April i^, i5o3-l 
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place to be overnight when intending to make an early 
morning start. , t n i j 
As we went out we left the south (Pole I.) ledge to 
port. There is a break in the middle of this reef givmg 
a chance to cut through from the west to the east channel 
if occasion arises— the gap is narrow but carries fifteen 
feet of water. 
When down between Long Point and the Yarmouth 
I. ledges, and out from the steep shores of the bay, the 
wind veered a little, allowing us to make a long and short 
hitch out to Yellow Rock, where we passed a native fish- 
erman in a lobster boat with a loose-footed spritsail and 
exchanged greetings with him. The breeze was light but 
took us out by Blacksnake ledge and Ragged I. at 10:20, 
when we made our course W.S.W. >4 W., which we 
could just he with sheets slightly eased. The sea was 
smooth, but was breaking rather heavily on Round Rock 
and the Middle Ground. 
Passing Jaquish Island at 10.55, we held on out to sea, 
going between Mark I. ledge buoy and the spindle on 
Drunker's ledge. The lighthouse on Halfway Rock — two 
and a half miles outside of our course — was in plain 
sight. There was a strong current setting out of Browd 
Sound causing a steep little sea. The edges of this cur- 
rent were very plainly marked, as the volume of water 
running out did not seem to mingle with the rest of the 
sea — it was perhaps five hundred yards across the broken 
v/ater. It set us to windward very handily so that before 
reaching Inner Green Island we were able to start our 
sheets. ^ 
Ten minues before noon we passed between Jewell's 
and Inner Green islands. The sea was still very smooth, 
but the wind (S. to E.) had taken on strength. We had 
a beam reach, with sheets checked, across the mouth of 
Luckse's Sound. It was a delightful bit of sailing— the 
sun warm and the atmosphere very clear. My favorite 
seat when steering is to leeward, so that I can look ahead 
under the mainboom and keep an eye on the jib to be 
sure it is drawing well. This seat also, by bringing me 
nearer the water, adds to the charm. We had a small 
strip of sheet brass which we tucked in between the rud- 
der post cap and the tiller arms, and by this means held 
the tiller at any desired vertical angle. This took the 
weight of the tiller off of one's arm and yet allowed of 
shifting it readily to any comfortable height. (A bight 
of the mainsheet would answer in place of the brass 
strip.) We romped along over to Overset Island, cover- 
ing the three and a half miles in thirty-three minutes. 
We bucked the tide up Hussey's Sound to the Pump- 
kin Nob, which we rounded at 12.31 P. M., and then 
could just fetch the Government wharf on Little Dia- 
mond Island on our way between the Diamond and 
Peakes islands. The wind was very fresh from the 
S.S.W^ and came tearing through the islands in wicked 
puffs. We could just fetch along the weather side of the 
channel and had our hands full, for we could not luff to 
the puffs owing to the shoal water close to windward; 
on the other hand we did not wish to work off to leeward, 
as that would mean stemming the full strength of the 
head tide. So we "gave it to her," only letting the sheets 
run in the worst puffs, regular "williwaws," to quote 
Capt. Slocum of the world renewed Spray. 
When up with the Government wharf we made a few 
short hitches and then stood in to the Peakes I. anchor- 
age where we dropped our hook, in " four fathoms, _ at 
12.55 P. M. We were careful to pick out a berth outside 
and to weather of the fleet. We wanted to keep out of 
the ruck. It was a wise decision — during the afternoon 
we witnessed series of mishaps among the boats inshore 
of us. Several new comers fouled boats already anchored 
■ — one fifty-foot sloop in trying to cut across the bow of a 
small knockabout caught the outhaul block of her main 
reefing gear on the latter's jib stay and walked away with 
her bodily, ground tackle and all. Several other laugh- 
able mishaps occurred before nightfall, and I for one 
"allow" that many a man envied my secluded berth out- 
side the bunch. 
During the afternoon Albert went up to Portland, via 
the steamboat, to get our mail. I put in the time going 
over the deck with some cold tar which I paid into the 
seams wherever it was needed. 
Friday, August 4. — It blew very fresh during the night 
and in the morning we got sail on her about ten o'clock 
and tore up to the city, picking up the cutter Sirroco's 
mooring, in eight feet of water, opposite the Portland 
Yacht Club, at 10.20. The rest of the day was spent in 
a general overhauling and airing, washing the deck, the 
top of the cabin trunk, and the cock-pit, polishing the 
brass work and picking up the cabin. By turning the 
ventilator over the stoves to windward we forced a fine 
draught of air through the cabin. 
I want to add that we received every kind of hos- 
pitable aid at the Portland Yacht Club. They are always 
courteous to visiting yachtsmen and will receive and hold 
their mail. 
I had to leave the boat before the owner arrived, and 
as I trained up to Boston I could not help feeling that 
charity is the noblest work of man, especially if it takes 
the form of giving a chap a charity cruise. Vale ! Vale ! 
A double launching took place at Morris Heights on 
Saturday, April 11. The two boats that were launched 
were the high speed steam yachts Velthra and Levanter. 
The former was built for Mr. S. Parker Bremer, of Bos- 
ton. She is iioft. over, all, 104ft. waterline, 14ft. breadth 
and 4ft. draft. Velthra is of wood construction, and is 
double planked and is similar in design tO' Niagara IV., 
Mr. Howard Gould's new steam yacht. Her engines are 
of large horsepower, and it is expected that she will do 
better than twenty-three miles an hour. She is lighted 
throughout by electricity, and will carry a crew of six 
men. The owner's quarters are commodious and all the 
fittings are of mahogany. 
Levanter was built for Mr. Alfred Marshall, of New 
York City. She is also of wood construction and double 
planked. Levanter is 90ft. over all, 84ft. waterline, loft. 
6in. breadth and 3ft. Sin. draft. Levanter will be fitted 
and equipped in very much the same manner as Velthra, 
only on a slightly smaller scale. She will have a guar- 
anteed speed of twenty miles. 
All communications intended for Forest and Stream should 
always be addressed to the Forest and Stream Publishing Co., 
New York, and not to any individual connected with the paper. 
