GLOUCESTER VS. NEWPORT

The immemorial competition among the fishing boats of the Grand Banks fleet is being continued off Gloucester this week as the Canadian and American champions are racing for the coveted International Fisherman's trophy. With each of the able black schooners having one victory under her belt after races in light breezes more reminiscent of July than October, another closely contested series between the two boats is anticipated, and it is to be hoped that it will continue in the sportsmanlike manner that has characterized these races in the past. The wholesome way in which the international competition that the races represent is being conducted is a healthy sign in the present day world, where so often in clashes between the athletes of different nations national honor is put ahead of the sport.

The "Bluenose" and the "Thebaud" also present an interesting comparison with the recent J boat races for the America's Cup. With the sailing as it has been conducted off Newport refined to the point in which boats and men are made so sensitive they are almost machinelike, the champions of the Gloucester and Lunenberg fleets make a healthy contrast. There is no hierarchy of yacht racing associations, of new tank-tested boats every year. The false atmosphere of tailored yachting uniforms, professionals who groom the sleek boats for "amateurs" to take the tiller in the races and a society that goes with them are all missing. Perhaps the cup yachts and their smaller sisters are not, as many a fishing skipper is apt to term them, just "damn toy boats"; but the sight of two vessels that have earned their way and can take the weather as it comes is bound to be a heart-warming one to every sailor. It doesn't make any particular difference who wins, and much of that will be in the breaks of the weather anyway. They are both good boats, ad the races represent sailing returned to the days before the present yachting craze, back to the sea and wind and men who owe their livelihood to them. The sight of Ben Pine and Angus Walters behind those two wheels is a fine one; and the world will be missing something when the influx of beam trawlers, Diesels and the hustle and bustle of today make it no more than a memory.