Evening star., 1936-05-02

not be ashamed Of her on the river.
She probably will never sail beyond
GunSton Cove or Occoquan Creek, or
cut the waves further away from
home than Washington Channel or
the Anacostia River, but no skipper
Of the old whaling ships careening
south from New England two CEN
turies ago. bound for unknown islands
for an unknown number of years.
ever felt more keenly the satisfaction
Of having his owR deck under his
feet and his hands at his own helm
than a city dweller turned sailor for
a day. He is escaping from sizzling
pavements to river rolling along in
comparative silence. He is master
Of shipshape boat. He may steer
her wherever he chooses. with food
and friends aboard, sufficient to him.
self for a time.
The skipper wears A masters cap
and flies his private flag. and in
| the coves where dozens gather for
anchorage on Saturday nights in club
cruises, the formalities of a Watching
code used all over the United States
are observed.
WHEN the club commodore joins
squadron at some river road
stead he is saluted by the lowering of
ensigns on all club vessels riding at
anchor there. When he drops anchor
and hoists his guest flag to the STAR
board yardarm, club officers leave
their own boats in tenders TO call upon
him. The next ranking club officer is
called upon. followed by members of
the club. Every one returns to his
own ship and the commodore makes
round of return calls.
From then on informing flags fly
from mastheads and yardarmS. A
guest flag in the wind invites every
one to flock around. The absent flag
announces the owner is not aboard.
If the commodore doesn't want com.
| pany he says so plainly by flying his
'not-at-home" flag, his meal flag or
crew flag. The latter means that the
crew is eating and that therefore it
is inconvenient at the moment to
have guests hove alongside in either
! tenders or bathing suits. But the
crew flag is seldom flown in these
parts, because most often the family
is the crew.
Yachts, even in isolated waters, haul
down the American flag. flying from
the stern, and the club pennant, fly
ing from the bow. at sundown. watt
ing for the senior officer present to
get his own emblem in. with every
one else following suit at once.
On Sunday the party has boat races
or its members separate according to
age and interests for swimming, frog
ging, grabbing or strolls on nearby
beaches. At one or two of the most
popular anchorageS, floats on the
water provide a dancing pavilion for
nights when the moon is up.
With the last bit of open sea on
the trip to Florida eliminated last
Fall by Federal project. more small
boats than ever are making the trip
South on the inland waterways, ac-
cording to Commodore Smith. Charts,
issued by the Coast and Geodetlc
Survey. are as easy to read as road
map. he says. after the key is mas
tered. 1t takes only eight weeks to
earn a certificate permitting one to
navigate inland waters.
DEOPLE are realizing that boating
, is an inexpensive and safe sport,
Commodore Smith says. Occasionally
boats are damaged by fire. but in
, juries to people are infrequent. 1t
costs less to keep a cruiser at an
chorage than to keep an auto while
in a rented garage, he says. Food
! taken along would be consumed at
. home anyway. Commodore Smith
estimates that it can cost as little as
$50 for a whole week end, entertain
ing eight or more persons on a A..
| foot cruiser like his own Encore.
The Encore toured the river a few
weeks ago checking buoys. lights. bells
and channel markers for the 1886 sea-
son. the Lighthouse Service having
recently replaced everything damaged
| hui Iaa