AT SEA IN A 20-FOOTER. 



STANLEY G. BONE. 



The Luella was a sloop, 20 feet over all, 

 with only 4 feet of head room in a tiny 

 cabin. The crew consisted of Mr. Layton, 

 the owner and cook; Mr. Wells, who served 

 as skipper; and me, owning to the title of 

 deck hand. 



By appointment we met at Weymouth, 

 Mass., where the boat had been all winter, 

 and went on board. We spent an hour get- 

 ting our gear stowed and at 7 a. m. we got 

 under way. We had first to sail up to 

 Boston, to lay in provisions, get charts, a 

 stove and various other necessities. The 

 wind was fresh and we had to beat about 

 15 miles dead to windward against a strong 

 tide. It took us until 11.30, thrashing our 

 way through a nasty chop, to reach the 

 wharf at Boston. We spent the rest of the 

 day getting our stores, etc., and looking 

 around the city, to which Wells and I were 

 strangers. 



The following morning we bowled mer- 

 rily out to the Boston light with the wind 

 right aft and with 3 reefs in. We passed 

 Hull about noon, the wind still with us. 

 At 3 o'clock, when we were off Minot's 

 light, the wind suddenly dropped, so we 

 shook out all the reefs, after which we 

 sailed easily along, following the coast, and 

 at 5 p. m. we ran in behind Plymouth light- 

 house, where we anchored for the night. 



Then Layton showed at his best. While 

 we were getting the boat snug for the night 

 and stowing the sails we were cheered by 

 the smell of coffee and things. After sup- 

 per Wells and I caught enough flatfish for 

 breakfast. Then we took the skiff and went 

 ashore to fill our water bottles. We also 

 interviewed the lighthouse keeper and got 

 some information from him as to our pros- 

 pective trip. The mosquitoes were bad, but 

 as soon as we pulled off to the Luella they 

 left us. 



At 5 a. m. we were under way, and 

 breakfasted on fried flounder. The wind 

 was light and when we were 10 miles from 

 land it dropped altogether, leaving us in the 

 doldrums. We stayed motionless an hour 

 and then a few catspaws were seen on the 

 water. Presently we were again bowling 

 along with a good sailing breeze, and at 

 noon we were off Cape Cod. Meanwhile 

 the weather began to look threatening and 

 the wind to get gusty, but as it was off 

 shore the sea was calm. 



Cape Cod is not prepossessing, being 

 sandy and apparently strewn with wrecks. 

 On rounding the Cape we had the wind 

 right ahead, so we put back into Province- 

 town for the night. Meanwhile it began to 

 rain and blow, right in our teeth, and it 



took us 5 hours to beat back against wind 

 and tide. Each of us took a turn at the 

 wheel, but Wells had the worst of it. We 

 would make a leg out to sea for about 2 

 miles and then in to shore again, probably 

 making only ^ of a mile headway, al- 

 though sailing several miles. We were 

 not sorry to find ourselves in the harbor of 

 Provincetown at 6 p. m., and we anchored 

 in 12 feet of water. By that time the 

 weather had cleared. We did our best to 

 dry ourselves at the oil stove and after sup- 

 per we all went ashore, returning at 10 

 o'clock. 



About midnight I was awakened by feel- 

 ing a weight on my chest. It was not the 

 supper Layton had provided, but Layton 



AMATEUR PHOTO BY STANLEY G BONE- 



THE LUELLA. 



himself, with Wells on top of him. I 

 cursed Layton fluently for crowding me, 

 he passed it on to Wells, and Wells cursed 

 us both for waking him, he being the top 

 man. We had not reckoned on the rise 

 and fall of the tide at Provincetown. 15 

 feet. Crawling out on deck, I found we 

 were nearly high and dry ; but the tide soon 

 rose enough to put us on an even keel. 



At daylight there was a thick fog, so it 

 was impossible to make an early start. 

 About 7 a. m. a breeze sprang up and 

 cleared off the fog. We had to beat our 

 way back to the Cape, but were favored by 

 tide. At 10 o'clock we passed a large 

 schooner, which had stranded off the Cape. 

 The day grew warmer and we were able to 

 dry some of our wet clothes. With a fair 

 wind and the tide we kept along the coast, 

 usually about 300 yards off, passed the 



lox 



