The morning journal-courier., 1908-02-20
SKATE SAILING A New Rig Invented by the SWedes and How They
 Handle It. A RAPID, THRILLING SPORT Very Inyigorating Exercise for Those Strong Enough 10
 stand It.

Skate sailing Is one of the most ex- citing of winter sports, and next to ice yachting there is nothing that car rles man over the frozen surface with greater speal Heretofore thase who have indulged in the exhilarating exercise have used square sort of sail, but the Swedes are responsib for an innovation which greatly sim plfies the method of sailing. It is in regard to the sa,l which is i've cornered and made Of the ligh.cst sal, cloth, and so as to nc easy of manipu- latlon 1t is rigged on Spars of bamboo. This sail contains about three and q half square yards of canvas fer d boy or girl of ordinary size The proper size for man is about Gvs square yards. Like everything elss skate sails have bean inprovel from time to time, but it is claimed fnr ths new pattern that 1t is far superior to anything yet seen in tnls lire. To a person first attempting .he sport the sail seems large and unwieldy, but this feeling soon wears of and little practice enables man t) handle it fairly well. The new sai is about ten feet long and the same in width at the top, narrowing town to about six feet at the bottom, and it is SO arranged that 1t 2an bc easily rsefed if necessary. When sailing the mast is held across the body horizontallv. In giving some po'a's about it an ex- pert in the Field says:
 'To make start place .ne sail ever the right snJd! Ter and let it drop till it rests aga'nst ;he ba ,f, then win the right hand grasp the yard in front of you couple of feet below the mast and with your arm fully extended be- hind you take a firm hold on the mast. Always keep the body between the sail and the wind or you will prob ably lose control and find the sail per form some remarkable gymnastics be- fore wrenching itself free and throw ing you over The beginner should not make his first essay in a high wind or he may bee Dme discouraged but if he cannot or will n,r wait hc should reef the sail and do the best he can
 Tt is easy to tack when you know how it is done. and although you can not lie so high as with an ice boat. the loss is largely made gloi bv falling away before turning. and then by making use of the way it is possible to run a considerable distance in the eve cf the wind Wan going about the skater raises the sal hDrzontallv above his head transfers ,he mast to the other shoulder and reverses the hand grips As with the ice yachts man. for some inscrutaDle reason, the skater makes but a poor show run hing free. and sails best with bea,a wind or a point abaft o' before he beam. The speed to be attained part ly depends upon the siza of the sail which must not he too large to admit of being properly hancled. aid also on the proficiency of tho safer m ex- pert being able to sail lfound az in different performer iaa taller the man the more canvas he can carry
 Races are held several lines q year near Stockholm lnl elsewhere in sweden The course Is triangular in shaps, so as to insure sailing an all points of the wind The competi- tions are timed only with reference to the relative speed cf the ssiler', but from what may ha regarded as au- thentic sources ten kilomcta~s have been sailed in seven minutes. or near ly mile minute equalling the pace of a large ice yacht in | stiff wind. X mile minute on skates seems almost incredible. if for no .'ther reason than the difficulty of keeping one's equilibri- um should rough ice be encountered.