Herreshoff #187807es Witch

"Bristol sent quite a delegation to the great cat-boat race at Newport on Thursday [July 25, 1878] of this week. Among the boats hailing from this place were the Hartford, Julia [#187004es Julia IV], Gleam [#187702es], Witch [#187807es], Spring Green, Grade and the new Custom House boat. A party also accompanied Mr. Herreshoff in his fine new steamer '41' [#41p Kittatinny] --- the one which acted as Judges' boat at the Yale-Harvard race at New London this summer. All the boats, however, might as well have stayed at home for any satisfaction they got by going. None of them were allowed to enter the race. This ruling was founded upon one of the regulations governing the race, namely, that the entries should be made before 12 o'clock, M., of the day previous, but what the Bristol folks complain of is that no notice was given them that such was the regulation. In fact they say that it is proverbial that Bristol has never been afforded a fair show in a race gotten up by Newport parties. The Grinnell race of last season is not an exception for that was a race not gotten up by Newport parties, but by Mr. Irving Grinnell of West Hamburg, N. Y., who offered the prize himself and arranged the race. Proper and courteous notice was sent to Bristol by him, and Bristol responded by producing a boat, the Gleam, which carried off the prize --- one of the handsomest ever offered for a race in Newport waters. For the race this week no notice was sent to Bristol. The fact that such a race was in prospect was learned by verbal report, and the representative of the Gleam visited Newport to find out about it. He learned a few meagre particulars by diligent inquiry, and entered his boat in good faith by mail from Bristol on the day previous to the date fixed for the closing of the entries. As it was not taken from the post office in Newport until after the hour of 12 M. he was ruled out, although he had no official notice of that fact until a few moments before the starting gun was fired. The Newport boatmen, a number of them at least, were loud voiced in their indignation at a prospect of the Gleam being allowed to sail, and the ultimate decision of the managers was very pleasant to them. How well their apprehensions were founded the result of the day shows. Although run into by a small boat and so crippled in her rigging that she was obliged to reef in what was only a fair whole-sail breeze and that, too, just, as the starting gun was fired, so that the boats of her class had nearly three miles the start of her, the Gleam sailed the whole race strictly according to the published conditions, actually overtaking and passing all the fleet of forty sail, with the exception of some half-dozen of the foremost ones, and beating the sailing time of those some minutes. The Herreshoffs also made active inquiry regarding the race although they were not in any official way notified concerning it. They also visited Newport on the Friday previous, and Newport parties promised to send them the particulars. They received only a newspaper containing what purported to be an official announcement of the race, but which they declare said nothing about any time for closing entries or of any entrance fee being payable. Acting upon this information they took down their boat, the Witch, a new 16 foot boat, which made her first bow to the waves on that occasion, and easily beats all in her class, and the Spring Green which claims to have done the same creditable feat. The new Custom House boat also tried her speed with others of her class with very satisfactory results. Printed regulations, giving very full particulars were seen by some of the Bristol party on the day of the race but not before, and inquiries concerning them were answered by the assertion that they were only printed one or two days before the race and that none of them were sent out of town. These facts certainly give some ground for the assertion that m three out of the four classes, the first prize would have gone to Bristol had not matters been managed just as they were; and also gives some color to the inference that the presence of Bristol boats was not particularly desired upon this occasion. Under the circumstances the sympathies of Bristol yachtsmen are cordially tendered to their brethren of the craft in Newport, upon their mishaps in the race, upon the fact that after all the principal prizes were gobbled up by outsiders. If any of our inferences are unjust to the Newport boatmen, and they are really actuated by a sincere and earnest desire to test the merits of their respective boats, Bristol will unquestioningly respond to an invitation for that purpose. She already has the champion cat boat of the Narragansett, which has repeatedly proved her right to that title, and she also claims the champion cat-boat of the smaller class, and will be happy to maintain that claim. If any other part of the bay can produce a team to outrun the Gleam and the Witch, Bristol will be only too ready to test the question." (Source: Anon. "Are Newporters Afraid Of Bristol Boats?" Providence Evening Press, July 26, 1878. Reprinted in: Bristol Phoenix, August 3, 1878, p. 2.)