YACHT RACING.
Ori of the principal causes of success in yacht racing is that of being " always ready ; " ready with the entry, ready with the vessel whether she requires copper scrubbed or trim altered, ready with the sails and gear, ready with the instructions, ready in getting into a berth, ready to start, ready for every shift of canvas, ready for every evolution in sailing, and ready to receive the first gun at the finish. Therefore, always be ready and never be above being prepared. The experienced racing man knows that if he is prepared with his spinnaker, and another man is not, after bearing up round a mark, that an enormous advantage will be gained. Or in hauling round a mark if he has got everything in time made snug, and sheets laid along and manned ready for rallying aft, and another man has to luff round with everything adrift on deck, and the boom off the quarter, his vessel will get a quarter of a mile out on the weather of the sloven before the latter has got his boom aboard or jib sheets in. If proper preparation is made for every shift of canvas or manoeuvre in sailing, the vessel will be worked as if all the gear and sails were parts of machinery, but if no pre parations are made, everything will be in confusion on board ; there will be shouting and bawling and running about, sails sent up head downwards, sheets and halyards bent on foul, or fouled among the numberless coils of ropes on deck, the crew will be distracted, the sailing master hoarse and furious, and the owner mortified to see such an utter 'want of discipline and system on board his vessel. On the other hand, if everything is ready beforehand, the crew will understand exactly what they have to do, each man will fulfil his task with a cool head and ready hand, the sailing master will be tranquil and manage the vessel cleverly, and the owner will be delighted, and think that half the pleasure of match sailing is in seeing a good crew, who know their work, set about it in a seamanlike and syste matic manner. There must be no shirking ; whatever a man is set to do,
he must do thoroughly, and with a will; if he does not do this he should be unshipped without compunction, as one lazy, slovenly, or half-hearted hand on board will spoil three good ones.
Now everyone knows that there are various things to be done in yacht sailing at one and the same time, and it will be patent that it is desirable that each thing should be done by the same hands each time, if possible. Nothing looks worse on board a racing yacht if when such a simple order as " check the foresheet a trifle," a half a dozen men or so jump up and rush into the lee bow, when one of the crew could have quietly executed the order. On the other hand it shows a worse spirit if the men begin talking among themselves as to who shall go to do it ; but if one hand is told off as the foresheet man, he will know that he has to check the sheet, and if the sheet has to be got in instead of eased, the mate will send another hand or more to help. For the more important stations men always are told off ; thus one hand is always selected for masthead-man, bowsprit end-man, &c.; and so far as the number of the crew will admit, there should be a just and effective division of labour.