Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1912-07-05

can't mass on when you have done with it; some
thing that will be exclusively and peculiarly your
own; and in the process you will learn to know
yourself. You will find that you are worth
knowing
At this stage of the game it will pay you well
to cultivate the society Of fshermen-not on
their smacks, but ashore when their work is done.
Like all men who have been picked and sailed
down by the sea, they are goodnatured breed,
and what many of them know about knots and
spices and the use of the marlinspike would fill
volumes. If you are intelligent you will find that
they like teaching you almost as much as they
like whisky and tobacco-even your whisky and
tobacco; when they find that you don't patronize
them and won't be patronized. their hearts will
go out to you-big, strong. sea-salted hearts: you
will find that they have brand of humor ex-
clus1vely their own, and an insight that you
never dreamed of. Their company is good.
But beware of their ideas on seamanship!
They will voice the usual belief that single
handlers are mad, and that any port in a storm
is better than port; both of which beliefs are
rank heresy! But listen to them when they
talk OF using the lead for the soundinglead is to
seaman what his nose is to hound, and more.
They will probably tell you that forty-pound
Choir is heavy enough for any one man to handle
In tideway, but as the size of the yacht YOU
intend to handle later must depend on the size
OF the anchor you can manage without assistance,
and on nothing else, you will do we'll to remem-
Der that there is a veteran who has been sailing
slngle-handed around the English Coast for some
thing like forty years, who uses an anchor weigh.
ing hundred and twenty pounds. for yacht of
some thirty tons registeri
And he does not buoy his anchor and leave 1t
In tide-rip when the glass is falling and he is
in hurry to be off. He gets It up and inboard.
and cats 1t down on deck sailor-wise before he
starts. Things like that depend on seamanshp;
and seamanship can be learned only the high
seas from personal experience. Spend most of
time Ugh in
open saiing-boat. and in your spare time study.
the ways of fishermen.
The basis of your future independence will be
your seaanchor; and you must never under any
circumstances. for any reason whatever put
to sea without one. 1t is nothing but canvas
bag distended on an iron ring and dashed on to
the end of rope warp. Without it you are
at the mercy Of the wind and waves, but with it,
If you it properly, you are absolutely safe.
And its use is one of the simplest things con-
nected with boat
Most accidents at sea occur when running for
shelter before storm, or from running before
the wind until it is too late to heave to without
swamping the boat. Get into your head that the
safest place in storm is the open sea- and the
most dangerous place is the entrance TO harbor.
With your anchor out in front of you at the
end of good stout warp to keep your boats nose
into the wind. you will be safe in any storm
that blows provided that with seamanlike discre-
ton you have furled your sails and made every
thing fast In time. And, provided that your boat
is OF the right sort, you will be warm and dry.
So get in the way of using your anchor, even
when there is necessity, and learn to place i'm
plicit confidence in it.
The next most important thing to your an
Choir Is the lead; you absolutely must learn to
take soundings. You VIII discover that there are
easier things to do than to handle small boat
and take soundings at the same time, even In
shallow water but IL you try hard enough and
often enough you will find out how to.do It.; and
gradually you will realize how 1t is that captains