Remembering the U.S.S. Arizona and Sappho

by Prentice Cushing

1991

"December 7,1941 - a day that will live in infamy," said President Roosevelt fifty years ago. Visitors to the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor cannot help but be affected by the sight of the tomb of the 1,102 navy men who rest under the water beneath it, and the marble wall listing their names. Lest we forget, go down to the bowling alley (which he helped to wood-panel) and look at the Douglaston Club Service Roll, where a gold star marks the name of one of those memorialized in the Shrine room, member Captain Franklin VanValkenburgh, Commanding Officer of the Arizona.

Last May 8th, following the opening of the Municipal Arts Society Douglaston Exhibition, over one hundred members of the Douglaston & Little Neck Historical Society gathered in the Model Room of the New York Yacht Club. Among the full models preserved there is one of the schooner Sappho and a half-model of the schooner Dauntless, about which I made a few remarks.

Sappho was built in 1867 by Polion Brothers of Brooklyn and taken to Europe to show how well American yacht designers and builders could do. The bad news was that she was defeated in a controversial race. Expecting an ocean race, she sailed a light air inland course in the same condition she used for the trans-Atlantic passage. Her masts had been shortened by 8 feet, she used passage sails, had reduced booms, and carried extra ballast. The good news was that William Proctor Douglas bought her, returned her to the U.S., and had Polion alter her by "hipping"- adding 3' 10" to her beam and reducing her draft by 5". Her final dimensions were II 3'keel length; 123.3'WL; 154.8'LOA; 27' beam; 12' draft aft; 7' draft forward; 3255 square feet of sail, with a square sail, staysail, two gaff topsails, five lowers. She carried 65 tons of "well- placed ballast" and a crew of 32. Built of oak, locust, and hackmatack, she was unusual in having her bowsprit built in, resulting in 1/3 more strength and 1/3 less weight.  

James Gordon Bennett's Dauntless was considered an extremely fast yacht. In early 1869 he left for England to race against the British and made news (especially in his own newspaper) by the speed of her crossing. Douglas departed with Sappho on July 28, 1869 to arrive in 12 days, 9 hours, 6 minutes- a time as good as the steam liners of the day. Sappho was promptly named "the fastest yacht in the world." When Bennett's Daunt- less arrived the English were so impressed by her speed that they nearly withdrew their acceptance of a challenge. Sappho's record sealed it and a lengthy exchange of public correspondence ensued between Douglas and James Ashbury, the prime English yachtsman and owner of Cambria, Livonia, and Guinevere.

On February 10, 1870, Douglas wrote Ashbury, "I have brought the Sappho across the Atlantic Ocean because I do not believe that her defeat in England under the former owner over a course condemned as unsatisfactory by many prominent English yachtsmen, was a fair test of her qualities as com- pared with English yachts. If you are willing to abide by your own words, the Sappho will meet with the Cambria on any day you may designate. If, on the other hand, you decline to meet the Sappho, although I shad not follow your example by imputing to you motives or fears, I must be allowed to say that any further remarks from you as to the lack of courage of American yachtsmen would be singularly inappropriate." The race finally took place; Sappho roundly defeated Cambria and, as reported in this column previously, returned to great acclaim. On October 26, 1870, Sappho raced Dauntless in a match race in which she started five minutes behind and won by eighteen minutes. Bennett and Douglas were good friends and no arguments ensued over that race; in fact, Douglas named his son Gordon Bennett Douglas. This was the Douglas who set up the Douglas Manor Land Company that subdivided the area and eventually became the Douglas Manor Association. His son, Gordon Bennett Douglas, Jr., lived in Newport, Rhode Island, and donated a Sappho Trophy for the annual Classic Yacht Race still held there. He moved to Charleston, S.C. and purchased the Span residence, where Mary Rhett Sparkman grew up; she became the wife of our Past Commodore Van Waring. Gordon, Jr. died this past year, but his son, Gordon Bennett Douglas III, and also his daughter, Dita Douglas Phipps, live in Manhattan and joined the gathering on the 8th, at which time they were presented with a DYS tie and burgee.

In the second America's Cup Match the defending club could substitute yachts so long as advance notice was given to the challenger. Columbia won two and lost the third, after which Sappho took her place. Sappho took the fourth and on October 2 1, 1871, won the final race by twenty-six minutes actual (twenty-five minutes corrected), success- fully defending the Cup for the New York Yacht Club.

Notice was given to the challenger. Columbia won two and lost the third, after which Sappho took her place. Sappho took the fourth and on October 21, 1871, won the final race by twenty-six minutes actual (twenty-five minutes corrected), success- fully defending the Cup for the New York Yacht Club.

OnApril27,1872, Sappho left for her fifth Atlantic voyage and more Ashbury attacks. The New York Advertiser of July 26,1872, reported, "Mr. Ashbury has something else to write about in the victory of Sappho, to say nothing of the rebuke given him by Commodore Douglas, which every American and English gentleman should freely endorse. Mr. Ashbury's Guinevere was withdrawn and when Sappho's owner found but one large vessel, and that the Livonia in the race, he withdrew but sailed the course for the fun of the thing, starting fifteen minutes behind the twelve boats in the fleet and besting Livonia by one and one-half hours. Mr.Ashbury tells us how hard it is for an English- man not to be allowed to have everything his own way, that cost him 20,000 pounds for-wt winning the Queen's Cup, denouncing the New York Yacht Club in no measured terms and threatening all kinds of legal disturbances if they don't agree with him. Commodore Douglas is evidently ready to show the same people that he cares as little for the Ashbury manifestos as he does for the boats which that writer owns. The first requisite toward regatta-making is proper courtesy toward the competitors and Mr. Douglas refuses to said without it."

Last issue I described how Van Waring donated our Waring Trophy for sportsmanship; the USYRU has initiated a nationwide campaign to bring good sportsmanship back to yacht racing. Competitors like Douglas, Kostanecki, Waring, and the winners of his trophy will be remembered long after the keepers of ill-gotten silverware are gone. I trust that our Junior Yacht Squadron instructors will continue to get this message across!

My same column had an error regarding the Roebling Trophy: it was donated by Gail Shannon and Isobel Kelly (who was not a Roebling descendant) and named in honor of Nin.Washington Roebling, wife of the designer of the Brooklyn Bridge, who took over his duties after he became incapacitated and saw to it that the bridge was completed. The donors chose the name to encourage preparedness by female skippers for a similar event at sea. From personal experiences Skip Bartley and 1, among others, can attest to the value of having a capable female aboard!