284 : The Atlantic 



It can be extended to give the longer gaff of the later sailing vessels 

 or it can be diminished leading in the direction of the jib-headed or 

 so-called Bermuda rig. 



On account of the many shoals encountered in this coast the 

 Dutch vessels employed neither keel nor a deep form of hull. To off- 

 set this disadvantage and to give lateral resistance they developed an 

 adjunct to the hull called lee boards. These were large strong struc- 

 tures having the shape of a paddle. Two of them were employed on 

 each vessel. The upper or smaller end of the board was mounted on 

 a pivot fitted at the side of the vessel amidships so that the large end 

 of the board could either be hauled up, clear of the water, and fas- 

 tened in place or lowered into the water to serve as a sort of supple- 

 mentary keel. They derived their name from the fact that when the 

 vessel was sailing into the wind the board on the windward side of 

 the vessel was raised and the board on the leeward side extended 

 into the water. 



By a curious event in history, ships of Dutch design and Dutch 

 methods of sailing were adopted by English seamen and the first 

 Enghsh private yacht or pleasure vessel was of Dutch origin. It came 

 about this way. 



Charles II, with his followers, was in Holland on May 8, 1660, 

 when the announcement came that he had been restored to the 

 throne. The Dutch at once put at his disposal a small but fast and 

 handy vessel of a type called a jacht. She was single-masted, carried 

 a large fore-and-aft mainsail that was set on a fixed gaff and was 

 loose-footed, with topsail and jibs. This vessel was apparently used 

 as a dispatch boat and she was gayly painted and had a comfortable 

 and elaborately decorated cabin. 



King Charles was greatly pleased with her and enjoyed his passage 

 in her sailing to meet the British vessel, Naseby, which, in the mean- 

 time, had been sent from England to bear him back to the throne. 

 In fact, Charles' enthusiasm was such that he wished to acquire the 

 vessel for his own use. The Dutch responded by promising him a 

 vessel of this type. They at once set to work and built him a vessel 

 which was later christened the Mary. The Mary was fifty-one and 

 a half feet in length, had a beam of nineteen feet, carried eight 

 guns and a crew of twenty men. The best artisans of Holland were 

 employed in furnishing her cabin and the leading artists contributed 

 to her decorations. She was sent to England as a royal gift in 1660 

 where the king used her as the first yacht. 



