"The British Grenadiers" Oriole's Victory March: Schooner Days CCCXVI (316)

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To sail a thousand or fifteen hundred miles for a single race was "all in the day's work" for Mr. Gooderham and his Oriole II. In 1888, when commodore of the club, he accepted an invitation to sail a race for an international trophy known as the Mackinac Cup, presented by the Hotel Plant at Mackinac Island in the Straits of Mackinaw. Oriole left Toronto on Aug. 2nd and was back on Aug. 25th, with the cup in her cabin. She had sailed the whole way, a round trip of 1,300 miles, in twenty-three days, including the time she spent at Detroit on the drydock, getting her bottom sandpapered and blackleaded, and at Mackinac, putting the sandpapering and blackleading to good use.

Oriole sailed for home on the afternoon of August 18th and arrived in Toronto exactly one week later. They drove her down Lake Erie in a gale which had double storm-signals hoisted, and big vessels all running for shelter. It blew so hard that Oriole was down to her coveringboard under the forestaysail and double-reefed mainsail. When the wind moderated she logged ten knots for four hours at a stretch and did 108 miles in the "day's work" of twelve hours.

The argonauts who left Toronto with the Oriole in the venture from which she returned with the Idler's golden fleece were thus enrolled by Mr. George E. Evans, who made the voyage as a guest of Mr. Gooderham and one of the racing crew, and who still officiates as one of Kingarvie's afterguard, with his old friend, G. Herrick Duggan:

Starboard watch: R. Myles (in charge), George E. Evans, Fulford Arnoldi, Jim, Abe and Charlie Giles, paid hands.

Port watch: Capt. Richard Fugler (in charge). Charles Townsend, C. W. Beatty, George Hargraft, and Fisher and Walter, the last two being also paid hands like Capt Fugler. Prof. E. B. Shuttleworth joined at Port Colborne, and Commodore Gooderham came aboard at Sarnia on the way up the lakes.

Sailing such a schooner as was the 50-ton Oriole II. in her racing prime is now a lost art. Hers were the days of great sail areas, spread out very wide to keep the centre of effort low and retain stability, and the man at the helm had to remember that she could and might capsize. Idler, Oriole's rival, capsized and drowned all on board, some years after the historic Mackinac race. Now sailplans are narrow and high, to get quick results, and stability is cared for by a leadmine of ballast, all outside.

Oriole's 50-foot spinnaker boom was the longest on the lakes. Her predecessor had used a squaresail instead of a spinnaker. The tack of 6 Oriole's balloon jib topsail was 131 feet forward of the clew of her mainsail, and the peak of her main clubtopsail was 102 feet above the deck. This gave her an actual sail area of about 7,000 square feet, almost the measured area of an America's Cup craft of 1937. There was 2,665 square feet in her balloon maintopmast staysail, nicknamed "Big Ben." Her mainsail was of about the same size.

Her foresail was not the narrow strip of canvas permitted by the modern rig, bounded by gaff, boom and mast, and trimming itself almost automatically. Her racing foresail was six feet wider than the space between her masts, and therefore could not have a boom. It had to be hauled over on every tack. It required double sheets, and four men used to be stationed to handle it in a race.

"John Henderson, port foresheet, make fast;

E. B. Shuttleworth, port foresheet, let go and clear.

George Hargraft, starboard foresheet, make fast.

F. Arnoldi, starboard foresheet, let go and clear."

reads an old quarter bill in Oriole's log. In addition to this foresail crew, all hands would have to tally on to trim the lee sheet flat when it was blowing hard. They had to work in the lee scuppers, with the lake boiling over the rail.

That foresheet had to be "let go and cleared" smartly or the yacht might go over and down. Heckstail Smith gives a vivid account of how this disaster almost happened to the German Emperor's Meteor, which had a similar "lug foresail" —a very efficient sail, but one so hard to handle that it has been barred from modern racing.

Oriole was raced with a Corinthian crew of eleven, including the skipper at the wheel, and Capt. Dick Fugler with four other professionals worked the light sails and lent a hand as required. Usually Mr. George Gooderham or one of his sons was skipper and in full charge, but in his absence Capt. Fugler ruled the whole crew, Corinthian and professional, with a rod of iron. In the great Mackinac race of which we are telling his orders were "Every man flat on the deck and flat on his face!" when going to windward, to save windage. Mr. Evans, one of the Corinthian crew, still recalls the hardness of that sloping deck.

Off Cheboygan, Mich., on Aug. 12, they sighted the schooner Wasp of Cleveland, which was also an aspirant for the trophy, bound for Mackinac, and passed her hand over fist — a cheering omen. On arrival they found that Verve II., then owned in Chicago, had been driven ashore in a gale and had gone to the Cheboygan drydock to refit. The large Chicago schooner Idler, an America Cup candidate, was awaiting them at Mackinac Island when they anchored that evening.

The race was billed for Aug. 13th, so that Oriole just arrived in time. The Idler, however, asked for delay as her crew wished to bend her racing mainsail, and were not able to do so, or did not wish to do so, in the hard breeze prevailing, which would have necessitated reefing the new sail. As Oriole was much the smaller it was realized that her best chance would be in light weather, and Commodore Gooderham quite readily consented to the postponement.

The race started on Aug. 15th, with very little wind, and Oriole readily ghosted past Idler and Wasp and was well in the lead when the judges abandoned the contest, as a finish within the time limit was impossible. Oriole's performance brought out betting at even money. Hitherto the odds had been against her.

A Mackinac farmer who supplied Oriole with fresh provisions, was keen on putting some money on her. Capt. Fugler told him to wait till they themselves found out how she would do. If she had a chance of winning he would drop a newspaper overboard. This day of the abortive race a newspaper did blow overboard and spread out in the wake. Capt. Fugler's friend put a mortgage on the farm and stacked the pile on Oriole while the odds were still heavy against her. He made enough to retire in comfort.

Mr. Evans' log thus describes the crucial race:

"Aug. 16th—5 a.m.—Crew up, getting things in shape for Oriole's victory.

"Wasp first across, shortly after 10.20. Yachts were allowed till 10.30 to cross. Dick (Capt. Fugler) made a fine start at 10.29.30, running along the line flattening in his sheets and luffing around stern of Speranza and shaving the buoy at the 'extreme weather end of the line and in a better position than Idler, who crossed later, further to leeward.

"It was a long and a short leg to Old Mackinac, with a nice fresh breeze, yacht carrying clubtopsail and big jib topsail. She did not seem to either point or foot with Idler, and the latter began to gradually close the gap that separated them. When nearly neck and neck we shifted to small jibtopsail, under which she pointed much better.

"Both boats were now sufficiently well to weather to make the first buoy, and as soon as Dick thought we could clear we came about. It was a most admirably judged maneuver, the Oriole's horn just clearing Idler's mainsail, and before the latter, who was slow in stays, could get around we were away and to weather of her and cut her out at the buoy, crossing 100 yards ahead of her.

"At 2nd buoy Wasp just got there in time to claim the buoy, and we had to pass outside her, which allowed Idler, who had closed well in, to come about in a more weatherly position. It was now a buck back to the starting buoy, Idler sailing grandly, crawling up inch by inch, and passing us 100 yards to weather, and standing in well towards the Bois Blanc shore. When she was some distance ahead we came about and broke tacks with Idler, who held her course. On this leg we did grand work, pointing like a cutter and footing like a horse. When we again came about we could lay the line, and set our small maintopmast staysail. We had gained what we had lost at buoy No. 2, and we rounded the starting buoy 3 minutes and 40 seconds astern of Idler with the race well in hand, as Idler allowed us 25 minutes."

(It will be remembered that the course was a triangle with the first leg to be sailed over again and back to the starting buoy. This first leg was 5 miles long and the others each 10 miles, making the whole course 35 miles.)

"It was now a close haul to buoy 2" (the writer evidently means the buoy at the end of the 5 mile leg) "and we got all the revenge we wanted after being passed after rounding buoy 3. We began to close in rapidly on Idler, outfooting and outpointing her, and before half the distance to the next buoy, had been sailed we passed her well to weather, hand over fist, and rounded the buoy 3 minutes ahead of her. About this time Wasp had passed the starting buoy, completing the triangle. She was utterly out of it since the windward work began.

"As buoy 2 was rounded balloon jibtopsail and Big Ben were broken out for the run home to the finish. The wind was lightening steadily, and though we had an hour to go it was at one time a matter of anxious debate whether we should finish within the seven hours time limit.

"Doubts were, however, set at rest by the wind's hardening up considerably, until she began to fly through the water, and to increase her lead upon the Idler, crossing the finishing line with everything set, and amid the deafening scream of all the whistles in the place, in grand style, 7 minutes ahead of the Idler.

"The official time of the finish was as follows:

"I must not fail," says Mr. Evans in describing the presentation of the prizes at the end of the second day's regatta, in which Minnie M., Cora, Verve II., City of the Straits, and Lulu B. were contestants. "I must not fail to record a very amusing part of this ceremony. The yachtsmen were told to form in procession. They were headed by Capt. Joe Nicholson, holding the cup in his arms, and to the strains of The British Grenadiers they marched round and round the immense ballroom in the hotel till they wondered whether they were on a six-day go-as-you-please. The absurdity of this may be realized when I state that the four sides of the room when lined by innumerable pretty girls and guests at the hotel.

"One of the judges then made a very long-winded and flowery but utterly inappropriate speech, and presented the cup to Bob Myles, who received it on behalf of Commodore Gooderham, who was unfortunately through indisposition unable to be present.

"Bob made a very short pithy and appropriate reply, which was a relief after the long-winded judge. After the dance and at 12.30 a.m., Bob Myles, with the cup and the crew as guard of honor repaired on board, where they were met at the gangway by the Commodore, who received the cup amid the cheers and congratulations of his crew.

"All hands then repaired below, where the cup, at the Commodore's command, was filled with champagne, and a general loving cup drunk by all hands, only to be filled again and again. Songs, speeches, recitations and stories kept us going till 5 a.m., when the clank-clank of the Idler's anchor chain was heard. Bob Myles and the writer had a cartridge with them, crawled along the deck so as not to be seen, slipped it into the Oriole's gun, and, as the Idler's head-canvas filled and she got under way, gave her a parting salute, and the crew, with what voice they had left, gave a cheer."

ORIOLE's FATED RIVAL. Idler of Chicago, before she capsized in a squall in Lake Huron off Lexington, and disappeared with all on board.

WING AND WING TO VICTORY. Unable to boom out her lug foresail, in the Mackinac race when her competitor was running wing-and-wing, Oriole made up the deficiency by her big spinnaker, which had the longest boom ever seen in the R.C.Y.C. fleet.