Profiles in New Jersey Iceboating – 1889 – History of Ice Boating in Red Bank

Yachtsmen Preparing for The Winter (1889) New York Times

Mr. Local History Jersey Ice Boat Time Machine Series
Join us as we look back at stories written about great ice yachts and those who made them iconic names in the sport. This December 8, 1889 article describes the development of ice boating in the Red Bank and North Shrewsbury River area from its crude early experiments through the rise of organized club racing, notable yachts such as Scud and Dreadnaught, and the growing prominence of the North Shrewsbury Ice Yacht Club.The period covered in the article spans roughly the early 1830s through the late 1880s.

Personalities: The personalities mentioned in this article include Squire Lawrence Earle, Jacob McLane, Captain Cook, Captain David Stevens, Dwight Sanford, Luther Chandler, William Chandler, Charles Doughty, Benjamin Doughty, Charles Allen, the Burden Brothers of Little Silver, Captain James B. Weaver, Sid W. Van Etta, Alonzo Longstreet, John Valentine, Thomas Riddle, Thomas S. Hubbard, Fred Oakes, Edward Moore, Captain Charles Throckmorton, Captain George Coley, Charles Irwin, Richard Knight, Augustus W. Haviland, Samuel W. Morford, James C. Doughty, Edward Bussell, William A. Cole, Frederick Wikoff, Dr. Edward Field, Pierrepont, Sanger, Robert D. Chandler, and Charles Curtis.

Ice Yachts Mentioned: The ice yachts mentioned in the story include Phantom, Hubbard’s Bridge, War Eagle, Black Prince, Scud also called Kite, Shadow, Zero, Fairy, Kitty, George, Dreadnaught, Lillie, Uncle Bob, Get There, Now Then, Glide, Typhoon, Georgie, Joe Owl, Zip, and Fleetwing.

Clubs Mentioned: The clubs mentioned in the article are the North Shrewsbury Ice Yacht Club, the South Shrewsbury Ice Yacht Club also referred to as the South River Club, and the Hudson River Club.

December 8, 1889 – New York Times

ICEBOATING IN JERSEY
YACHTSMEN PREPARING FOR THE WINTER.
A HISTORY OF THE SPORT IN AND ABOUT RED BANK — SOME OF THE BOATS AND THEIR RECORDS.

Red Bank, N. J., Dec. 7. — The members of the North Shrewsbury Ice Yacht Club are just now greatly interested in the predictions of the Signal Service Bureau. They are patiently waiting for the announcement that the coming Winter will be wet and warm, and if such an announcement is made by the weather sharps the yachtsmen are confident that they will have a good iceboating season. Last Winter was to be, according to the Government weather prophets, cold and unusually dry, and the “boys” had only two or three good days for iceboating. But notwithstanding predictions and weather signs, the club is ready to launch its yachts as soon as the season begins — that is, if there should be any season. All the improvements to the yachts have been added and the new boats are nearly finished. A person who happens to loiter around the river front will see in the various boathouses newly varnished boats on the ways, sharp, shining steel runners, and snow white suits of sails. Groups of boatmen stand around admiring the delicate lines of the fleet winged craft and speculate upon the sailing qualities of the yachts.

The history of ice yachting on the North Shrewsbury River is, indeed, an interesting one. The slow, lumbering “skates,” which were so common half a century ago, have all disappeared, and in their place are light, graceful boats that seem to move as if propelled by winged forces. Squire Lawrence Earle and Jacob McLane kept a store here fifty years ago, when Red Bank consisted of one or two trade marts and three houses. Earle & McLane, however, were kept busy waiting upon customers who came from the farming communities for miles and miles around. They read the reports of the ice yachting races which took place in the Northwest, and one of the first suggested that they construct an ice yacht. The idea struck them forcibly, and a week later the cellar of their store was made into a boat building apartment. The two men worked nights and ate cold moments during the day. They became so interested in their work that they neglected their regular business, and customers said that they were getting crazy. When a customer came in one of the storekeepers would emerge from the cellar, covered with shavings and sawdust, muttering something that sounded like “runner plank, mast step, runners, etc.”

They told no one what they were doing, and four weeks after beginning their work the yacht was finished. The two men called in two or three confidential friends to help carry the boat out of the cellar. When they had carried the boat as far as the cellar door it was found that the door was not wide enough to let the boat through, and the yacht had to be taken out in sections. It was finally put on the ice, and truly it was a remarkable yacht. As is often the case with inventions, a day was set for the experimental sail. The boat was made out of barrel staves and shoe boxes, with skates for runners, and the sail was of stout muslin, with two splints broomsticks for a mast. It was a four runner box body yacht, with only a mainsail. The boat was almost square, and it was steered by the yachtsman leaning over the stern and taking hold of the rear runners with his hands. There was a big crowd of people present on the day announced for the first sail and all were anxious to take a ride. Earle & McLane’s store was closed and the occasion was made a holiday. The boat sailed well notwithstanding her square build and unhandy steering gear, and from that day to this iceboating has been one of the leading sports in this part of New Jersey. Squire Earle is dead, but his partner is living. Mr. McLane is dead, but he is a jovial old fellow despite his affliction, and he has many a good laugh on his first iceboating experience.

For years afterward iceboats were built here that were on the “skate” pattern, but it remained for Captain Cook to build a boat that was well shaped and really speedy. Mr. Cook’s first boat was built thirty years ago. It was a four runner boat, with a box body and mainsail. The runners were short and made of steel, and were a great improvement on the skate runners. A short time afterward Capt. David Stevens of this place also built faster sailing yachts, and there were several brushes between the two yachts. The boats were considered fast, although they sailed in about twenty miles an hour. Capt. Stevens made the first ice yacht that Dwight Sanford of the Hudson River Club ever owned.

The new style of iceboats was the three runner jib and mainsail class. These were built by Fair Haven and Oceanic yachtsmen. The principal boats were owned by Luther and William Chandler and Charles and Benjamin Doughty of Fair Haven and Charles Allen of Oceanic. There was no racing at Red Bank then, all of it being confined to Fair Haven and Oceanic. Red Bank built a three runner yacht about that time and picked skippers in the Fair Haven and Oceanic boats. During the races there were several serious accidents and these frightened the yachtsmen off the river for some time.

About fifteen years ago the Burden Brothers of Little Silver built the Phantom, the first trim boat constructed hereabout. It was a jib and mainsail yacht and was very fast. The same season the North Shrewsbury yachtsmen had boats built. Among them were Capt. James B. Weaver’s Hubbard’s Bridge, Sid W. Van Etta’s War Eagle, and Alonzo Longstreet’s Black Prince. Toward the latter part of the season John Valentine of the Fair Haven Hotel got up an ice yacht race, to the winner of which he was to give a silk pennant. The Phantom won the race and since then there have been pennant races every season.

The following year Capt. James B. Weaver, the most enterprising and popular yachtsman of the Shrewsbury Club, built the Scud, a three runner trim jib and mainsail yacht, which is now called the Kite. Another pennant race was sailed at Fair Haven that year and it was a close race between the Scud and a frame yacht built by Thomas Riddle of Oceanport for ice racing. Riddle’s yacht was called the Shadow and it was unmistakably a flier, but it had a hard time to beat the Scud, which was only two lengths behind at the finish.

South Shrewsbury Club Pennant

An ice yacht club was organized among the South Shrewsbury boatmen the following year, and they had a handsome silk challenge pennant made. The same season Thomas S. Hubbard of Red Bank bought of Fred Oakes of Little Silver the frame yacht Zero. During the winter the Kite and Zero, the representative yachts of the North Shrewsbury River, were shipped to Little Silver, and they succeeded in bringing the South Shrewsbury pennant home with them. The next year the South River Club won the pennant, and the following season it was again won by the North Shrewsbury yachts. This was seven years ago, and the pennant has been held here ever since. An attempt was made to capture it two winters ago by Edward Moore of Long Branch, owner of the Fairy, but his yacht was not fast enough. There were two races for the pennant that season. The first was won by the Kitty, which sailed over the twenty mile course in 35:45. The other race was won by Charles Irwin’s George, a third class yacht. The ice was soft, and she covered the same distance in 1:05:00.

In 1853 Capt. Charles Throckmorton built the Dreadnaught, a cockpit and box yacht, modeled somewhat after the Hudson River boats, and she won all the races that year. The next year Capt. George Coley built the Lillie, an old style three runner yacht. In the winter of 1854 the Dreadnaught was sent to Poughkeepsie to race for the champion pennant of America, and that yacht came in second. The following year Capt. Weaver built his big yacht Scud, the famous later boat. The Scud carried 550 square feet of canvas and was the largest lateen rigged yacht ever built. The yacht had heavy beams and was a success in a hard blow, but she was too heavy to sail in a light breeze. The season after she was built she beat the Dreadnaught in a ten mile race and sailed the last five miles in six minutes. The wind blew a gale and while the Dreadnaught was reefed the Scud easily carried her whole sail. The same year the Scud was sent to Poughkeepsie to compete for the pennant. She did not finish the race, as the wind was very light. In 1856 the Scud sailed on the Hudson with a larger rig, but it was satisfactorily proved that a lateen rig was not practical sail, and the following season Capt. Weaver built his yacht jib and mainsail. That year the Scud came in second. Last season the Scud came in fourth, although the big boat was in the lead four different times. She was handicapped by too many yachts, and this undoubtedly lost her the race.

The opinion of a good many of the iceboatmen of the Shrewsbury is that in order to have a fair race the conditions in sailing for the championship pennant should be the same as those under which the America’s Cup is sailed for. Each of the contesting clubs should have a race to determine the fastest boat in the respective fleets, and then a race between the representative yachts would do away with all unfairness, as regards the sailing of one yacht against the entire fleet of another club. The Scud is still at Poughkeepsie in charge of Richard Knight, and she will again try conclusions with the Hudson River yachts during the coming season.

The Rocket

Augustus W. Haviland is building a new boat for racing this Winter and a number of persons who do not belong to the club are also building themselves yachts. Capt. Coley built a keel and cockpit boat last year of 25 feet spread, which carries 800 square feet of canvas. He could not give the yacht a fair trial last Winter, but she is undoubtedly a fast one. All of the club boats have been thoroughly overhauled. Interest in ice yachting is gradually increasing and some good sport may be expected the coming season.

Following is a list of the club boats and their owners:

FIRST CLASS
Scud — Capt. James B. Weaver
Dreadnaught — Pierrepont and Sanger
Rocket – Capt. George Coley

SECOND CLASS
Uncle Bob — Club
Get There — Robert D. Chandler
Kitty — Capt. James B. Weaver
Now Then — Charles Allen Jr.
Zero — Club
Glide — Charles Curtis
Typhoon — William Chandler

THIRD CLASS
Georgie — Charles Irwin
Joe Owl — Charles Allen Sr.
Zip — Thomas Riddle
Fleetwing — Commodore Samuel W. Morford

The North Shrewsbury Ice Yacht Club was organized about five years ago and it now has fifty-five members in good standing. The annual meeting of the club will be held on Wednesday, Dec. 11, when the following officers will probably be re elected: Commodore, Samuel W. Morford; Vice Commodore — James C. Doughty; Secretary and Treasurer — James B. Weaver; Regatta Committee — Augustus W. Haviland, Charles Throckmorton, and Edward Bussell; Reception Committee — William A. Cole, Frederick Wikoff, and Dr. Edward Field. The club owns a handsome clubhouse on the river bank in the central portion of the town. It is elegantly furnished and in the second story are billiard and pool tables.

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