Mr. G. L. Watson had a free hand in designing the 'Valkyrie' and 'Britannia,' which were built side by side at Partick by Messrs. Henderson, and parenthetically it may be said they fitted out, moored together, and kept singularly close company in all their matches. The 'Satanita,' which was designed by Mr. J. Soper to sail on a 94-feet water-line, was built by Fay & Co., while Mr. W. Fife, junr. was responsible for the 'Calluna's' model, and the vessel was built by Messrs. J. & A. Inglis of Pointhouse, Glasgow, in an incredibly short space of time. Although very certain that the 'Iverna' would be quite outbuilt by the new ships, Mr. John Jameson determined to bring her out, and 'Iverna's' well-tried antagonist, the 'Meteor,' was under orders to join the fleet later on.
Just before the advent of the new year, Lord Dunraven's challenge for the new 'Valkyrie' to sail a series of races for the America Cup was accepted by the New York Yacht Club, and about the same time came a notification from Mr. Carroll, a prominent American yachtsman, that he was having a sloop (the 'Navahoe') built by Messrs. Herreshoff, with which he intended to challenge for the Royal Victoria Gold Cup, and also make an attempt to win back the Cape May and Brenton Reef Cups.
The year was thus launched auspiciously enough in respect to big ship racing, and prospects were reassuring in regard to sport in all the other classes except the tens. There was a fining down however in number of the 40-rating division compared to 1892, and regrets were general that the sale of the 'Queen Mab' had led to her expatriation. But Admiral Montagu was replacing the absentee 'Corsair' with the 'Vendetta,' a fin-bulb and balance-rudder craft, with a beam of about 17 feet, and Mr. John Gretton, jun., who did not get much fun out of the 10-rater 'Doreen,' had determined on having a 40 from a Fife design, the outcome being the 'Lais.' 'Varuna' was being fitted out again by Capt. Towers-Clark, and the 'Thalia,' which had passed into the possession of Judge Boyd, was to be raced, but not to go all round the coast. The second class was thus virtually made up of 'Vendetta,' 'Varuna,' and 'Lais,' which verily proved a militant trio, and their owners had plenty of racing, and no end of exciting and eventful sport. With the new 'Dragon'--the third of that name Fife's had built for Mr. F. C. Hill--Lord Dunraven's 'Deirdré,' by 'Valkyrie's' designer, and the 'Vigorna,' by Nicholson--which Lord Dudley intended to take the place of the 5-rater 'Dacia'--there was promise of keen competition for the 20-rating prizes; but it was not in the best interests of sport that a joint arrangement was made that this class would not be raced outside the Isle of Wight--at least from the beginning of the season, until the Western meetings came on in the fall. The 'Zinita,' a new 20 by Fife, had things pretty much her own way on the Clyde, and it was a pity that she did not meet the new boats which starred in Southern waters. 'Idalia'--the first 'Dragon'--was the 'Zinita's' most formidable opponent on the Clyde, and the 'Molly'--'Dragon' the second--after a good spell of Solent racing, went North, but found the 'Zinita' as bad to beat as she did the 'Dragon' and the 'Deirdré.' There were no new boats in the 10-rating class, and racing in this division was confined to the Clyde, where the 'Dora,' 'Ptarmigan,' 'Maida,' 'Phantom' and 'Woodcock' had some good sport. The 6-raters, which were a feature in the Clyde and Irish regatta programmes in 1892, had gone out of fashion, and 23-feet 'lengthers' were the reigning favourites with small shipmen on the Clyde, Mr. Robt. Wylie's 'Vida,' a Watson design, being the crack in a fleet of eight. The Solent 5-rating class could not boast of a new boat, and the 'Dacia,' although she headed the list of prize-winners in the South, did not sail up to her 1892 form. The 'Red Lancer,' which went all round the coast, was the pride of the season of the fives, and she was equal to taking down 'Dacia' pretty easily. The 'Fleur-de-Lis' and 'Quinque' also frequently lowered 'Dacia's' colours, and honours were about easy with the trio at the end of the season. In the 2-1/2-rating class the 'Meneen,' a Herreshoff boat, had a better average than the over-year Nicholson boat, 'Gareth,' and in the 1-rating class the 'Morwena'--another Herreshoff--was the principal winner. It cannot be said that the branch of the sport known as handicap sailing flourished during the season, though there were some keen and interesting battles with the ex-racers. The most successful vessels in this division were the 'Creole,' 'Castanet,' 'Columbine,' 'Mabel' and 'Samoena.'