The Great Regatta Capsizes
A much-awaited breeze sends Seattle’s yachts racing across the harbor, but leads to a dramatic spill and a rescue for one of the city's top boats.
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.
Yachtsmen who had been sighing since Thursday for a breeze met it yesterday with a welcome. The wind was fresh all day long, and the harbor was full of whitecaps, with the spray flying over the noses of the boats at a rate that satisfied the ardor of the most daring. The excitement of the sport was only heightened by a yacht capsizing. The Ripple, of Fairhaven, won first honors in the second class, as well as a special prize of a silk pennant for the boat, regardless of class, making the best corrected time. She was admirably sailed by S. G. McKay. A hundred yards across the line, the winner left the spectators on the judges' boat all on edge with excitement as her mast began to topple at an alarming rate and then went crashing down into the water. The boat turned completely over, while her crew of five men crowded onto the upturned bottom. The Mystic hurried to their assistance, and the yachtsmen were taken up without further injury than a ducking. They were the owner, O. E. Garland; the sailing master, S. G. McKay; George Gerhardt, S. R. Morrison, and D. Cameron. The capsized vessel was towed ashore and soon righted.
“The boat turned completely over, while her crew of five men crowded onto the upturned bottom.”
Sailing remains a staple of Seattle's identity, but the competitive scene has shifted from private yacht clubs to more diverse and accessible maritime traditions. The spot where this race ended—near the harbor and West Point—still sees intense wind-driven traffic, though the vessels are now largely modern ferries and commercial craft rather than wooden sloops.
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