824 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Jan. 16, 1891. 



TORONTO, Jan. 0.— The annual meeting of the West Toronto 

 Jane! ion Gun Club was held this evening, the secretary and 

 treasurer's reports showing the club to be in a good condition 

 financially and otherwise, the membership being 64. The election 

 of officers resulted as follows: Pres., D. Blea; Vice-Pres., D. C. 

 Walton; Treas., A. Lascallas; Sec'y, P. Wakefield. Executive 

 Committee, C. Hinton, J. Weidman and W. Davidge. The club 

 is giving a handsome silver cup to be competed for as follows: 

 Two shoots at sparrows, 15 birds each, and three shoots at blue- 

 rocks, 20 birds each, the members to be handicapped, and the 

 highest aggregate to win the cup. The first shoot will take place 

 on Tuesday, JaD. 20, and will continue every alternate Tuesday. 



HUDSON VS. EMPIRE.— The return match between the. Hud- 

 son Rifle Club, of Jersey City, and the Empire Rifle Club, of New 

 York, was shot on the latter organization's range, 12 St. Mark's 

 place, on Tuesday evening, Jan. 6. The first. match, shot at Marion 

 in_ December, was won by the voting New York team with 26 

 poin's. To-day they buried their adversariss. The scores were: 

 Hudson Rifle Olub-H, Hansen 201, H Boddv21f, J. Rebban 218, J. 

 Bush 183, T. Reynolds 200. Total 1,018, average 203.60. Empire 

 Rifle— W. Rosenbauni 227, J. Grimm 210. W. Miller 335, C. Zettler, 

 Jr. 233, A. Si a.hl 210 Total 1,120, average 224. Referee, Col. M. L. 

 RiggB, of the Ze.tt.ier R. Ci. 



CLAREMONT, N. J„ Jan. 8.-The monthly live-bird competition 

 among members of the Wauregan Gun Club took place this after- 

 noon on the grounds of the New York Suburban Shooting Asspfria- 

 tion at Claremnnr, N. J. The result follows: Houghton 9, Boen- 

 hoeft 8, Dr. W. S, Tavlor 7, J. Fay 6, Brickner 4, M. Fay 4, Silber- 

 horn 4, Miller 4 and Kramer 3 Impromptu sweeps at live birds 

 were continued until darkness set in. 



lifting. 



Yachtsmen who do not see what they want under this heading 

 will please look under the hatches of The Canoe, peep into the 

 Kennel, squint down the barrel of the Rifle, open the Wish Car and 

 Game Baa, inquire of the SportHrhayi TburM, and if their yearn- 

 ings are still unsatisfied, push their explorations Into the Editorial 

 and Advertising Deportments. 



FIXTURES. 



FEBRTJART. 



22. Biscayne Bay, Annual, Biscayne Bay. 



JUNE. 



27. Dorchester, Club, Dorchester 



jrjiiT. 



11. Dorchester,Club, Dorchester 20. Lake Y. R. A., Rochester, 

 14. Lake Y. R. A., Hamilton, Rochester. 



Hamilton. 23. Lake Y.R.A.,Oswego, Oswego 



18. Lake Y.R.A., R. C-Y.C, Tor. 25. Dorchester,Open, Dorchester 

 17. Lake Y. R. A., Queen City, 



Toronto. 



AT/GUST. 



26. Dorehester,Club, Dorchester 



A CORINTHIAN CRUISE ON PACIFIC WATERS. 



[Concluded from Page SOU.'] 



WE soon came, to familiar scenes on the upper bays, the Italian 

 fishermen's salmon boats and arks. We passed a colony of 

 them at the. mouth of Suisun Creek, which we entered and ran 

 up with a leading wind, passing on the way Cordelia Slough, a 

 famous hunting ground, also Shell Drake Hunting Ground, where 

 are the headquarters of the Shell Drake Shooting Club. After a 

 run of 25 miles we reached Suisun and anchored. As we were 

 hanging out our riding light we were advised by the captain of a 

 scho* ner scow to shift, as there were schooners due, and they 

 would be apt to foul ns if we laid in midstream; so we shifted to 

 avoid them. Not a vessel entered during our stay— all schooner 

 captains stem to think fhat yachtsmen are hankering after 

 advice, and they gratuitously give it, in great variety and 

 abundance. 



Next day was Sunday, and we took a look through the town. 

 All was quiet, and from the large number of vehicles that were tied 

 to the town hitching rails, that for 200yds.ran along the main street, 

 the people of Suisun must be religiously disposed; all the neigh- 

 boring county having come to church. We got the boat along- 

 side i be wharf and filled the watertanks, 1 hen made an excursion in 

 the small boat to the head of the creek, to visit the old sloop Lively, 

 the kindergarten boat of San Francisco yachtsmen. We finally 

 got under way down the creek, the sail being rather tedious in a 

 light breeze, with constant tacking, and often with not enough 

 way to come about; but with a strong tide under us we made fair 

 progress. Finally leaving the mouth of the creek and rounding 

 a point of marsh land we squared away up Monteznina Creek. 

 This is a fine stream, and we struck it just at the turn of the tide, 

 we ran through it at a great rate; but still there seemed to be no 

 end to it. With a good breeze and all sails set, we did not reach 

 Collinsville outlet until 7 P. M., when we dropped our hook off 

 Grizzly Island. 



Next morning we started up the Sacremento River, passing Col- 

 linsville, which consists mostly of a salmon cannery and fisher- 

 men's houses and arks. This is the chief canning center on the 

 river, ami hundreds of fishermen set their nets and drift up and 

 down the river every day. It is quite a trick to avoid their nets, 

 and took all our skill in jibing and hauling on the wind and slack- 

 ing sheets again; as no sooner had we passed one net than another 

 appeared ahead, and so on for miles up the river. The law is that 

 no net shall extend more than two-thirds across the river; but as 

 one boat, sets its net from the right bank and another sets from 

 the left but » hundred feet above, so that the two overlap, there 

 is lively work for the yachtsman. To run down a net means a loss 

 to the fishermen, whic h no reasonable person would cause wan- 

 tonly; though some who hire boats, having no consideration for 

 othei-B, pile through everything, and feel aggrieved when they 

 hear the crack of a rifle and the whizz of a bullet close by as a 

 slight remonstrance. 



After rushing along at a lively rate, we reached Rio Vista, or as 

 the captains name it, Wind's End, at 11 A. M., after a five-hours' 

 run against a rapid current. From here the trees are closer on the 

 banks and the wind becomes lighter all the way up, until the 

 woods become so dense that, though it is blowing a stiff breeze 

 overhead, in the Tiver there is scarcely an air moving, as you often 

 race with a post or stump on the bank for hours, the p^st getting 

 the best of the race by the aid of the strong current. We stopped 

 at Rio Vista and mailed letters, and thoughtfully discussed 

 whether we would get shaved or not; Ceice had a black stubble 

 about half an inch long, and looked like a wild man from Borneo; 

 Will had a shaggy beard showing around his face, and as for my- 

 self, the others said that I looked like a farm hand who had had 

 one side of his face trimmed with a lawn mower, thanks to that 

 oil stove. After a hot oebate we decided to go unshaven through 

 the whole cruise, regardless of the suspicious looks of the town 

 constables. 



After Ceice had tried to cultivate the acquaintance of a Chinese 

 washerman, we went on board and set sail, standing up the river. 

 We passed great gaps in the levees, where the raging waters had 

 broken through in the previous winter, causing untold damage 

 and ruining ttie labor of years, last winter being one of the worst 

 ever experienced. Many islands, of thousands of acres in extent, 

 were inundated and ruined for years to come. At last we came 

 to where the river branches off, one branch being Steamboat 

 Slough and the other Old River; they meet above again, Grand 

 Island, one of the largest on the river, lying between them. We 

 stood on up Old River, passing many orchards and occasionally 

 getting at the nouses of a ranch through the openings between 

 the trees. Each farm has its own landing for the fruit boat, and 

 on the bank is a shed, usually stacked with boxes, for the ''Pump- 

 kin Boat," as the natives call it, to be transported to San Fran- 

 cisco to market. We passed the "Pumpkin Boat" and received a 

 salute from her whistle in response to our gun. Later on we 

 passed the Apache, the mail and passenger boat from Sacramento; 

 we fired a salute and a deckhand, who was sitting on the bow 

 with bis legs hanging over the guard, nearly fell overboard when 

 he heard the report; evidently thinking that we were gunning for 

 deckhands. 



Every time that wo passed a clearing the inhabitants would 

 flock to the banks and gaze in admiration at the yacht as she 

 sailed by. Ceice tried to charm them with his melodious voice 

 aided by the guitar, and succeeded completely — they would im- 

 mediately take to the hills, and even the cattle on the banks 

 would give a wild lingering look and "ramrod" their tails as they 

 fled to seek pastures new when Ceice sweetly warbled "Oh how 

 we suffered." I also had a fine voice, though the others tried to 

 discourage me because I never knew more than two lines of any 

 song; so that when I tried to join in there was such beautiful 

 melody floating around in chunks that poor Will would go for- 

 ward and sit on the end of the bowsprit, WU1 did not claim to 

 be a Mario or aampanini f and when the discord was at its height 



he would produce bis violin and dasb off a few selections from 

 VVngner, Offenbach, and other classic composers, so the people of 

 Sacramento Valley will remember with affection one of the trio 

 who did not torment them with alleged music. 



We soon passed Tsleton, on Andrews Island, and showed the na- 

 1 ' what skillful navigators we were by piling up on a sandbar, 

 we stepped overboard and by means of our shoulders under the 

 how we managed to slew her head around, and then by flattening 

 m the sheets and laying the yacht ou her bilge we slid her off into 

 deep water, all the time trying to look as though the whole occur- 

 rence was just what we intended to do. Two months previous one 

 of our club boats, the Cisne, Capt. W— , discovered the same bar. 

 Uapt. — had a great faculty for discovering bars, afloat or ashore. 

 When she struck he stepped overboard and put his shoulder under 

 the counter to try and boost the boat around, forgetting that, he, 

 had been wearing a low-cut shirt in the hot sun. He gave a tre- 

 mendous lift, but instantly stopped and climbed aboard, looking 

 tor vaseline, finally going below to nurse a sore spot as large as a 

 ■ i'"-'. 1 - "-nd tii u!i ra i '.: u. ;_>■ ..u ;b:; m iseries of a vaclu sma.n's life; 

 his shipmate meanwhile kedging off the yacht. 



The wind was falling lighter all the time, and it looked doubtful 

 whether we would make Walnut Grove by night; at one time we 

 gave up the attempt, as we could not get by a certain point, but 

 one of the boys went ahead in the small boat, and by means of 

 stiff "jay hawking" he managed to get ns by, we then having a 

 good breeze dead aft. At last we sighted the town, and having a 

 st raight reach before us, ran up to it in great style, rounding to 

 and firing a gun as we came to anchor. We did hot like the soot 

 we had chosen, so we decided to drop below and anchor again in 

 Georgians Slough, as this was as high up the river as we intended 

 to go, the breeze being so light that it was only wasting time to 

 try to stem the current. There was a ferry at the mouth of the 

 slough, and we could see a line stretched across. Ceice thought 

 that he could push the line down so that the yacht would pass 

 over it, so we hove up anchor and drifted down, but when we 

 were, near it we saw that it was a wire cable, stretched with a 

 purchase. We at once dropped our anchor, but the current was 

 stronger than we bad calculated, and we dragged upon the cable 

 until the stern fouled it and she slewed around broadside. For a 

 time matters looked serious, the current was running five miles 

 on hour, and as the cable was working up the rigging and the 

 broadside of the boat was exposed to the stream, it looked as 

 though it would underrun us and heel the boat until she filled, 

 which would have been a fine ending to our cruise. 



The whole sceue presented itself to us in an instant and we set 

 to work to do all we could to save the boat. We first clapped a 

 lashing on the cable to keep it from getting over the cabin top 

 for if it had once got over the cockpit rail it was all up with the 

 Cyretta. I could not hear the thought of such an ignominious 

 end, in a slough hardly wide enough to tack, in, to the noble lit tie 

 boat that had carried me through many a tough blow without a 

 mishap. We finally got the stops fast after the wire rope had 

 risen within an inch of the top of the coaming and then we were 

 safe for the present; but it was a puzzle what to do next. 



We carried an ancbor out and tried to warp her head up stream 

 but the anchor would not hold, and soon came home, when we 

 tried two anchors with the same result. The cable could not be 

 slacked awa.y, as we would bear down on it as fast as it paid out 

 and it could not be cast off entirely. Finally we bent all the spare 

 line, to the large anchor and carried it 200yds. up the stream. 

 With so much scope it held, and we slowly hove her head around 

 and pointed against the current, casting off 1 he forward lashing 

 from the cable as the strain came on the anchor line. After she. 

 was once headed up stream it was not much trouble to haul clear 

 of the obstruction. 



By the time we were clear and had begun to breathe freely once 

 more the. ferryman put in an appearance and asked us whether 

 we wanted to go down the slougn. We intimated that this was 

 what we were trying to do and probably would have done had it 

 not been for his cable, so he slacked it off and we passed safely 

 over it, tying up to the willows a hundred fe.et below. 



That night we took a walk through Walnut Grove, passing the 

 evening in a country store, with a congregation of neighboring 

 farmers, who had come after the mail and remained to talk and to 

 blame the mail boat for being behind time when they got home 

 late. During our stroll about the town Ceice wandered into a 

 Chinese gambling den. and when we found him he was surrounded 

 by moon-eyed Chinamen absorbed in a game of "tan." He was 

 anxious to try thegameand see howit worked, but not having any 

 money with him, he was obliged to forego the glorious chance of 

 breaking the bank— or more probably of being broke himself— and 

 after a time he reluctantly joined his less speculative companions. 



Next morning, after purchasing some provisions, we started on 

 our return trip down the slough. The first part is very narrow 

 and there was not wind enough to give us headway on account of 

 the. high trees, thongh it was blowing a fresh breeze overhead. 

 We took turns in towing with the small boat, only working hard 

 enough to keep the yacht's head clear of the hank, the current 

 drawing us along fast enough without any exertion on our part. 

 The slough is 14 miles long, well wooded on the banks, with fine 

 fruit farms and big dogs inland, the land being the best in the 

 State. The danger every winter of the river overflowing its banks, 

 and the great expense of keeping the levees in condition retards 

 the settlement of the country; the fever and ague also driving 

 away many of the farmers, though we passed many clearings with 

 rosy farm houses nestling among the trees. When about eight 

 miles down the slough widened and we set sail. Some Chinamen 

 were clearing the land for cultivation at this point; soon after 

 leaving their camps we came to the marsh lands of the lower 

 river. As we were leaving the woods, we passed a place where a 

 large number of coots had located, and we had fine sport shooting 

 them as they circled overhead. Passing the large steam dredge 

 that was scooping the mud out of the slough and depositing it on 

 the banks to form levees, another reach brought us to the mouth 

 of Georgiana Slough and into the Mokelumne River. 



The wind was fresh as we beat down, passing Boulding Landing 

 at 5 P. M., and soon after we entered the broad San Joaquin River. 

 Here we met a heavy chop sea, which was quite an agreeable 

 change from the calm and passive sailing that we had met. up to 

 this time. We made a tack across the river and soon had all the 

 wind we could stagger under, so after another short leg we de- 

 cided to reef all around, for the. seas were very heavy, throwing 

 water over us at every jump. We went along nicely after reefing, 

 sending the spray in sheets half way up the mast, but it was what 

 we were looking for, we had a keen longing for a wet deck, and 

 now we felt in our element again. The yacht seemed to appreciate 

 the change by the wa.y she bounded along, now dipping to a comber 

 and then lifting and shaking off a cloud of spray which flew aft 

 in a refreshing shower. It was a grand transformation, from 

 sluggish waters to tumbling seas, and we kept on beating down 

 until the shades of night warned us to seek a harbor while it was 

 vet light enough to see; so at 7 P.M. we ran into Clark's Slough, 

 and alter going far enough up to get out of of the. swell from the 

 river, we anchored: then shifting our wet clothing for dry, we 

 cooked a sumptuous dinner and did full justice to it. 



About this time Will began to feel the pangs of a guilty con- 

 science, the weather had been very warm on the trip, and his nose 

 had turned to a vivid red, Ceice delighting in telling him that 

 when he reached home all his friends would conclude that he had 

 been off on a prolonged course of dissipation. This worried Will; 

 though not a teetotaller, he had a dislike for drinking men, so he 

 put in all his spare time anointing his nose with vaseline, until it 

 drew the flies. What with our chaff, the flies, and the fear of the 

 suspicion of his friends when we reached port, he became quite 

 melancholy, but a return of cloudy weather caused the nose to 

 lose some of its glow, and restored his peace, of mind. 



Next morning we hung out our wet clothe- to dry and sat around 

 to smoke and argue; Ceice and I always differed on a question, so 

 we bad plenty of friendly bouts. Ho bad been sailing on large 

 craft and always held up theii advantages over small ones, and 

 while he admitted that he had never been on a pleasanter cruise 

 than this, he still maintained that for general yachting a large 

 craft is preferable. I held to the contrary, saying that in a single- 

 hauder I was always free to go where I wished, and while I en- 

 joyed company, 1 was not dependent on others each time I wished 

 to take a sail. 



Another thing is the expense. As soon as a boat becomes so large 

 as to require the aid of paid hands, it is beyond the means of the 

 majority of yachtsmen, and the most enthusiastic of these are the 

 young men who cannot afford a craft that they cannot run them- 

 selves. Generally a partnership is unsatisfactory. I know of 

 several cases in which yachts are owned by two or more, and the 

 bulk of the work and responsibility falls upon one of the owners 

 alone, which soon creates dissatisfaction on his part. While in 

 some localities where open-water cruising is practicable a large 

 yacht, may be the more desirable, on our coast there is no good 

 outside cruising; all the yachting is done on inland waters, and 

 with a small yacht one can get safely to places where larger ones 

 would be debarred. The great advantage in all cases of a large 

 yacht over a small one is the headroom, and this is not important 

 enough to justify the extra labor in handling the heavy canvas, 

 gear and anchors. 



We were two weeks afloat in the Cyretta on this cruise, and 

 during this time we never ate or slept a3bore, and we never lost a 

 night's sleep. The little time we were below we were generally 

 sitting or lying down, so that nnlirn ited headroom would have 

 been no great benefit; ancj many times we dropped the anchor for 



a swim or a run ashore when, if it bad been as heavy as is neces- 

 sary for a large yacht the work of getting under way a sain would 

 have been more, than the fun was worth. I speak from a true 

 Curmthian standpoint, where an owner does all the work about 

 his boat, only hiring a man to wet down decks and dry sails dur- 

 ing the week. A yachtsman takes a pride in his work if, after 

 inviting a couple, of friends for a sail, he overhears comments on 

 the shipshape appearance of things, and knows that it Is his own 

 doings. He also learns to be a true sailor, taking interest in 

 every rope and spar, knot and splice, seeing just what is the 

 matter the instant that any thing goes wrong, and knowing what 

 to do to right it. 



While there is some work about yachts that is not yachting, 

 even while you are scraping a spar or scrubbing bottom you 

 are learning to appreciate a well kept boat, and are also getting 

 up a ravenous appetite for sailing when the work is over, when 

 without doubt your enjoyment will be the keener for the previous 

 labor. I cannot see how any one who really loves yachting can 

 have any true zest for the sport when in the hands of his "friends," 

 as the politicians say, or rather, of bis sailing master and crew; 

 ho cannot feel the least responsibility or freedom of action. When 

 1 go aboard my boat I like to put off all restraint, get into the 

 oldest clothes I can find, and scrub decks, set up rigging, or 

 do anything else needed, without the necessity of maintaining 

 my dignity. When I go sailing I do not care to be told that the 

 steward is drunk, or that some of the crew have deserted, so that 

 roustabouts from the city front have to be shipped for the trip, 

 only to prove worse than useless, or else that no sailing is possible. 

 Some may like to show their friends a magnificent vessel, for 

 which they get the credit of paying, for work on a 25ft. boat is too 

 much for one man to do in his spare time without curtailing his 

 sailing. As I have come to the conclusion that my little bnat is 

 about as near the right thing as I can get, I am in that contented 

 state of mind that is the envy of my friends who own large vachts 

 and talk about the great expense and annoyance of running' them. 



After the clothes were dry we put on our" old suits and preuared 

 for a beat to windward, as from our snug quarters we could see 

 the wbitecaps piling up in the river- We started out at 9 A. M. 

 for Ant,iocb, a long beat, but the exhilarating feeling of the boat 

 rushing against the heavy sea made the time fly quickly, and we 

 soon passed Jersey Landing, a place now in ruins from the winter 

 floods, though formerly fine orchards lined the river where now 

 all is waste. Of the Landing, all that remains is a dilapidated 

 wharf and a hotel with some farming implemen f .s stored on the 

 front porch, the remnants of a once thriving district. After a 

 hard tussle to windward we made Antioch at 3 P. M., anchoring 

 west of the wharf. After tidying up the ship we made our usual 

 expedition to the town, mailed letters and bought fresh pro- 

 visions. It was at this place (hat some, thieves who had burglar- 

 ized some of the Corinthian Y. C. fleet, about a mouth before were 

 stopped by a constable. On notification by wire to look out. for 

 them he watched and saw them coming along the other side, of 

 the river and caught them; so that, they are now in durance vile- 

 no doubt meditating upon the folly of going yachting in another 

 man's boat without his permission. We bunted the constable 

 up and thanked him, in the name of the C. Y., for his vigilance. 



As weS were going aboard we saw a sloop that looked familiar, 

 and when she sailed in and anchored below us we made her out 

 to be the Agatha, formerly of our club. Ceice rowed down to 

 her and maae himself known, inviting the owner to visit us in the 

 evening. We then had dinner and passed the rest of the afternoon 

 in talking with an old duck hunter who was repairing bis ark 

 near by. He was a typical market hunter and had been at the 

 business for years; there was not a slough or inlet within miles 

 that be did not know of, and being an entertaining talker we 

 spent a couple of hours listening to his yarns of shots, large bags 

 he had made and of adventures he had gone through. In tho 

 evening Captain Adams and his wife, of the Agatha, made us a 

 visit. Being a farmer who had just taken up yachting he amused 

 us greatly with his descrip'ions of his recent cruises and adven- 

 tures. 



At 10 P.M. it commenced to blow and as we had a wharf close 

 under our lee, and the seas began to roll in heavily, we decided to 

 shift our anchorage before we dragged and came to some damage. 

 This was no easy matter, the wharf being within 20ft. of us, 

 allowing no room to make sail, with a strong tide setting us down 

 on it. We finally got out the kedge abeam, then by heaving up 

 the anchor we swung to the kedge and cleared narrowly the end 

 of the wharf, when we set the jib and ran under a lee and made 

 snug tor the night. We got away at 6:oO next morning, after 

 kedging oft a mud bank, and beat down New York Slough into 

 Suisun Bay, passing several scows on the way. Here we met 

 more salmon nets and spent a good deal of time in running be- 

 tween them to try and gtt by; they seemed innumerable, and no 

 sooner had we passed one than another appeared ahead and we 

 had to slack sheets and inn around it, continuing until the tide 

 turned and the fishermen pulled up to go home. 



At one time we hove to and Ceice went aboard one of the boats 

 and purchased a salmon weighing 501bs. for half a dollar. Our 

 heaving to and boarding one of their boats caused great anxiety 

 among the fishermen, the law being that they shall not use a net 

 witb meshes less than 4in. across, and inspectors being around to 

 enforce it. When we laid by and Ceice boarded a. boat all the 

 other boats in sight stopped fishing and the crews watched 

 anxiously to see what was going to happen, thinking that we were 

 one of the patrol. After seeing nothing startling they became 

 reassured and went to work fishing again. 



The fide was now flowing strong, and we did not make much in 

 beating against it, so we ran into Mallard Slough and had a 

 boiled salmon dinner with egg sauce, of which we ate so heartily 

 that after dinner we all fell asleep, and before we woke the after- 

 noon had passed away- As soon as we could we got under way 

 and beat down Suisun Bay in company with a schooner scow 

 past the Middle. Grounds. Suisun Bay is very shallow, and when 

 the wind blows against an ebb tide there is a nasty chop sea 

 kicked up that makes it wet for all hands. After thrashing to 

 windward for some miles it commenced to get dark, and we ran 

 info Hastings Creek for thenigbt. 



At the mouth of the creek ther'i were some fishermen's arks, 

 and as we sailed by a couple of cats set up such a mewing that 

 Ceice rowed back with a piece of salmon and some water for 

 them. The arks were deserted and there Avas no knowing bow 

 long the cats had been there, for they seemed ravenous; how tbey 

 lived is a mystery, as they could not leave, being surrounded by 

 miles of title marsh land. After a supper of boiled salmon we 

 turned in. 



Next morning the tide was not high enough to allow us to get 

 out of the creek until 10 o'clock, at which time we got under way 

 to beat to the mouth of Petaluma Creek. The tide was a strong 

 flood and it was rather slow work forcing it, the wind being ahead, 

 but we marie the Salano shore after much tacking and rounded 

 Bontoia Point. Just before reaching Carquinez Straits we fouled 

 a fisherman's net, not being on the lookout for one in such open 

 waters, but I do not think that we did any damage, for we imme- 

 diately slacked sheets and getting sternway drifted clear. We 

 passed Benicia at. 3 P. M„ and meeting the ebb tide, we ran through 

 Carquinez in an hour and a quarter, passing Mare Island Light at 

 4:15. 



The wind seemed to have blown itself out now, for the weather 

 settled down fine, so we shook out our reefs that we had carried 

 for the last three days, and carried all sail, with jtbtopsail and 

 sprit, to reach Petaluma Creek before dark. We hoped to make 

 it by 7 P. M., but the wind hauled ahead and as we neared the 

 Petaluma shore we had to beat, and with getting stuck on the 

 mud we were delayed until 9 P. M. before we dropped anchor below 

 the drawbridge. Our cruise was now drawing to an end, the 

 C. Y. C. programme called for a club cruise to the mouth of 

 Petaluma Creek on the 30th, and we put in the next day cleaning 

 up the boat and setting things shipshape; airing clothing and 

 blankets and giving everything a general overhauling. We then 

 shifted to a better berth, so as to see the yachts as they came up 

 the bay, but luck was not with the C. Y. C. on this trip, for we 

 waited until 10 P. M. but no boats appeared. Then we took the 

 small boat and rowed up to Sonoma Landing, about a mile off, and 

 burned red fire and fired the gun so as to signal any boats that 

 might be within sight or hearing, but it was a dead calm, so in a 

 short time we returned and turned in. 



I had just fallen asleep when I thought, that 1 heard the yacht 

 Freda's foghorn, I soon heard it again and called all hands, and 

 we fired the gun a.nd burned a redlight. Soon the Freda hove in 

 sight, having spent most of the night in trying to get up. Some 

 of the others that started had anchored again, there being not a 

 breath of wind on the loweT bay. In the morning the Lark and 

 Ceres came up, and after a general jollification on board we got 

 under way for home. The wind was very light and progress slow, 

 and after drifting moat of the day, at 6 P. M. the club house came 

 into view through Raccoon Straits; we ran up to our moorings 

 and were once more at "Home, sweet home." 



Our midsummer cruise had been a success, and now that it is 

 all over 1 cannot think of anything that could have added to our 

 pleasure or to the success of the trip; we accomplished all we at- 

 tempted. The trim little, craft returned iu better condition than 

 when she left, as many spare moments were put in at knotting 

 and splicing and other sailor's fancy work. Our stores had been 

 so well selected that only a few odd cans were left; our bill of fare 

 having been varied and abundant. Our course had been over 

 entirely new ground, and aavored of a trip of exploration, We 



