The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1902-07-06
SOME SEA SPORTS Z.
FOR THE STAGE FOLK.
ny WILLIAM II. CRANE.

v-rr---S TOR THE SUNDAY REPUBLIC.
some folks say that Tong ago. before We
were monkeys and kangaroos. we were fish
g. Il such be the history OF our race. ]
can relGi.y understand why, whenever I SCI
blue water. I want 20 get on IL. II not In IL.
AID as'erJ.nss I do get "in ~ when am
on it. People say I'm e yachtsman and.
OF Courss. when 7 an accused % the onense.
7 draw myself proudly UP and plead guilty
But that's only make-beIIeve. I'm simply
an amateur Jack tar and wouId-be fishers
man.
Tais IS not intended for publication, be-
cause IL would hurt the feelings OF thas
I immortal organization. the Cohasset Navy,
/ OF which I am Commodore. and. bless your
I heart. I would not DO that FOR all the world
! Thcy are good fellows. every one OF them
/ T.cy know even less about yachts than 7
/ do. aad they and 7 have a mutual under
standing that. so far as the public IS con-
/ cer-JG. ve have been. are. and are TO BE-
Z nautical sharps Of the first water.
Have I had much experiences ot the
I sea- Now you touch me upon my weak
spot. From earliest childhood. tie ten6rls
o. uy being have chung around Father Nep-
tune. I'm not quite sure about that meta
I pEo-. but stlli. we'll let that pass. When
4 chld. I have been told, I cried at tbs
! sight OF the sen It IS true that I cried az
the sl-ht OF everything else. but the latter
does not initiate against the former fact
When a snail boy. ! sailed ships IN arua-
Gas upon the bosom Of the deep The ships
/ were made out % la;hs and shingles They
cost hours OF hard labor to fashion and
equip. and when they once proudly breasted
the waves with their sails swelling In tbs
wind Cthe sails. by the way. were made, !
believe. from the leaves Of my copyoook-
the paper was z little sitter and stronger
than the leaves OF any book IN the family
library. besides this. my people had 70 ms
an .nexplicable aversion 20 my using their
books for the purpose). when my armada
breasted the waves. as I was saying, I was
the prouEest youth on earth
IS I grew larger I learned to handle an
oar and 20 sail q catboat. 1 believe I onoe
Won a rsce II I didn't I tried to, and
made believe I had. which IS the sams
thing. In my manhood I have owned a
number OF boats OF various kinds, shapes
and sizes. and q In fact, gotten into the
boat habit.
The first large boat I owned was q tidy
schooner called the VIZ I thought this was
= very pretty rame, but changed my mind
when 7 found tina: my friends and neigheors
CIT or the first letter. There IS no fun IN
commanding = craft which IS a perpetual
IL
II was = good boat. however, and while
Il wasn't extraordinary fast-it would san
two or three miles an hour-it could DEFY
the storms and squalls that every now and
then kick W the waters around Cape COG
Il was a safe boat. and. above all things.
IL was conducive to sleep
When I got tired Of the name l got 4
racing sloop. I had lots OF fun I raced
everything. Steamships. steam yachts. fish
ing snacks. caJhC1ts. coal schooners and
Line tarces have one and all met me In the
lists q Neptune and Amplitude IN a good,
s,Iy breeze l could beat many
more especially the slow ones. that run
from New York 70 Portland. or from Bos-
ton along the coast. As for the Boston ex-
cIrsi0a steamers. I could sail all around
tEeu.
But racing IS hard work You have to
hoist sail. yuI. ropes and turn your wheel
and bawI at Your men and do everything Il
make ifs uncomfortable Why. in 4 busy
season. YOU are liable 10 get calouses al
over your hands and a complexion Ike the
sunset on the Desert OF Sahara So / pro-
NOTED myself into the rsNt class and got a
hfty-tO0t steam launch Now. that -
something like comfort
Put q good steersmar in the bow to take
care OF the thing and a reliable engineer,
and IL IS the very idealization Of all yacht
ing The wind may come and the wind
go. but It does not interfere with your
time table. There are no booms 10 strike
you on the head unawares when your boat
goes about. and there Is no need for CAL
~culGting when 10 make your port and star
board tacks.
Their there IS lots Of room on board. You
can have an icebox. a larder and q pantry,
well-cushi0ned settees 10 lie on on and
camp stools on which you can perch and
balance. and. II necessary. fall overheard
For pure. downright comfort. give me Q
steam launch. and. oh. isn't 10 popularS
You are pretty safe IN inviting people TO
20 on a racing yacht Very few OF them
ever so twice. After they have been sea-
SICK. knocked overheard by bOoms. tripped
a sheet or halyard and made generally
n cradle they thank you. vowfng that
have had the best time OF their lives,
they never come back
On the contrary. they become deadly foes
to that yacht ever afterwards. They make Il
their duty TO 90 around and warn people
against it, They. describe it as the most
dangerous. painful. sickness producing,
hack breaking. limb smashing,
that ever came down the coast
BIT 1t isn't 50 with the steam launch.
Every man who comes once wants TO come
again and bring everybody with him Why,
boat got 50 popular that inside Of Q
moon every camp stool had a sitter. AT the
END OF two months the camp stools and
.ssttcts were packed like sardiues in q boz.
and IT the end OF three months the craft
used 10 look. I am told. like a convention
hail where. there were nine candidatex-
each with his own crowd and brass band
1 had so many on board that when
they could only lie down by PiliinE them
n layers Ike cord wood.
s:e-vthiTE- IL is gooi for heaii;hI Yor fSs ana
petite. for the muscles. II Is good for your
OF. expression II. as Is generally the
case. YOU have three or four sailors who are
both deaf and stupid.
Under the yachting code we are Obliged
10 announces that IN fishing we never catch
than ten per hour DER angler. That iE
our limit In other yacht clubs they haye
larger limits, but never you mind what thu
limit Is in fishing from a yacht. the aver
age is invariably one minnoV or sinner FOR
every dozen lines employed.
For the b-ain worker OF any sort II On
az good as a sanitariUn with q playground
attached.