I NEW-FANGLED RIGS 59 



of them have even forsaken for a handier rig the 

 old dipping lugsall that is so powerful with a 

 leading wind, so tricky to manage in a seaway, and 

 so beautifully like a gigantic sea-bird's wing. If 

 the old men could return, how scared, how shocked 

 they would be to see a drifter, laden with nets, 

 drop-keel down, jib, standing lug, and mizz.en all 

 spread, ploughing out to windward with the spray 

 flying right over her. "Tisn't fitty,' they would 

 say. Their own aim was a 'comfor'able sort o' 

 leisurable craft'; ours is to get there quick. Fish 

 were more plentiful in their day. They could 

 afford to take their time; they were willing to 

 give their labour. The catches those old boats 

 used to bring ashore ! 



The newer boats are mistrusted by the old 

 fishermen who survive — by Benjie, for Instance — 

 however great their advantages. The quickness 

 that they have on the water, as If their centre- 

 keel was a pivot to spin on. Is an annoyance, 

 their wetness In the wind a constant exasperation. 

 What did It matter to those old men if, in tack- 

 ing, the boat missed stays? They had the wind- 

 ward oar out: they rowed her round. Benjie 

 sometimes declares that his old craft is still for 

 all purposes the best upon the beach — with a 



