Land-Yacht "Wanderer"

“ For when there is any wind at all a sailing cutter can land anywhere where it is safe to take a steam launch, and with a little practice it is as easy to take her alongside a ship's ladder as a six-oared gig. And when a yacht is on a cruise, moving daily from port to port, a sailing cutter takes considerably less time to get ready than a steam launch. Anywhere on the coast she can generally be carried in the davits with her mast stepped and rigged, so that there is nothing to do but to lower the ballast into her and loose the sails, and she is ready to start. ”

“ Make everything secure on deck, and put extra lashings on the boats. And also," he added, as the bos'n saluted and began to make his way for'ard, "have the jibs changed before it gets too thick."
We were sufficiently far from land to prevent its affording much shelter, and with the increasing wind, huge waves began to curl viciously under our counter, threatening every moment to break over our quarter. But the staunch little yacht rose splendidly to each white crest, and, beyond a shower of spray that darkened our canvas almost to the peak, hardly a drop of solid water reached our decks. ”

“ Whilst adjusting the ballast it is necessary to remember that, unlike the coasting yacht, the ocean cruiser will have to be laden with a considerable quantity of water and other stores—probably some six tons weight of these.
The question of what boats should be carried on the ocean-going 50-tonner is one to be considered carefully. The ordinary yacht's gig, that does very well to land passengers in Channel ports, is not adapted for our purpose; she would be cumbersome, occupying too much room on deck, and, most probably, would not be a sufficiently good sea-boat. ”

“ If fish are to be caught in this manner the hoops should be larger and one more added to the net, making it thirty inches deep. Fish are cunning and swift, and will often dart up and over the top hoop faster than you can haul it up.
177 Chapter X
LAND-YACHTS AND PUSHMOBILES A Land-yacht A few years ago the only kind of yacht known to the boys were those that sailed in the water, but in this advanced time, when many unheard-of things have been made possible, the land-yacht has made its welcome appearance. ”

“ The water around one's yacht or ship is sometimes so clear, so pellucid, that you see the bottom full ten fathoms beneath, where corals lie deep, where gorgeous and magnificently coloured shell-fish move slowly about, where marine gardens—more lovely far than any on earth,—planted and attended to by mermaids one would think, dazzle the eyes and delight the senses, and where on clear yellow patches of sand you may see flat fishes float, their sides so bedecked with patches of bright crimson, orange, and blue, that you cannot help thinking there must be a fish's fancy-dress ball on. ”

“ The water was smooth, though a merry wind was blowing, and the little vessel under easy canvas lay softly leaning in the gloom, with the white water rippling and crisping past her sides in a hollow, brass-like tinkling. Starlight gives beauty even to a coalman; and I have known stump topgallant-masts and sails yawning upon sheets hard upon a fathom from the points in the yardarms through which they lead, make as dream-like and dainty a picture in the tender sobering shadows of the night as the tall and tapering rig of the handsomest yacht now afloat. ”

“ We fell in with some handsome breezes for travelling, several of which drove us through it in thunder with a hill of foam on either quarter and an acre of creaming white spreading under the chaste golden beauty the yacht carried on her stem-head. The wind flashed blue into the violet hollows of the canvas, the curves of whose round breasts shone out past the shadowings to the sun, and rang splitting upon the iron taut rigging of the driven craft with joyous hunting-notes in its echoings as though the chase were in view and there were spirits in the air hallooing us into a madder speeding. ”

“ There was a long broad-browed swell from the southward that flashed under the hazy sunlight like splintered glass with the wrinkling of it, over which the yacht went rolling and bowing in a rhythm as stately and regular as the swing of a thousand-ton Indiaman, with a sulky lift of foam to her cutwater at every plunge and a yeasty seething spreading on either quarter, the recoiling wash of it from the counter as snappish as surf. ”

“ For the most part the devotees of steam yachting are drawn from the general public without special regard of the situation of their home, as a yacht can be kept on the seaboard or on the lakes, whilst the owner may live far from the sight and sound of the sea; the restless spirit of our countrymen prompts them to embark into every scheme of pleasure-making, as well as business enterprise. ”

“ Let the fittings be as simple and inexpensive as possible, but let the tonnage be large enough to secure a powerful sea-boat, with coal endurance equal to 3,000 knots, at ten knots, capable of keeping up a fair speed against a stiff head wind, and habitable and secure in all weathers.
Deck-houses are a great amenity at sea, but the conventional yacht skipper loves a roomy deck, white as snow, truly a marvel of scrubbing. Considerations of habitability at sea are totally disregarded by one who feels no need for an airy place of retirement (p. 24) for reading and writing. ”

“ A sea would come rolling up out of the south in a great sky-scraping ridge of pea green and heel the yacht to starboard until the mainboom dipped into the water and buckled under the strain like a rod before the first rush of a ten-pound salmon. Then it would pass on, leaving the yacht to tumble off its back and roll her port rail under just in time to dip a deckful out of the next wave. Much of the time the foresail was lowered with the boom hauled amidships, and the mainsail, double-reefed, carried to starboard. ”

“ In leaving the pontoon for the offing, the various craft increase in size as the water deepens. First the small raters are passed, 1⁄2-, 1-, 21⁄2-raters, 'Wee Winn,' 'Polynia,' 'Hoopoo,' and 'Kitten'—described by 'Thalassa' in his Solent chapter. Passing the tens and twenties the French yachts are reached, for of late years the burgee of the French club is often seen at Cowes, and the American flag is more frequent than of yore. The Guard-ship now looms. The Royal yacht, 'Victoria and Albert,' is at her buoy, the Royal Yacht Squadron nobly represented. ”

“ Here you will get breezes which toss a yacht prettily enough, and the calms are made beautiful and soothing by the gentle swell that runs out of the vague horizon, and keep the water flashing and fading under the sun. Once to the westward of the North Foreland, there is no finer space of water for yachting, and nowhere more beautiful shores and nobler coast scenery. It is a great maritime highway, too, always full of ships, and so crowded with marine interests that the yachtsman is never weary of looking over the side of his vessel. ”

“ The only sounds were those of the water and the [Pg 73] cordage,—the sudden spanking of a big wave under the counter as the yacht flung her nose starward; the occasional crashing of the great booms and traveler-blocks as she righted suddenly after a heavy roll to port or a lurch to starboard; the pattering of the reef-points against the canvas; and the sharp reports made by the slatting of the lazy-jacks against the sails.
In the west, growing smaller and smaller in the distance, the receding stern-light of an Italian steamship glimmered faintly. ”

“ Though the fashion of the hour has set strongly towards steam-propelled vessels, the beautiful white canvas, and the easy motion when under sail, will long retain their fascination for all pleasure voyaging. It is pleasant to be free from the thud of engines, the smell of oil, and the horrors of the inevitable coaling. Owners who have no love for sailing, and to whom a yacht is essentially a means of conveyance from port to port and a floating home, do well to go for steam. ”

“ It would be a disappointing matter if we had to pull our boat-load of stores back to the yacht against the wind; so, after a little hesitation, I decided to risk the landing. One must run some risks on such a place as Trinidad, and we might as well commence at once. All in the boat were delighted at the decision.
Every one knows how the ocean swell proceeds in regular rhythm, and how one sees at intervals three greater waves than usual come up, one after the other, to be succeeded by a comparative calm. We took the boat just outside the outer breakers and awaited one of these smoothes. ”

“ In the first place we heave our vessel to. To do this we slack away our lee foresheet and haul in the weather one, while we flatten in the main and mizzen sheets.
The wind striking the after sails drives the vessel up in the wind; but the foresail being hauled to windward and becoming a back sail makes her pay off. By trimming the sheets properly the head and after sails can thus be made to balance each other, and the yacht will float on the water practically motionless, with her head to the wind, and remain so for as long as we please without any hand being required at the tiller. ”

“ The fact that you leave port with a certainty of getting to your destination on time, barring accidents, makes somewhat monotonous an event that otherwise containing a large element of chance induces a corresponding degree of excitement. There is probably no pastime so tiresome to an active man as steam yachting, especially if it be in familiar waters. A steam yacht is a lazy man's palace and an active man's prison. Except when there is a race or a difficult bit of navigation, I would as soon run a trolley car as a power boat. ”

“ Most of the larger yachts and pleasure wherries have centreboard sailing dinghies, and it is more convenient to take ours through the narrow arch where the tide-impelled current sweeps upward to diffuse itself over the terminal lakes, twenty-five miles from the sea by river, three miles by land. ”

“ With regard to this rule of rating by 'length and sail-area,' and the boats which are the result of it, there appear to be many and diverse opinions; and prior to noticing any particular yacht built under it, it will be as well to look at all its points before declaring for or against it. Experience declares them to be good sea-boats, in that they rarely ship solid water, and they are very fast when sailing on a wind. ”

“ So again while a pull is being taken on each halyard in its turn, the steersman luffs up, thereby relieving the sail of the pressure of the wind, but without stopping the vessel’s way.
And now we approach our moorings; the tide and wind are both with us. We lower our head sails, steer the yacht so that she takes a sweep round into the wind, and we haul in the mainsheet as she comes up. We bring her up head to wind, and she loses her way just as we are alongside the mooring buoy. A hand forward picks up the buoy rope with a boat hook and secures it. ”

“ If there is but little wind, a strong tide under one, and a crowd of vessels brought up close astern, it sometimes happens that the following method is the only one by which one can get away clear. Let one hand get the anchor up till the chain is nearly straight up and down and the yacht commences to drag slowly. Let him, by giving her chain or taking it in, keep her going thus, never letting her drag fast. As the tide is running by the vessel faster than she is dragging astern, she still has steerage way ”

“ Nearly all of it is navigable to yachts, the Brambles being the only midwater shoal which interferes with small vessels of moderate draught.
The water of the Solent is clear as crystal, the air healthy as Switzerland, the scenery nearly as beautiful; here are watering places with mirth and music; cities with docks and shipping; men of war and men of peace; clubs and hotels; piers, slips, jetties, and hards; building and repairing sheds; yacht designers and agents; skippers and 'hands'; sail, flag, and rope makers ”

“ And a very ordinary gale of wind, such as occurs on our coasts once at least in most months of the year, will be enough for this, and will, especially if combined with sea, so overpower any open boat, of a size that can be carried on a yacht, that is exposed to its full strength, that she will be unable to show any canvas to it except just to scud before it. ”

“ The launch slid smoothly along with a low clicking of the machinery, cutting her way across the reflections of the mountains in pursuit of the tall, white sail of the Daphne, that seemed each moment to grow taller, as the yacht was steadily overhauled by her more practical comrade. The lake was narrower here, where it neared the end of its twenty-mile span, and so calm that the sheep and cattle grazing on the brown mountains were reflected in its depths, and the yacht seemed as incongruous in the midst of them as the ark on Mount Ararat. ”

“ We'll wait until after dark and then take the whaleboat and set a cargo of this stuff ashore. They'll find it if we leave it on the beach in plain sight.”
“We are going to stay here in the yacht?” she asked.
“It is the safest place for the present and while the weather holds good. Those people can't reach us without a boat; and besides, the wreck of the yacht will be much more likely to attract the attention of some passing vessel than will our beached schooner on the other side of the island.” ”

“ Short draught has the disadvantage of forcing the bulk of the boat above the water line, and the making of high houses, in order to get head room. This produces a boat that offers considerable resistance to the wind, and consequently makes excessive leeway. They are also unsteady at anchor, and hard on the ground tackle. ”