THE GREAT ADVENTURE .sx ATLANTIC RACERS ON THEIR WAY .sx Ten little ships crossed the starting line off Newport , Rhode Island , on July 4th , Independence Day , to race over the 2,950 miles of ocean to Plymouth Sound .sx The number of starters represented the majority of the entry , and the only defaulters were Seven Seas , sister ship to Amberjack , and the 52ft .sx German ketch , Stoertebeker .sx Their great adventure began in a light sou'-westerly wind , and the ten little ships went away with eased sheets carrying their big reaching sails .sx Mistress , the 60ft .sx schooner , designed by Sherman Hoyt and owned by George E. Roosevelt , made the best of the start , followed by Highland Light , Water Gypsy , and Dorade .sx Then came Landfall , the favourite , with her balloon jib set , with Maitenes II , Lismore , Ilex , Skal , and Amberjack hard on her heels .sx But there is little in a start when the whole of the vast Atlantic divides the competing yachts from the finishing line !sx Like Wraiths in the Fog .sx A great fleet of craft of all sorts and sizes followed the competitors out beyond the South Shoal Lightship ; then an hour after the start a blanket of fog came down and the ten little ships disappeared , like phantoms , beyond the sight of men .sx As they faded away it was just possible to se that Highland Light had a slight lead and that the larger vessels were slowly drawing ahead .sx Maitenes and Ilex , too , vanished into the fog , bravely holding their own .sx What adventures will they experience ?sx What troubles will befall them ?sx How will they fare , those ten little ships ?sx We shall not know anything of them until they near the end of their great adventure .sx We only know that all the experts predict fair weather and that , according to Dr. Kimball , of the United States weather Bureau , the race is being sailed at the most favourable season .sx But even so great an expert hesitates to forecast what may happen during the race , which will last probably from 20 to 30 days .sx When asked to express his opinion , Dr. Kimball said that " the entire season seems to have in many respects gone completely against all the precedents established by observation over a period of many years , " and our own experiences this summer fully bear out this opinion !sx Few who have not crossed the Atlantic can visualise even vaguely the hugeness of the task undertaken by the crews of the ten little ships .sx The great Ocean , in its most pleasant mood , can scarcely be called friendly to small boats ranging in size from 48ft .sx to 71ft .sx Sailors in mighty steamers dread the anger of the Atlantic - that Ocean which Conrad called the greatest enemy of ships and men .sx But it is the element of chance and the wild uncertainty of the voyage that appeal to the sturdy adventurers who man the ten little ships .sx Of the result of the race it is impossible to prophesy , but with the prevailing winds on the Atlantic at this time of the year the schooners should have the advantage as it is probable that the majority of the passage will be made reaching .sx We may expect to see the leading yachts sailing into Plymouth Sound about July 22 nd , in which case the noble vessels of the big class will be on the station to welcome the Ocean voyagers .sx The Hazard of the Choice .sx One of the greatest problems that will beset the navigators is the choice of their course .sx Keeping up to the North , between latitudes 45 and 50 , the boats will find the prevailing westerlies stronger than farther south , but as they work east so will the chances of northerly gales increase .sx Another disadvantage of going too far north is the risk of fog .sx Perhaps the best course from the point of view of wind and weather will take the racers fairly near the steamer route for the first thousand miles .sx After that it would seem best to work gradually up to the north , making allowance for the north-westerlies that might set the little ships down towards the Brittany coast .sx This route keeps clear of the area where gales are most likely .sx Each navigator has a shrewd idea of the weather conditions most suited to his ship , and will choose a course most likely to give him what he wants .sx The problem is intricate , and its successful solution may mean the winning of the race .sx Last-minute news of the boats themselves shows that there is some doubt in America as to the suitability of that smart little yawl Dorade for a race of this kind .sx The others are regarded as able ships , but the opinion seems to be that though Dorade is to be feared if winds remain light , she is too much of a smooth-water racer to face the possibility of Atlantic storms .sx Blue Bird :sx SIR MALCOLM CAMPBELL'S 52FT .sx TWIN-SCREW MOTOR YACHT .sx In the case of any man who has greatly distinguished himself in one particular sphere it often happens that that phase of his life overshadows all others to such an extent that it comes as a surprise to many to realises that the has other interests .sx Thus it is with Sir Malcolm Campbell .sx He is known throughout the world as the man who has travelled on four wheels faster than any other - the holder of the world's record for speed on land .sx A Cruising Man .sx Yet this man of speed has another side to his character .sx He is a cruising man of much experience - so much so , in fact , that he has long learned that speed afloat is not synonymous with comfortable cruising .sx His joy is not in travelling fast but in living afloat during his all too few days of relaxation in summer .sx For him the quiet , secluded harbours and creeks and coastal passages when time permits - and what better may a man find ?sx Most of us have from time to time put pencil to paper in the endeavour to capture , at least for the time being , our elusive and changeable ideal cruiser , and in this respect Sir Malcolm is truly one of us .sx He has , he told us , drawn out the plans too often to bear enumerating , and even now that his new Blue Bird - for what else could she be named ?sx - is planked up , decked , and with her engines already bolted down , he is passing through that so familiar stage where doubts assail him , and he wonders , " If I had only made the beam so much instead of .sx .. " And " If she had been four feet longer I could have .sx .. " Strength of Construction .sx Be all this as it may , the vessel which we saw at Thornycroft's Hampton yard last week is an essentially satisfying craft , beautifully put together with double-skin mahogany planking on elm and oak frames .sx The wheelhouse is though too lofty to our eyes , but the arrangement below is admirably conceived , as the plans show .sx This big wheelhouse is large enough to be almost another saloon .sx There is an excellent chart table almost adjacent to the helmsman , while lifting hatches give access to the two four-cylinder 50 h.p. Thornycroft engines , which drive the propellers through 2-1 reduction gears .sx The shafts are supported in Cutless rubber bushes .sx The Detail Work .sx Naturally , Sir Malcolm has taken special care over the machinery lay-out .sx The separate generating set is installed to starboard , and this takes care of the lighting of the cabins and supplies current via the Young accumulator for the Kelvinator in the galley .sx To port is a small work-bench .sx The fuel tanks are located right aft in a separate compartment and have a capacity of 200 gallons , the supply being by a pair of S.U. Morriscot Petrolifts mounted on the engines .sx An auxiliary gravity supply is provided against any emergency .sx The owner's quarters after are quite self-contained , and are fitted out in excellent taste .sx Sir Malcolm was very definite in his remarks on the absence of sufficient storage space in his previous craft and has seen to it that such faults are not repeated .sx Steel Bulkhead Forward .sx The galley , communicating with both the saloon and the fo'c'sle , is most convenient , and is quite surprisingly roomy , yet it is not intended to serve for the crew as well as the ship's company , for , forward of the steel dividing bulkhead , the crew's quarters are entirely self-contained .sx The spare single cabin is not an emergency cabin in any sense .sx It is a thoroughly comfortable and well-fitted stateroom .sx A good instance of the amount of thought which has been devoted to the ship is that sliding chocks have been built on the coach roof aft so that the motor tender may be carried amidships .sx How often we have seen a ship's trim entirely spoilt by the presence or absence of her dinghy !sx Incidentally , the engine chosen for this tender is one of the horizontally opposed Coventry Victor units , as being the lightest small four-stroke which Sir Malcolm could find .sx We understand from Sir Malcolm that the launching date is appointed for the 20 th of this month .sx This , by the way , reflects no small amount of credit on the builders , who have done wonders since the keel was laid a little over a month ago .sx Most cruising men prefer the latter part of the season when the trees near favoured anchorages show the first tints of autumn , and Blue Bird's owner will not miss much if he can make good use of the months of August and September .sx He will make the passage to the South Coast within a week or so of her launching .sx He will have a fine sea boat with every comfort aboard when Blue Bird is in commission .sx On the Broads .sx FIVE FIRSTS for COMMANDER LOCK .sx by G.F. CARRODUS .sx Until there is a full programme every day there is a feeling that the season is hardly under way , but we are in July and already I have attended my twenty-second regatta out of sixty-eight .sx Last week Wroxham gave us a two-days' meeting and Oulton one .sx The two broads are over forty miles apart , but Commander R.G. Lock turned up at all of them , and of course took three firsts with Lightning in the International Dinghy Class .sx In addition , Mr. R.S. Smallman being away in the States , the commander on Saturday sailed Breeze in the Large Cruiser Handicap and Brown Argus among the Yare and Bure One-Designs , in each case taking a first .sx A Fine Score .sx That made five , and three of them were won at Oulton in a single afternoon .sx At Oulton it might easily have been four firsts , but in the 30ft .sx Class Brown Argus was over the line at the start and lost precious time in making a restart .sx However , she carved her way through the fleet , passing five boats and finished third .sx Those three minutes which she gained in the course of the race would , on paper , have easily put her first .sx In numbers Lightning had not much out against her on Saturday , but Sea Serpent came up to the line in the hands of the deputy and gave her a good run , drawing level , and in one instance even holding the lead for a time .sx Lightning's biggest lead was 48 secs .sx , which was reduced to about half at the finish by some smart work on the part of the ribless Sea Serpent .sx The race took place in a good breeze from between south and west .sx Up to North River .sx At Wroxham Lightning was one of six starters .sx Windjammer was there and so was Rip , as well as Coot , Mr. R. Clayton Cooper's Morgan Giles boat from Barnt Green , but it was none of these which proved the runner-up .sx This position was taken by Sir Edward Stracey's Scheherazade , a Morgan Giles boat sailed by Mr. C. S. Green .sx Scheherazade seemed to have the race in hand early on , leading Coot by nearly a couple of minutes ; but a change of wind left the leader becalmed , and she was passed by Lightning , which actually won by nearly three minutes .sx It was a remarkable change of position .sx