case of Gloria, there was no question of her construction being sufficiently strong. The Atlantic Ocean, in the spring of 1900, had placed an emphatic and unqualified okay upon the structural merits of Gloria's specifications. But her construction was such as was impossible to duplicate, at that time, on our side of the Atlantic, and if it could have been duplicated it would have been at a cost that would have wrecked yachting as a sport.
The scantling restrictions suggested by W.P. Stephens and adopted by the Lake Yacht Racing Association in 1897 were moderate and drawn up with the limited financial resources of the lake Clubs in mind.
It was from loyalty to the other members of the Lake Yacht Racing Association, which had subscribed to the Stephens scantling table and were building under it, that the Royal Canadian Yacht Club forbore to accept the splendid Gloria even as a contestant in its own Club racing. It was a severe disappointment to a member whom the Club valued very highly. The Club had everything to gain and nothing to lose by admitting Gloria for she would have swept all classes on the lakes.
(Excerpted from The Annals Of The Royal Canadian Yacht Club, Vol.
I, C.H.J. Snider p.p. 130, 131, 132.)
L.O.A. 68 ft. 6 in.
L.W.L. 49 ft. 4 in.
Beam 12 ft. 5 in.
Draught 9 ft. 6 in.
GRAYLING
Designed by George Owen of Hamilton, Grayling and her near sister Whirl were good and fast examples of the 20-foot waterline restricted class of 1902.
While owned by W.McTaggart, Grayling was Third Division Club Champion in 1909. Jas. B. Moodie reintroduced her to the Club in 1933 and LYRA records show her winning the Nicholas Cup in 1932 and 1937.
Grayling disappeared from view and from memory shortly after the Second World War, though she is believed to have gone to Queen City Yacht Club.
CRUSADER 1907
The 1907 Canada's Cup series caused three new contenders to be built to the Universal Rule 27-rater class. Commodore Fredick Nicholls ordered Crusader built by Captain Andrews of Oakville to a design by Wm. Fife Jr.
Although defeated in the trials by Adele (which in turn lost to the American defender, Herreshoff's great Seneca), Crusader enjoyed a long career and had her moments of victory, notably including winning the Prince of Wales Cup in 1911. Owned by T.K. Wade, she sailed to Lake Erie in 1913 to win her class in the Interlake Yachting Association regatta in Put-In-Bay, then returned to RCYC to win her division against competition which now included the redoubtable Seneca. Owned and raced through these years by young men with more enthusiasm than resources, her prize money made her almost self-financing.
She is prominently featured in the fine Owen Staples mural of the 1910 Prince of Wales Cup Race which graces the ballroom in the RCYC Island Clubhouse.
By 1920, Crusader's serious racing days were over and T.K. Wade replaced her with Patricia. Much altered and under a gaff schooner rig, Crusader continued to sail into the 1950's in the fleet of National Yacht Club, Toronto.
L.O.A. 45 ft.
L.W.L. 30 ft.
Beam 9 ft.
Draught 6 ft. 6 in.
YENDYS 1906
From his first victory in 1896 through 1905, George Herrick Duggan was the dominant figure in Seawanhaka Cup racing as he designed, had built, and often sailed the succession of Canadian winners which included the three Glencairns and the remarkable Dominion of 1898.
With that memorable decade behind him, Duggan turned his attention to a series of fine cruising yachts beginning with Yendys, his cutter of 1906, and ending with his sixth, the ketch Kingarvie, built in 1933.
(See also AVORAH 1925.)
L.O.A. 39 ft.
L.W.L. 27 ft. 6 in.
Beam 10 ft.
Draught 7 ft. 6 in.
AILEEN II 1907
Owned by his father, W.G. Gooderham, Aileen II was Norman Gooderham's first "essay upon the international field in which he shone so brightly and so long" – to quote C.H.J. Snider. Regrettably, Aileen II could not live up to her skipper's promise, being the slowest of the three Canada's Cup contenders of 1907 – a disappointment since her designer Alfred Mylne had enjoyed many successes including the 30-footer Zoraya, winner of the Fisher Cup in 1906.
Sold in 1909, Aileen II was renamed Kayak and raced several more years. It is thought that she was among those yachts broken up for their lead ballast at the beginning of World War One.
L.O.A. 46 ft. 1 in.
L.W.L. 31 ft. 3 in.
Beam 9 ft. 8 in.
Draught 6 ft.