A High-Stakes Yacht Race on Puget Sound
The cutter American triumphs over the Edna M. in a thrilling twelve-mile regatta off the Seattle waterfront, as local yachtsmen battle wind, tide, and mechanical mishap.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
One of the prettiest yacht races ever witnessed on Puget Sound was that of yesterday, in which the cutter American, owned by Dr. A. B. Kibbe, forced the Edna M., belonging to James Hayden, Jr., Carl Biebrandt, and E. L. Ruddy, to lower her colors. George Heilbron's Margery was also to have been in the race, but was thrown out at the start by an accident to her rudder. The American's sailing master was Carl Biebrandt, and the Edna's George Atkinson. The day was a splendid one for a race, a good stiff breeze blowing all the time. The course was the regular international one of twelve nautical miles. The start was a fine one, the Edna M. and the American crossing the line almost abreast. The run from the start to the buoy off West Point light house was the prettiest one imaginable, the boats making the whole distance almost abreast, with a strong southwest wind pushing them along at a rattling clip. The Edna was the first to round the buoy at 2:59. Thirty seconds later the American followed. On the stretch to Blakeley rock, the American stood closer up to the wind and here showed her better sailing qualities, eventually taking a lead of nearly eleven minutes. The general opinion of the judges was that it was the best race of its kind seen on the Sound for years, and that the victory of the American was thoroughly deserved.
“The run of the Edna and the American from the start to the buoy off West Point light house was the prettiest one imaginable.”
Yacht racing remains a cornerstone of Seattle’s maritime culture, though the 'international course' around West Point and Blakeley Rock—now Bainbridge Island—is significantly busier with commercial and ferry traffic today than it was in 1892. The spirit of the Seattle Yacht Club, still active, continues this tradition of competitive sailing that defined the city’s early recreational life.
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