Evening star., 1939-07-30

a touch of reverse-and there she
was. docked, without so much as a
piece of paint scratched.
We'll. how was that?" I called
poudly, as my admiring family hur-
ried down. Come on. get aboard !
Now we're going places!"
They did, and we went-and never
again did I have any real difficulty
handling my boat. Though, of
course, I was still to 60 through the
usual routine of landlubber tricks,
such as fouling the dinghy rope
around the propeller and running
out of gasoline at embarrassing
moments.
Help Always Near
One thing I quickly found out.
You don't have to look far for help.
It's right about where you want it.
For our waters are thick with small
craft in sailing season and seldom,
indeed, does a boatman get in a
jam without finding some one to
help him out of it.
So by the middle of that first sum-
mer our mishaps were mainly be-
hind us and we were learning some
of the things that make boating
the top sport it is.
We found, too, that Uncle Sam
was doing lot to make boating
safe for us and make us better
boatmen. We found, for instance,
that there is scarcely mile of our
almost illimitable coast lines and
inland waterways without some
lighthouse, buoy or other marine
signpost, and that charts and books
showing how to use these first
aids" are issued either free or at
small cost.
Every boat owner should have
some of these aboard. Yes, and he
should have reliable compass and
learn what makes it tick. For you
can't stop at a service station when
you're on the water and ask the way
to the next town. You have to figure
it out for yourself.
Power Squadrons.
Then there are the United States
Power Squadrons for those who want
to make a real study of the subject.
This organization now numbers some
30 branches and has trained some
thing like 10000 amateur shippers,
among them the writer. Each squad
ron gives four series of free lee
lures a year. BY the time any one
has completed these courses he is
competent to take a small boat prac-
tically anywhere.
But whether you get your knowl-
edge this way or pick it up by
yourself, somehow you'll get it
enough. anyway. Any boatman,
after three seasons on the water
can pilot his little argosy practically
anywhere he wants to go, be 1t hum
dreds or thousands of miles from
his home anchorage.
BY building canals and dredging
channels through lakes and rivers
by constructing yacht basins In
almost every town and hamlet that
has access to the water and by many
other means, Federal and State gov
ernments are woking overtime to
extend the facilities and widen the
scope of boating.
1t is now possible for small craft
to incircle almost the entire Eastern
half of the United States. The
Intracoastal Waterway, together
with Chesapeake Bay, the Delaware
Canal and connecting links, provide
a protected inland passage all the
way from New York to Florida. From
there you can continue on safely
clear to Texas, or cruise up the
Mississippi and through the Illinois
Waterway to Chicago and the Great
Lakes. and back to your starting
point-a trip of over 1000 miles
without once having to set foot on
dry land unless you want to.
Scope Widened.
Other great Federal projects have
likewise widened the scope of boat
ing in recent years, opened up huge
bodies of water far in the interior.
brought the pleasures of this great
sport to thousands of American fam
lilies who never before had access
to it.
Take the T. v. A. for instance
Tennessee Valley Authority. Here
on man-made Norris Lake and its