114 ALL AFLOAT 



beauty drawn by the touch of the wind ; the 

 whole ship bounding forward as if just slipped 

 from her leash — all this makes a scene to stir 

 the beholder then and for ever after. The 

 breeze pipes up. She 's doing ten knots now ; 

 eleven, twelve ; and later on, fifteen. This 

 puts the lee rail under ; for she lays over on 

 her side so far that her deck is at a slope 

 of forty-five. Her forefoot cuts through the 

 water like the slash of a scimitar ; while her 

 bows throw out two seething waves, the wind- 

 ward one of which breaks into volleying spray 

 a-top and rattles down like hailstones on the 

 fore-deck. 



But next day the wind has hauled ahead, and 

 she has to make her way by tacking. She loses 

 as little as possible on her zigzag course by 

 sailing close to the wind, that is, by pointing 

 as nearly into it as she can while still ' keeping 

 a full on ' every working sail. Presently the 

 skipper, having gone as far to one side of his 

 straight course as he thinks proper, gives the 

 caution ; whereupon the braces are taken off 

 the pins and coiled down on deck, all clear for 

 running, while the spanker-boom is hauled in 

 amidships so that the spanker may feel the 

 wind and press the stern a-lee, which helps the 

 bow to windward. Then the ' old man ' (called 



