234 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[March 19, 1898. 
its neck, so that we could pick our way across the 
broken floor. On to the main stairway and up we 
iiled to the sleeping apartments, where deathly silence 
reigned — no sound save the creaking of the boards be- 
neath our feet, and the mournful moaning of the wind 
and the booming of the surf on the beach. Selecting 
a room which was in fairly good condition and contained 
a window facing the ocean, we threw our hay on the 
floor and proceeded to arrange our beds. When this 
was done we sat for a long time talking and smoking. 
N-o one seemed very sleepy. The most horrible hair- 
raising ghost stories we could remember or invent were 
told, but finally one ofter another succumbed to the 
requirements of nature, and the candles burnt low, went 
out, and we slept until a stream of sunlight, finding its 
way through the dusty window panes next morning, 
awoke us to the fact that we had for one night been 
the guests of a hotel without a host. 
The other building was about 200yds. or so to the 
northeast and usually went by the name of the Boat 
House. It was some 30ft. square, with a veranda all 
around it, and was all one room inside, clear up to the 
roof. We often used this place to shelter us from a 
sudden shower, and occasionally, when having a party 
of young people down, it was utilized as a ball room. 
Sometimes for the want of more interesting diversion, 
the snipe being scarce, the building was used as a 
target; bullseyes were chalked on its sides and filled 
with shot. It was frequently remarked that if ever the 
wind blew the house into the Inlet it would sink at 
once with the weight of lead its board walls contained. 
I know several people who have tender memories re- 
garding this old shanty, where many idle hours were 
whiled away, lounging about on its broad piazza, where 
one could recline in the warm sunshine or in the cool 
shade, simply moving about from one side of the house 
to the other. If my memory is not at fault it finally 
went to make some one a barn, and to-day the only 
"They Came Wending Their Way Down the Channel." 
house east of the Oriental Hotel except a few small 
outbuildings near by is the Life Saving Station. 
Just across the bay lies Plum Island. At the time of 
which I speak there were two shanties on it. One of 
them was a small affair with a peaked roof and covered 
all over with black tarred paper, and presented a dis- 
mal appearance, which was rendered possibly more 
so by the inscription on a board nailed to the door, which 
read: "Mrs. Bugaboo." The other place was a relic 
of former times, and the same one I had reason to men- 
tion in an article which appeared in the Forest and 
Stream, some years ago under the title of "A First Ex- 
perience, at Boat Sailing." It was known to. us as the 
Clam Chowder Hotel on account of the fact that we 
often landed here for the purpose of preparing that 
savory concoction. And these two buildings were the 
only signs of civilization about. To get "out of the 
world" all one had to do was to visit Plum Island. 
How different it appears to-day— but I may describe 
the changes that have taken place later on. 
Many a peaceful night was spent on board our little 
yacht anchored close to the beach of this island. Often 
about 8 or 9 o'clock, casting off our moorings, we would 
quietly slip down on the high water slack, no wind nor 
moon, and as we drift slowly along, the main sheet trail- 
ing in the water and collecting stray grass and drift, 
we have lolled carelessly about the cockpit, and felt 
that if there was any peace on earth we had found it. 
A faint light appears ahead, and presently a belated 
"party boat" looms like a black shadow out of the dark- 
ness. All is still on board of her, and only the tramp, 
tramp of her crew, as they walk from one end to the 
other, laboriously pushing her along with a long pole, 
can be heard. A quaak flies overhead, sending forth his 
harsh notes. He cannot be seen, but we know his voice. 
Suddenly another sound comes to our ears. It is 
a human one, and we recognize the voice of "the Span- 
iard." He is warbling some love song in his owri tongue, 
and it is inexpressibly weird — a monotonous sing-song 
tune, gradually rising higher and higher until it reaches 
the limits of his lungs, and sounds like the last despair- 
ing shriek of some one in awful torture, then dying 
away until he can scarcely be heard. He sounds as 
though holding a quiet little conversation with himself. 
We smile, for we know that "the Spaniard" is stretched 
out in his little boat, which he calls the Bluefish, and is 
waiting for a breeze to fan him homeward. 
We arrive off the beach of Plum Island. The anchor 
splashes, and the boat swings around obedient to the 
current. The sails rattle down and are furled. The 
bunks are then prepared for our reception, but not be- 
cause we are in any hurry to retire. We want to have 
the job off our minds, so that we can lounge about 
deck or stretch out at length on the cabin top to puff 
and chat or listen to the sounds of night. The moon 
rises, and soaring upward sends a rippling streak of 
silver flashing across the water toward us. The sur- 
roundings become visible, the two shanties _ on Plum 
Island stand forth, and the Inlef sparkles, as its waters 
flow around Point Breeze, where the Boat House and 
the old hotel sit in gloomy grandeur. 
For hours we drink in the glories of this beautiful 
night, until some one nods or yawns,- and we remember 
that our beds are still empty. The next morning break- 
fast is eaten on the ground in front of the Clam Chowder 
Hotel in the open air. When again on board we can just 
discern that some of the boats at the village are getting 
under way, as one after another their white sails are 
spread to the fresh morning breeze. Soon they come, 
wending their way down the channel, until a long pro- 
cession is formed, and one is reminded of a flock of sea 
gulls starting on their daily flight. Before the leader 
of the fleet is up to us we are off and speeding away, 
and Monaitipee is the first boat to pass out of the Inlet. 
A. M. Lockhart. 
[to be continued.] 
The Y, R, A. Meastttement Rule* 
The various changes of recent years in the rules of 
the Yacht Racing Association of Great Britain have been 
fully recorded in the Forest and Streari, and our read- 
ers are aware that, after rejecting the old tonnage rule 
in a modified form in 1886 and adopting the "Rating 
Rule," properly so called, of 
L. X S. A. 
e,ooo 
this latter rule was - in turn abandoned at the end of 
1895. In its early years it produced most excellent craft, 
as instanced by Yarana, Varuna, Mohawk, Deerhound, 
the series of three Dragons, Decima, and many other 
craft stiU' doing good work as fast cruisers and service- 
able yachts. Up to 1892 there was little to be said against 
the type of yacht produced by designers -under the rule, 
but from that time onward the influence of the bulb fin 
■ Fig. 3. 
was plainly visible in the increased speed and marked 
deterioration in all other qualities. A movement for the 
alteration of the rule was made in 1892, but after an 
exhaustive examination of the subject by the Council of 
the Y. R. A., aided by all the designers, it was aban- 
doned. Three years later it was taken up again, with the 
result that after another very thorough course of inves- 
tigation the present rule was adopted. 
This rule is based on a purely arbitrary unit termed 
"Lineal Rating," expressed nominally in feet, the for- 
mula being: 
L. -f B. -I- ."ib G. + .5 VsTa . 
2 
The details of measurement are as follows: 
The rating of every yacht entered to sail in a race 
shall be ascertained by adding togetlier length (L.), 
beam (B.), 0.75 of girth (G.), and 0.5 of the square root 
of the sail area (S. A.), and dividing the sum by 2 ac- 
cording to the following formula: 
L. -I- B. -I- .75 G. + .6 VsTa. ^ . 
! ! ^ — = Rating, 
In all ratings figures in the second place of decimals 
below 0.05 shall be disregarded, and those of 0.05 and 
upward shall count as o.i. 
The length shall be taken between the outer edges 
Fig. 4- 
of the official marks of the Y. R. A., as placed by the 
owner at the bow and stern of the yacht, this length 
to represent the extreme length for immersion, 'provided 
always that if any part of the stem or sternpost or other 
part of the vessel below the marks for length project 
beyond the length taken as mentioned, such projection 
or projections shall, for the purpose of the rule, be 
added to the length as stated; and pieces of any form 
cut out of the stem, sternpost or fairline of the ridge of 
the counter, with the intention of shortening the length, 
shall not be allowed for in measurement of length, if at 
or immediately below the marks for the length, nor 
above if within 6in. of the water level. 
The breadth shall be taken from outside to outside of 
the planking, in the broadest part of the yacht, and no 
allowance shall be made for wales, doubling planks of 
mouldings of any kind. 
The girth shall be taken from l.w.l. to l.w.l. under the 
keel at a station 0.6 of the distance between the outer 
edges of the length marks from the fore end. The' girth 
shall be measured along the actual outline of the vertical 
cross section at that station at fight angles to the l.w.l., 
see Figs, i and 2, a a', and Figs. 3 and 4. If the draft 
forward of that station, e e, Fig. 2 (not including the girth 
of a bulb, if any), exceeds the draft at that station, a a', 
twice such excess to be added to G. In taking these 
measurements all hollows in the fore and aft under- 
water profile of the vessel to be treated as filled up 
straight. Should a piece be added, as at b, then a line 
Fig. S- 
must be drawn from b to c, and the girth be measured 
to d. (Fig. I.) 
In the case of a ccnterboard, 1.5 times the extreme 
drop of the board beloyv the keel to be added to the 
girth as taken at a a'; and if the board ^ dropped below 
the keel at e e, the excess shall, nevertheless, be added 
to girth in accordance with the rule. Bulb or baflasted 
centerboards to be measured as fixed keels. 
[This has since been changed so that twice the drop 
of board is measured.] 
Length. — The length (L.) for use in the formula shall 
be obtained by measuring the length over all on deck, 
and deducting from this length the distances in to the 
bow and stern marks as fixed by the owner, from per- 
pendiculars let fall from the bow and taffrail, as shown 
in the diagrams. These perpendiculars if measured when 
Fig. 6. 
the yacht is afloat are to be obtained by a hand lead 
sunk two or three fathoms deep, so as to insure a steady 
line to measure from. The distances in from the line 
are to be taken by a rod placed parallel to the water 
surface, as shown in the diagrams. 
After the over-all length has been taken the measurer 
must see that the crew are placed at and about the mid 
over-all length. (See Rule 14.) He must then ascertain 
that the yacht is not immersed. at the l.^v.l. beyond the 
length represented by the owner's marks at the bow and 
stern. 
If a yacht is measured in a tideway, the measurer 
must view and verify the marks in smooth and during 
slack water; and the overhangs must be measured in 
smooth and during slack water. 
If the measurement for length is obtained when the 
yacht is ashore, the position of the bow and stern marks 
must be afterward verified or checked when the yacht 
is afloat in racing trim in smooth water, and before the 
certificate of the measurement is sent to the secretary. 
The over-all measurement must be taken parallel to 
the l.w.l. above the deck, starting from any convenient 
point forward on the rail, knee, etc., ahead of the fore 
end of the l.w.l. 
When the length over all is taken with rods, a line 
should be stretched taut from the point forward to the 
taffrail to facilitate the accurate shifting of the rods. 
Beam. — The beam may be measured when the yacht 
is afloat or ashore. The beam shall be taken by means 
of a straight edge and plumb line. 
