The Washington herald., 1916-06-18
SOUTH JERSEY RESORTS
MECCA FOR YACHTSMEN

The true motor boat bug Is more OF a !
crank in his way than the automobile
fend ever was accused OF And there
are more OF such bugs on that part Of
the American continent set down in geog-
raphy as extending from the lowermost
point of Cape May. y. j.. to Barncgat,
y. J.. than are assembled anywhere else
in the country Conditions for the per
feet enjoyment of the sport are ideal In
this locality. The chain of islands be-
ginning with Cape May and ending with
AbseCOn Island atlantic city are so
. situated as to make. natural landlocked
bays with easily accessible inets TO the
ocean which form placid water and a
secure haven from storms.
Under such conditions it is but natural
that these summer resorts should be the
mecca for motor boat enthusiasts and
rom until well after Labor Day
hundreds of the little pleasure craft
may be seen moored along the bay side
The craft are of all kinds from the row.
boat with A little dinky engine attached
at the back which. while not appealing
strongly to the artistic sense. Is capable
! of Chug-chugging out the inlet and out
J to the buoy to where there is a good spvt
: for hsh-clean up to the thirty-1ve-foot
cabin cruiser capable of being stocked
and provisioned for a trip to the Ber-
muda Islands or even farther.
The average boat is from twenty to
thirty-foot beam. fitted up with cabin
and gallery for accommodations OF from
four to six people.
Some of these are auxinary-carrying
both sail and engine This is the type
that finds most preferences with those
who take their families down and vir-
tually live at the shore through the sum-
mer. and treat the boat part of their
everyday life to he used rather than
such craft thinks there is no greater
sport in the whole world than to get out
in the early morning with a spanking
breeze. whipping the ocean into white
caps. take half reef in the sail and clear
out through the inlet with the boat at an
angle of about forty-five degrees, the salt
sea air whipping in his face and the
boat rising and falling like a chip in a
rain barrel. Then If the wind dies down
and the sea gets on that thick oily
sluggishness that betokens unbroken
calm 1t takes but the turn of the fly
wheel and you get an appetite several
times bigger than yourself and you
are speeding back for the shore and din
ner at A pace that sets every blood cor
puscle racing through your system.
Another type of bug to be found in
great profusion along this section of
the coast is the speed fiend. Racing
crafts are of all kinds from the hydro
plano to the old duck boat with a motor
in II. Some of the finest motor boat
races in the country are held at Cape
May, Wildwood and Ocean City. Most
popular of the speed boats is the type
that is built along the lines of a street
At full speed the boat very often lifts
| half out of the water. just the rear end
lightly touching the surface and seems
to skim through it like a sulrs breast
The water just sprays out In sheets that
drop from ten to thirty feet on either
side. Frequently crafts are run against
these high-power water craft have out
stripped the auto on land.
The situation of these big bays and
inlets affords ideal protection and safety
for all kinds of water craft. for canoe
and cruiser and barring the extreme OIL
| the last named type of boat, virtually
every kind of water craft can be seen.
| Rats, canoes, row boats, duck boats,
cat boats, sail boats, motor boats open
boats and closed boats, cruisers looking
| starchly trim in their gleming white and
polished brass and old dories covered
| with barnacles and without the faintest
| reminescence of their original coat of
| paint. Such is the security offered by
| these landlocked bays that frequently a
| group of children can be seen maunever-
/ ing a boat by themselves, having E
| world of fun in absolute safety.
Year by year statistics show that motor
| boating in increasing in popularity ano
| it is no wonder to those who have ex-
i perienced the joys of being captain OF
| his own craft.