MID-WINTER AND THE YACHTSMEN
IN the year 1954 more passengers crossed the oceans by air than by sea. This landmark in the history of travel has chanced to coincide with the opening of the first National Boat Show at Olympia, London; which shows that while we may be abandoning the sea in our office hours, we are seeking it increasingly in our leisure.
London in mid-winter is a far cry from the rivers and harbours where yachts are to be found in profusion in the summer. The bar in the Empire Hall is unlike the elegant balcony of the Royal Yacht Squadron at Cowes. It may not even be compared to those bottle-popping moments which occur some- times in the Solent when the great fleet lies becalmed and the crews are tempted to aban- don. the severe discipline of sailing for the laxer pleasures proper to the river at Maiden- head.
The National Boat Show is, nevertheless, a form of rehearsal for these various pleasures. There is on display a wide range of craft, and if you are numbered among those who might one day buy a boat, you should go there quickly. You will find gathered in convenient compass a range of equipment to be found in normal times only in yacht yards that are widely scattered. It is ,said that in the last centiry a wealthy man once asked an even wealthier friend how much it would cost to oven a yacht. 'More than you can afford,' was the reply. 'Since you arc the kind of chap that has to ask how much a thing costs, it follbws that you will not be able to afford a yacht.'
There arc still boats on display costly enough to rate by this nineteenth-century standard. The exhibitors at Olympia are not scorning the rich man, but he alone is not enough for them. There arc boats also for the comparatively poor, for the sociable and the solitary, for the racing man and for the wan- derer. There are boats for the hale and hearty who are prepared to cross oceans, and for the family with dogs. There is even a representa- tive from a body of distinguished men who fear lest Britain's prestige may be languishing on the waters.
Foreigners, I was told in a voice lowered lest the neighbouring exhibitors should take offence, have recently showed superiority over our designers in a number of international contests. To put matters right some exact measurements are being made of the forces which wind exerts on sails, and waves on hulls. It is hoped in this way to give to boat- designing a more scientific basis.
However, the designers who have boats on show have not yet had the benefit of these inquiries, and they have not forgotten that in many cases the little woman, too, will have to be converted if the family is to enter into boat ownership. Cretonnes may be seen coiled behind the portholes, ready to protect the domestic interior from the impertinent gaze of fishes. indeed, a number of exhibitors have come with the little woman as their first target and are showing a. range of apparatus of a utility that should justify its employment in the kitchen at home as well as in the galley afloat.
Variety is the spice in this exhibition, and if it includes a few follies, these will soon vanish when the salt air gets at them and the over- crowded hulls are scattered on the tides. For the expert there are some novelties that should take a permanent place in a sailboat's gear, including a device that bids fair to solve the problem of knowing the speed at which we sail. But few of us are experts at heart. Per- sonality is what we British like' in our boats, and we are getting it—in spite of the experts.
JEREMIAH ASHE
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