298 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
April 13, 1895. 
the way, where we found the Cy-Pres swinging peacefully at her 
anchor in the snug little cove. 
As we stretched ourselves out on the cushions we were filled 
with a sense of complete satisfaction in her cosy and home J ike 
cahin, and regretted that we had reached the end of our trip, and 
must turn our hows homeward on the morrow. 
At nine o'clock next morning the skipper was at the landing 
with the dinghy, and had stowed away in her, bread, eggs and 
water enough for two davs' supply. In a very few minutes our 
party arrived, and it taxed" the capacity of our little boat to the 
utmost, as there were five grown people besides the skipper, to be 
accommodated in an eleven-foot six-inch dinghy. She proved 
equal to the task, and we dropped down to the yacht easily and 
rapidly on the strong ebb tide. _____ _____ __________ t_. _. _u 
When we come on deck in the morning we were surprised to 
find that a thick fog had settled down over us, and we could not 
see anything of our surroundings. 
About seven o'clock a light air sprang up from the north-west, 
and boon cleared away the mist, by eight o'clock the breeze grew 
stronger and was more northerly, and as the barometer was steady 
at 29.90 deg„ we decided to weigh anchor and take our departure 
forRockport. 
The thick smoky appearance of the atmosphere continued, and 
we soon ran out of sight of land; which we did not see again till 
we were w r ithin a mile or two of Halibut. Point on Cape Ann. 
We steered south, one-half west from Whaleback Light, and 
were gratified to find that this course was exactly right, bringing 
us just a little to the eastward of Halibut Point. 
AILSA— WINNING AT CANNES, MARCH 7. 
From a Photo by West & Sons. 
We had already set the mainsail, and put the jibs up in stops, so 
it took but a moment to get the anchor up, break out the jib, and 
get off. ("I 
As we passeu out of the mouth of the river we found a good 
breeze blowing from the south, and decided to take the party 
around the light-house on Boon Island, seven mih>s due east of 
us, as we would have a reaching wind both out and back. 
The thick haze or smoke, that had hung over the water so per- 
sistently for several days, shut out the land when we were only 
two or three miles out, and the girls enjoyed the novelty of sail- 
ing in a brisk breeze out of sight of land. It was not long, how- 
ever, till the tall mysterious shaft of the light-house appeared as a 
specter in the distance, growing more substantial in form and 
substance as we approached it. We passed to the north of the isl- 
and, which is low and rocky, without a spear of grass or green 
thing on it. It made us shudder to think how dreary the place 
must be in the cold winter storms, that sweep with such terrific 
force along this coast. 
Quite a fleet of schooners were jogging off and on round the isl- 
and, and it was hard to believe that they were engaged in their 
dailv toil of catching fish for the market. We could scarcely 
realize that they were not sailing for fun, just as we were; they 
were so picturesquely grouped around the great gray tower of the 
light-house. 
The breeze freshened perceptibly all the way out. and on the re- 
turn stretch we had our lee scuppers under, and some sea began to 
get up. The yacht was quite lively on the reach back to York; in 
fact, a little too much so for one of our friends, who paid the pen- 
alty demanded by old Neptune, of landsmen or women, who vent- 
ure out of sight of land in a stiff breeze and jumping sea. 
We bowled along at a great pace, and reached our old berth in 
the mouth of York River by noon. 
I landed our party of friends, and returned to the yacht with as 
little delay as possihle, as the wind was freshening and we wished 
to take advantage of it and make Portsmouth that afternoon. 
The breeze was stiff, and almost dead ahead, so that we had a 
lively thrash to windward, taking long legs in shore and short 
ones off shore. 
There were two fishing schooners heating up from Boon. Is! and, 
just ahead of us, one about thirty feet long, tacked across our 
bows about a quarter of a mile ahead of us, she was going in shore 
and we were standing off. On the next tack we crossed her bows 
nearly as far to windward of her as she had been of us. 
We tacked in the wake of the other schooner, and stood aftar 
her on the in-shore leg. We were surprised to find that we could 
hold nearly a point higher than the schoo"er, and succeed in 
screwing the little Cy-Pres out on her weather, so that we held on 
a straight course for the whistler off Portsmouth Harbor, while 
she was obliged to take another tack off shore, and went astern of 
us in doing so. 
We would not have thought so much of this performance had 
the water been smooth and the breeze light, for in such conditions 
the Cy-Pres iR at her best; but to br>at two such schoonprs in a 
thrash to windward, with all the wind and sea we could stagger 
through, was indeed a great surprise and pleasure. 
As we turned up the harbor we ran^ through" a fleet of yachts 
coming out, all headed for the bell buoy. They made a very beau- 
tiful and lively picture, as they came rushing down upon us. 
heeled away over under the fresh breeze. 
Remembering the annoyance caused by the ferry steamers on 
our previous visit here, we anchored farther from the steamboat 
pier, off Kittery. and escaped the nuisance. 
After tea, the wind rose and blew hard from the west, coming 
down on us in sudden, heavy squalls, the whole hay was lashed 
into a smother of foam, and the sharp, white crested waves flew 
hissing past us. 
We paid out a long scope of chain, hung out our anchor light, 
and slept the sound sleep that only tired sailors, in a snug harbor, 
know how to indulge in. 
Right ahead of us lay a lovely little "knock about," one of the 
prettiest of that modern class of boats that we had seen. 
The owner went ashore early in the afternoon, and left her 
there, right in the way of boats coming to anchor, and never hung 
out a lieht of any kind till after we were sound asleep. 
We could not see how a man that loved his botifc could belso 
careless of her safety. 
The wind hauled round gradually, more to the northward and. 
then to the eastward, so that Iduring the last few miles we were 
running nearly close hauled, with the breeze quite fresh. 
A small steamer, about forty feet long, overtook us when we 
were about half- way across, She was a very handsome little ves- 
sel, and all hands seemed to be having a delightful tirn«. 
We dropped our anchor in the quiet little harbor of Rockport at 
o ne o'clock, having made the run across from Portsmouth in just 
five hours. Soon after reaching here the wind died completely 
out, and many of the fishermen were obliged to tow their vessels 
in, and some did not get in till late in the evening. 
In rounding up to our anchorage, I allowed the anchor to drag 
along the bottom to snub her. so she should not shoot too far and 
foul some of the fishermen; and, fearing that the anchor would 
get so full of weeds and kelp that it would not hold, I raised it to 
clear it. In the meantime the yacht drifted astern very close to 
the end of the piers, where a big three-masteed schooner was un- 
loading coal, so we lay to a shorter chain than usual, or that wo 
regarded, on the whole, as safe. 
About midnight it began to blow hard from the north, and we 
were disturbed by the unusual motion. On going on deck we 
found quite a sea rolling into the little harbor, and the yacht more 
The wind was still blowing hard when we awakened the next 
morning, and the sea outside was very heavy. It did not come 
directly into the harbor, but rolled diagonally across its mouth, 
causing a peculiar side motion in the yacht, which was very un- 
comfortable. . 
Several of the staunch fishing schooners went out for their nay's 
work, and the tossing they got as they passed out of the harbor 
was something to wonder at, . 
A big stone sloop, that was lying at one end of the piers, hoisted 
her top sail, a signal for a tug to come over from Pigeon Cove, and 
take her into the Granite Company's dock. 
We have seen this signal made a number of times, and always 
with the same results, so feel quite confident that we are correct 
i n assuming that this is what it is done for. 
R In a few minutes the tug hove in sight, and took the sloop in 
tow. When they got into the sea the pitching was fine. 
The tug was a very large and powerful one, yet when she went 
clown in the trough of the sea she disappeared completely, all ex- 
cept her smoke-staok, and it looked as though the sloop would 
jump the mast right out of her. • 
We concluded that we would not venture out till the weather 
moderated, although the breeze was only a wholesail one, for the 
large powerful fishing schooners that ply their calling up and 
down the coast. 
The barometer rose three-tenths during the night, and the sky 
was perfectly clear during the entire blow. The wind began to 
moderate rapidly about noon,_and by four o'clock there was a dead 
calm. 
Several fishermen lay outside of the harbor all the afternoon 
with not enough wind to move them, while the heavy sea rolled 
them around, slatting their sails in a way that must have tried 
the patience of their crews to the utmost. 
* We spent part of the day on shore, and part of it reading. 
gTCleaned the yacht from rail to water-line, scrubbing her all 
over, outside.'and in. with'soap and a stiff scrubbing-brush, bright- 
ening the whitelpaint considerably. 
The usual auiet of the afternoon was disturbed by a quarrel be- 
tween the captain of a coal schooner and the pilot who brought 
her in. 
The pilot worked himself up into a towering rage, stamped 
about the deck of the schooner, swinging his arms and yelling out 
such a volume of abuse at the captain and his whole line of rela- 
tions, as it had never been our misfortune to hear before. 
After exhausting his physical strength, as well as his vocabu- 
lary, he subsided, and the little harbor resumed its quiet, peace- 
ful' tone. 
In all our experience along the coast, this was the first quarrel 
we had ever seen. 
The fishermen, as a rule, are good natured and very accommo- 
dating, coming and going silently at all hours of the day or night. 
When we poked our heads out of the cabin at five o'clock next 
morning, we were very much disappointed to find the whole uni- 
verse blotted out by a dense fog. 
The only sound that reached us was the dismal hooting of the 
fog-horn on Thatcher's Island, or occasionally the voice of some 
one moving about on the docks. The little air that was stirring 
came in from the east, and was cold and penetrating. 
After breakfast we kept the stove lighted to warm and cheer 
the. cabin, and busied ourselves writing and reading till eleven 
o'clock, when a slight shift of wind to the southward lifted the fog 
a little. 
We were on deck at the first indication of a change, and as the 
fog continued to roll away from the land, we got up our sails and 
ran out of the harbor. 
The water was perfectly still, and the Cy-Pres sneaked along at 
a lively pace, soon passing Straightsmouth Light, and badly beat- 
ing a fishing schooner in working to windward. 
We kept close in shore, making short tacks, to keep out of the 
fog-belt, and also to avoid the swift current that makes past 
Thatcher's Island when the ebb tide is rushing out of Massachu- 
setts Bay. 
We passed between Milk Island and the main land, and found 
plenty of water on the bar, the tide being only half-ebb: 
The deenest place is about a cable length from the main land, 
where the chart "gives seven feet at low tide, but we found two 
fathoms as we went over. 
We kept the lead going constantly, and were just beginning to 
think that the_bar had been washed away when the water shoaled 
rapidly. We were quite close to the shore, and could see the 
bathers from Turks Head Inn, and; hear their voices as they 
sported in the water, or ran up and down the yellow beach. 
After crossing the bar, we steered for Salt Island to explore the 
cove that lies to the westward of it. We kept the chart spread out 
on the seat of the cockpit, and referred to it constantly, as this 
was strange water for us. hi 
As we neared the island, we saw a large trap-net in the water, 
the tall posts making quite a prominent object. We thought for 
a long time that it was run out. from Salt Island, but as we ap- 
proached it we spied the line of corks running from the main land 
out_to it: so changed our course and ran outside of everything, but 
kept close to the trap, as we wiHhed to ask the men who were • 
working at it if there was plenty of water near Salt Island. Find- 
ing that there was, we ran in to the northward of the island, and . 
dropped our anchor in a lovely little cove. i 
As soon as our anchor was down we got into the dinghy, and ' 
rowed along the shore of the island to where there were some men i 
mending their^lobster pots. 
We found that the water grew rapidly!shoal as we passed along ! 
the west side, and learned from the lobstermen that there was a 1 
bar running out from the main land, that at low tide was entirely 
hare, and already a lot of merry youngsters from the hotel at Bass I 
Rocks, with their breeches tucked up high on their thighs, were 
wading out toward the island, shouting and splashing along - 
through the rippling water. 
We satisfied ourselves that it would not. be safe to try to go • 
round the island, unless at the top of the flood tide, and then 
pulled back to our yacht for dinner. 
The water was so clear that we could not believe that it was ' 
deep enough to float us, until we dropped the lead over the side 
and found eight feet. 
MANCHESTER. 
uneasy than we had ever seen her before in this usually very quiet 
harbor. 
As we could not pay out any more chain, owing to our proximity 
to the big schooner that lay at the dock, we got out our big spare 
anchor and carried it well to windward, and rode bv it the rest 
of the night. We turned in again after seeing that everything 
was snug, but we had become so thoroughly awakened by our 
work, that it took a long time to get to sleep again. 
The wind howled through the rigging, and the halyards slatted 
a monotonous tattoo on the mast, varied now and then by a louder 
crack «• fifct Hh unrejiase bjock was forced against it by a stronger 
Salt Island lies right in front of a little valley, whose sides rise 
high and rocky on either hand. In the distance are. the spires of 
Gloucester, and some of the houses that are on higlCground stand 
out sharply against the blue sky. 
The view in that direction is peaceful and lovely, and we wen 
very glad that we had added to our list one more snug little an- 
chorage on this coast. 
We weighed anchor about half-past one, but the breeze died out 
almost immediately, and before we realized it we found that the 
tide was setting us rapidly toward the nets. v, 
I jumped into the dinghy and rowed hard as I could, but could 
not prey eat the. yacht from fouling them, _ By hard rowiag, and 
