476 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Jan. ?, 1886. 



pleasure sailins- Ottier boats of the same type bave been built and 

 used in various parts of the counlrry for the same purpose. The plain 

 sneakbox:. Imilt bv biiyraon iit iJle limes, uray sometimes be had as 

 low as but a well 'bnilt i-rnft, completely fluted, will cost from $85 

 to :5125. Among tlie loadine- builclev..; are .T. H. Eushton, of Canton, 

 N. y.. who has made a specialty of finely finished sneakboxes, and J, 

 1>. Gifford, of Toms River, who is building for Mr. Bishop the im- 

 proved form, which we shall illustrate next week. 



BROOKFA^N C. C— The first annual dinner of the BrooWyn 0. C. 

 wllJ be held on Jan. 13. ato P. M., at the Clarendon, Brooldyn. 



AddredS all cofnniunicatioyis to the Forest and Stream Publish- 

 ing Co. 



CRUISE OF THE COOT. 



VII, 



WHA-T tbe feelings of the ffuiding masters in the pilot houses of 

 the ferryboa,ts were, as they peered through the morning mist 

 and beheld the yellow-topped catboat still within hail, I cannot say. 

 Probably they had no good will toward the little plague which had 

 harassed tliem so much the previous day, with another dose in pros- 

 pect. Wosoou shoot company, for the tide was on the ebb and the 

 wind from the west, mtich to the joy and relief of the solitary inhab- 

 itant of the Coot. The atmosphere was warm, tJie day bright and 

 the waters smooth. A timely start quickly carried us beyond the 

 familiar scenes of the day before. Aboidrush sent us through the 

 bridge, and then a long and short leg lifted the yacht around Dia- 

 mond Reef and Governor's Island into the open bay. Here the wind 

 had enough southing to lay a straight course for the Kills, passing 

 over the shoals inside of Robbin's Reef. Great vessels laj' majestic- 

 ally ahead and on both sides, structures of Titan strength and tower- 

 ing above the sea like massive castles in comparison with the dimin- 

 utive Cool, a mere fly to sucu elephants. While she rose and fell to 

 a long swell and tos?ed about her boom in ceaseless toil with the 

 skipper intent upon keeping a course, the fleet of m erchant vessels 

 wholly ignored the commotion there was in the bay, and stately, 

 steadily floated oblivious to the turmoil the Coot was passing 

 through. To tbe rail ot an imposing square-rigger cro wded the crew 

 to watch the little cat drive by. A hail from the mate in deep basso 

 tones, "Rather cold to be out for a sail," brought forth the reply; 

 "Av, ay; bound to Florida." Again from the square rigger: "In 



that thing? Well, by !" 



Those words, as if by magic, suddenly shifterl the scene and per 

 force tbrust before my mental gaze tbe leverseof the pleasing picture 

 conjured up with the life and brighmess of the newborn day. Like 

 a cold cliiil down the back, it brought on a shudder and the spiritual 

 baromerer took a sudden drop clear down intj ttie bul'o. "lu that 

 thing?" So the Coot, my cherished little ship, was to other eyes only 

 a thing! And my venture to a professional the spleen of a crank 1 

 Was it possible that I haa been dreammg rosy air castles until the 

 mere per.sisteace in tiio,se dreams had led me astray from stern 

 reality into a realm of impracticable myth? Should I stop to recon- 

 sidei ■?" Was I rushing on to ignominious failure, perhaps even to 

 destruction? If the boat should not survive, would I? Would I care 

 to? t'onld I trust my senses in anything at all, if in I his. mr particu- 

 lar sphere, all experiencf , all induction was to fail, and I to find my- 

 self iloaiirig helplesslv' about upon the hazards of flighty fancy? Had 

 the cruise proposed been built upon the sands of reckless chance, and 

 not as I had flattered myself, upon the firm rock of life-long experi- 

 ence and close observation scarce attaiced by any one else. 



The roseate hue had dimmed and sombre' thoughts now crowded 

 to the fore. The vn.vage was a long, long one, true. But mere length 

 consiitutes no danger. It was to be in unknown waters, with all the 

 risks of sti-auge navigation. But then I had charts, a compass, bin- 

 oculars, the remnant of a lead line and oh ! a centerboard to furnish 

 all the desired information on the spot as to the whereabouts of rocks 

 and shoals, mudflats and gravelly bars. Surely there was no more 

 trouble to expect in hitting a good, hard obstacle one thousand mUes 

 from home than in hitting it right before your garden gate. But hold 

 a bit, the perplexity now begins. What sort of boat had I under my 

 feet? Through the rivers she might serve well enough, but how about 

 the broad reaches of the lower Delaware, and worse than that, what 

 was I to meet in the wide sea-like waters of the great Chesapeake ? An 

 ocean in itself, for any small boat and a sea 225 miles long, which 

 "easily bothers the biggest of ships," as a condoling friend had vouch- 

 safe d before my departure. A vast stretch of salty expanse, which if 

 "inland" by courtesy, could display its wrath in storm-capped rollers 

 nevertheless, against whose rude assault with tons upon tons of mo- 

 mentum, the little Coot would collapse like flimsy paper, to be swal- 

 lowed at a afulp without a vestige left to tell the tale of destruction 

 ashore. It was ejiough to keep her right-side-up-with-care with Boreas 

 in mood benign, but if that ruthless fellow should open the bellows to 

 full blast and back the Coot on a lee shore, what then was I to do 

 alone in a little trap whicb could not be forced to face a steep sea. 

 but would chop off and bounce away to the lee with her model and 

 rig wholly unadapted to cope with adverse gales and wave upon 

 wave crashing over (he bow? To this the answer came slow and not 

 over assurmg. Slink alongshore in short spurts with a harbor 

 within reach Take no desperate cbances in the wish to make long 

 runs tor tUsplay. Study the charts well beforehand and scheme out 

 a plan of ouerations with the wind from each of the four quarti^rs. 

 Leave a loophole astern for which j^ou can cut and run under the 

 peak of the mainsail should it come to the worst, and for the rest 

 trust to luck, forbad as such advice maybe, something had to be left to 

 thelittle cherub upaloftin the cruise of the Coot singlehanded. Once 

 \^ e make Norfolk In good shape, the most serious portion of the work 

 will have been overcome, for though Pamlico below is broad open 

 water, in places three times the width of Long Island Sound, its 

 length is oidy half that of the Chesapeake and much of it is too shoal 

 to nurse very higd seas. Beyond that I cared not to look. Regions 

 further south were so far away that they rose not upon my horizon 

 till a later stage in the cruise. 



That I could live, eat, sleep, work and be merry on board the little 

 Coot was settled the first day to my satisfaction. If plain, her quar- 

 ters were at least cozy and fully supplied with all I could want for 

 pastime or study. Life would be more than bare existence. It 

 would be enjoyable and profitable to body and mind to the extent I 

 eared to courribute to those ends. 



One cause of sore trial and tribulation of dire discomfiture which 

 near wound up the Coot and her sailer at the start, I had not and 

 scarcely could have foreseen. It never entered into my reckoning. 

 Yet so far it has proven the most dangerous foe I have had to grap- 

 ple. The Coot bears the scQrs of the terrible war waged upon her 

 sli-ek side.s by cutting, rasping, grinding, crunching, punching ice. 

 Ice solid , ice in floes, ice in chunks, ice in slivers, ice stacked four 

 feet deep, ice swept up and dowu each tide, ice driven by the wind, 

 ice grounded hard and fast, ice thrown at the Coot in a sea, salt- 

 water ice and fresh-water ice, ice in the river and ice in the canal, 

 ice which thj-eatened our destruction and caused my heart to sink in 

 clespau-; ice which frozs me out and nearly starved me out too, ice 

 which I cordially detest and hate as an arch enemy to me and my 

 boat, cuniiiug, coarse, hard of heart, brutal and cowardly withal. 

 Ugh : Now that I am below the belt of permanent cold, villanous ice! 

 out upon you, let rae lack you a farewell in contemptl Foiled in your 

 dastardly attempt, we are beyond your devilish embrace, neer to en- 

 ter the limits of your chilling domain again, till warm Sol pours 

 down his stinging ray next spHag, before which you will quail and 

 dissolve, unhonored, unsimg. 



The ditHculties of the cruise, I knew, would be aggravated by my 

 being aloMc. There would be no such thing as rehef at the stick, no 

 warm luuches seiat up from below, and often no lunches at all. 

 There would be no one io cast the boat in getting under way while I 

 catted the anchor, nor to fetch ai'ticles from the cabin as they were 

 wanted. No one to suggest or approve, nor extra eyes to ferret out 

 marks '1 long sf ore. No one to keep the boat under control while 

 tying down a reef, nor help in hauling out earings. All the work, 

 »11 the wear, the management of affairs and every detail would 

 devolve upon one pair of hands and one head instead of upon two or 

 moi'e. Risk and responsibility could not be lightened by bein^ 

 divided. I would have to face the music and dance to any tune it 

 might play. But this was of my own choice, I knew from other 

 similar cruises that to thoroughly enjoy the sweets of victory wrung 

 from the elements in open battle, tne challenge must be fought in 

 individual capacity, without division of honors at the end of the 

 day. 



Thus the Coot drove along, tiU the passing cloud of dismay gradu- 

 ally cleared and the proposed exploit once more assumed the garb of 

 downright reality. Closing in upon Constable Hook, a sharp line of 

 rips indicated the edge of the ebb flowing out of the Kills. No sooner 

 had tliia been crossed than the wind fell flat and drew out ahead in 

 fitful catspaws. Through these the Coot was tacked back and forth, 

 and when, by working eddies close in along the petroleam docks, she 

 managed to beat a clumsy lighter bound the sacne way, the first vic- 

 tory for the Coot under the new regime, spirits had risen again to 

 their wonted top notch and the mate aboard the square-rigger had 

 been dropped and foi-gotten. Several boards weathered the "Sailors' 

 Snug Harbor and then a close haul slowdy took the Coot along to her 

 destined anchorage ofiE Mr, W. P. Stephens's nautical headquarters 



at West Brighton, on the Staten Island side of the river. Here we 

 rounded to. stowed mainsail and awaited events. They were soon 

 forthcoming in the shape of a yawlboat with Mr. S. at the oars, and 

 in company we pulled for the shore for the rest of the day. 



On the island I cast about for a small boat to take along. A voyage 

 without a lender could not be thought of. Nothing fitting coming 

 under notice, it was determined to have a skill built without delay. 

 Fortunately Messrs. McWhirter & Son, recently from Erith, near Lon- 

 don, England, had established themselves in sStephens's shop, ready 

 for anything that might come along As builders of all sort of craft 

 they had a varied and rich experience which stood me in good stead . 

 Three days of calm weather set in so that nothing was lost by the de- 

 lay. The way these two craftsmen set to work and the deft manner 

 in which they handled their tools was a pleasure to behold. A few 

 words of explanation as what was wanted and both hove smartly 

 ahead at the job contrary to prevailing notions that English mechanics 

 are slow to comprehend and execute. In two days the skiflf was com- 

 pleted and painted, a light, sightly and serviceable tender in every 

 respect. Having put her to severe trial 1 can indorse the model and 

 construction as superior to the usual run of skiffs attached to small 

 vessels. She was light as a feather, rode the heavie.st seas like a 

 bird, was a stifl' and buoyant carrier, and above all the easiest boat to 

 tow I have ever seen. She would scarcely tauten the painter, and did 



not ya:^' wildly about or rush up to butt her nose against the counter 

 in a following sea. She was the most satisfactory article in the 

 Coot's inventory. Without any skag aft she pulled straight and true. 

 Even strangers mastered her in a few minutes. She has been the 

 pack mule of the expedition and many a load of provisons has she 

 ferried alongside in good shape. I do no hesitate to put off in her in 

 apy weather, small as she is. Her length over all is 7ft. .?in., beam 

 a;pross top 3ft., and 2ft. Gin. across the floor, giving 3in. flare 

 td each side. The bottom has a slight camber forward and 

 but little aft, the sternboard being immersed when pulling. This, 

 with round lines forward, preserves large area of floor and accounts 

 for some of her good points. At the stem she is ISi^in. deep, 

 amidships 1114, and the sternboard is 12in., with slight rake. 

 The siding was run through the mill to %-in. scant, and the bottom 

 boards to }4-in. scant. Total cost, with 6ft. spruce oars and row- 

 locks, was $15. She was fastened with brass screws. As soon as the 

 Coot looks into that eagerly sought "warm weather," diagrams to 

 scale will be forwarded to Forest and Stream. Wherever we went 

 the skiff was an object of interest and many a sly jest. To the juve- 

 nile world she was a perfect delight, and more than one red-cheeked 

 shaver thought the height of his ambition m life would be reached 

 should he be able some day to possess her counterpart. Under way 

 the skiff was always in tow. In harbor she was hauled across the 

 counter, ready to slip overboard as wanted. A stop was rove through 

 a hole in the thwart each side, by which the oars were hitched to 

 prevent getting adrift. This little precaution was taken after losing 

 one pau- during a gale. Rowlocks were secured by short lanyards. 

 The portability of the skiff was a strong recommendation. Upon 

 Hnding in Philadelphia she was carried up street half a block and 

 turned bottom upward within the welcome portals of a coal yard, 

 where she rested in safety from the contaminating touch of outside 

 barbarians likely to overlook her delicate constitution and waive 

 strict proprietary rights. I consider her preferable to collapsable 

 boats of any kind. She excels them in stabdity, durability and ca- 

 pacity for service and is ready in an emergency. AVith her astern I 

 felt as independent as a lord, for I could come and go as I pleased m 

 "my gig," and even tender her with a generous flourish to less for- 

 tunate acquaintances found knocking about without such useful 

 appendage. ^ C. P. K. 



THE CRUISE OF THE PILGRIM.-II. 



BY DR. W. H. WINSLOW. 



IT is only twenty-ftva miles from Cape Ann to Portsmouth Light, 

 and a small yacht can run it in four or five hours; but there are 

 great possibilities of wind and storm in five hom'S, and it is not com- 

 fortable to reflect that there is not a harbor of refuge to leeward 

 after leaving Andrew's Point that a stranger can run into safely in an 

 easterly gale without a pilot, and only one or two with; and who 

 would find a pilot out m the bight in an easterly? If I were caught 

 out there I should run to Portsmouth or Rockport, even though I 

 had to beat to windward, and not trust mysef anywhere near the 

 shifting, treacherous sands of the coastfrom Halibut Point to Whale's 

 Back. And here a cutter would save her crew while a shaflow skmi- 

 mer woifld go asbon;; and, because one is liable to be caught in just 

 such a pinch some time, it is. in my opinion, necessary that ah small 

 cruisers should be very strong, narrow, u-on-keeled boats. 1 shaU 

 tell after a while what a scrape we got into and got out of safely. 



We had a flue run across the bight, made the Isles of Shoals and 

 Little Boar's Head, and kept closer inshore to avoid the sea and the 

 heavy puffs which came off every few minutes aud buried our lee rail 

 several inches. We passed the yacht Echo, going south, and hoisted 

 our club signal and the yacht ensign; but the two sleepy fellows 

 aboard evidently did not tmderstand sea etiquette and did not change 

 their lounging attitudes. It was well we carried on dm-iug the squalls, 

 because the wind died out toward sunset and we barely got inside 

 Portsmouth Light at 6 P. M. 



The mouth of the Piscataqua is wide and roomy, and it is easy to 

 enter after dark because of the two excellent lights and the simple 

 courses to run. One should have a good wind on full ebb tide, as 

 this is augmented by the river current and is very strong. 



Where to anchor was the question after we passed Portsmouth 

 Light— we supposed Portsmouth, and sailed on against an ebb tide, 

 the wind having freshened somewhat. Buoys were passed upou 

 either hand and we felt quite confldent. We went around Pull aud- 

 be-damnedPoint, upon the loft bonk, struck a frightful current and 



eddy, the rudder and sails ceased to act and the Pilgrim turned com- 

 pletely around upon her heel and was almost swept upon the rocks. 

 Frank, my yachtsman assistant, tried to steer and became pale and 

 demoralized. We headed toward the other bank and then reached 

 by tbe profane point and made way slowly through a tumult of 

 waves and mimic maelstroms in trembling apprehension of another 

 whirligig; but arrived near a beacon, and, as there were no vessels in 

 the river in front of the city, we kept to starboard and anchored close 

 up to the Navy Yard, where we knew there was shelter from the 

 river current below an island. The yard had two hulks and a tug- 

 boat at the docks; the houses below it were windowless and deserted ; 

 there was only a gruff shipkeeper ashore who forbade our landing and 

 said we would probably get our anchor caught in the large ship's 

 moorings around us. The river raged between us and the city we 

 wished to visit, where a few vessels were seen tied up to the wharves, 

 and we saw that we must trust only to an anchor in the broad ex- 

 p.anse of rushing waters, and that the anchorage for the city was 

 really down river. 



I must confess that I felt homesick when I looked around upon 

 desolation and danger, and the prospect of spending Sunday near the 

 vacant piers and the great ghostly ship house, and this was not 

 lessened by the conclusion that we would be obliged to do without 

 fresh milk and bread, and the pleasant run ashore. So when Frank 

 said, "Let's go down river again while we can," I concluded to have 

 the danger of going down river over before we slept, that we might 

 have restful slumber, and to seek a more hospitable and peaceftd 

 anchorage. The anchor was raised by willing hands and the danger- 

 ous point was passed safely by folio wmg the example and the shouts 

 of a boatman, and we reached a broad, shallow cove in the light 

 bank, a little distance above Cod Rock aud in front of New Castle 

 village, and anchored by lead in three fathoms, about 8 P. M. 



Two boys started immediately upon a foraging expedition, and 

 returned in an hour with milk, bread and pies; the delicious Java, 

 fried flitch and hot beans were ready, and we had .such a supper upon 

 deck at 9 P. M. as makes my mouth water even now. Then we elders 

 smoked and talked, while the boys grew sleepy. Frank said, "I 

 would not have stayed up in that hole over Sunday for a hundred 

 dollars. It is the cueanest place I was ever in, and I wish never to 

 see it again." I agreed somewhat with him, and we all turned in, 

 happy that the wmd was low, the water quiet, and the little Pilgrim 

 sheltered by jutting points from the wild currents. 



Sunday , our first aboard, was a beautiful day, and we exposed all 

 the clothes and bed clothes upon the deck to the breeze and sun for 

 hours, and gave the cabin a good cleaning and airing. I took three 

 boys and went up the river on the flood ride about ten o'clock, in- 

 spected the Kittery navy yard from the boat, had a little walk in Kit- 

 tery Foreside and in Portsmouth, and returned upon the ebb tide to 

 the yacht at 4 o'clock. Then we had lunch and Frank and Bert took 

 the boat and visited the shore and the ruins of Fort Constitution, and 

 brought back several hermit crabs, mussels, whelks and curious peb- 

 bles and stones. 



I always supposed the Kittery navy yard to be at Kittery, but the 

 httle village behind the yard is called Kittery Foreside, while Battery 

 proper is near the mouth of the river fronting on PeppereU's Cove. 

 The banks of the river and its estuary are rocky, and the land rolls 

 back in grassy hills, fringed and broken by lines and groves of trees. 

 There are many pretty houses scattered oyer the landscape, and an 

 immense summer hotel looms up across the cornflelds tc^ the .south, 

 located upon a little arm of the sea called Little Harbor. Kittery 

 has several summer hotels and a very picturesque appearance aud 

 location, and New Castle, near the old fort opposite, is a primitive 

 little settlement, having a fine outlook seaward. There "is quite an 

 area of water from the bridge above Portsmouth to the outei- buoys 

 of the river, and the shores fumish sufficient fine Fcenery aud ^joints 

 of interest to make it a pleasant cruising ground for a small boat for 

 one season. It would not take long to learn to take advantage of 

 the currents and tides. One should always remember in going 

 against the tide either way to give the profane point a wide berth . 



I was up at 5 o'clock the next morning to take advantage of the 

 tail endot the ebb tide, and shouted down the gangway, "All hands 

 make sail!" then while the sleepy fellows were rubbing theU- eyes 

 and getting into their clothes, I hoisted the mainsail and jib, got up 

 the light anchor and catted it, and trimmed sheets to the hght land 

 breeze to the right bank of the river. The tide helped ns by the fort 

 and inner light, when the breeze freshened and we began to beat out 

 in company with the cutter Iris, of Boston, which started out from 

 PeppereU's Cove, She had her saUs all set except the jibtopsail, yet 

 we gave her a square race and beat her badly out to the outer buoy, 

 where we turned north and she turned south. This gave us a good 

 appetite for breakfast, and then we went bowUng up the coast in a 

 lively manner. It fell calm towai'd noon and we had barely crept up 

 to Wells, when the wind came out northeast and threatening, and we 

 headed for Kennebimkport, not being able to get up to the harbor 

 near Cape Porpoise. 



We steered in shore toward the hotels until it became a flat calm 

 then we took the boat ahead and towed the little cutter to prevent 

 her driftmg toward Fishing Rocks, which are very dangerous, till a 

 breeze sprung up and we coidd steer toward the obscure entrance. 

 After passing a rocky promontory (Kennebunk Point) we could t^ee 

 the great Government piers, whitjh are granite walls 40ft. high and 

 2mh. long, one upon each bank of the opening, to confine the river 

 to a fixed channel and keep it deep enough for light draft uavigati on. 

 When we were heading for the entrance between the piers, a very 

 heavy squall came upon us off the land. The sea had floated us almost 

 in line with the western pier, but the squall filled our sails upon the 

 port side, and we were steering toward the eastern or right pier, 

 when a boat with two men came alongside and one of them, a pilot, 

 shouted, "Port your helm, quick I Give her sheet! You are almost 

 ashore on the sand bar." The wind blew and the rain poured in 

 torrents, but we sped from the danger and found good anchorage 

 between the eastei-n pier and the point to wait for high tide. We 

 were within ten feet of going ashore in a long, lazy sea, when the 

 pilot spoke, and would have grounded between the piers had we at- 

 tempted to run in then. The squall subsided into a drizzlmg rain, we 

 rolled about outside two hours, and then the pilot took us in safely 

 and tied us up to a wharf upon the left bank. It is safest to hug the 

 right side and eastern pier till abreast of the outer head of the western 

 pier, then run up the middle of the passage, and, after passmg the 

 piers, keep well over to the left bank (right hand) and tie up to the 

 wharf. 



It is impossible to lay at anchor in the channel; the tide rises and 

 falls with great rapidity ; the current has absolute control except at 

 slack water; boats can not puU and vessels cannot sail against it, and 

 one must tie up with al' the rest or run up the river. It is a crooked, 

 shallow river . The town is three-quarters of a mile up on the left 

 bank, and pretty villas line the bank all along to the half dozen 



