Yachting. " The Badminton Library." 2 vols. (Longraans.)— Yachting is a
pastime certainly not within the reach of the many, yet it is in the national blood, and vast sums of money, and months of time in the summer, are spent in its pursuit. Those who can afford it throw themselves into the amusement heart and soul. It is expensive for any vessels over 20 tons, that is, for any yacht which is supposed to possess accommodation, for plenty of service is required, and wear and tear in ordinary cruising mount up. Yacht-racing, of course, is nearly as expen- sive as horse-racing. A 100-ton yacht may cost the price of a dozen Derby winners, and in two years it may be left behind by a newer type, and then there is nothing for the owner— supposing him to have any self-respect at all—but to build another. The most remarkable thing about the yacht-racing of recent years, has been tho rapid and continuous alteration in type, each designer striving his utmost to get the greatest sail- area and speed out of the tonnage ; so that yachts, to stand on their legs under the great canvas they carry, have developed to an extent below water that reminds one of icebergs more than any- thing else. Formerly, yachts were ballasted with iron-ore, &c., like colliers or other humdrum ships ; now they have a monstrous thing called a bulb-keel, and their shape below the water-line is that of, say, a sunfish. Mr. G. L. Watson, in his excellent chapter on " The Evolution of the Modern Racing Yacht," sums up clearly the advances that have been made within seven years, and though he does not himself see what improvement can now
take place, he does not doubt that the future designer of yachts will model something very different from the yacht of to-day. He himself is one of the beet-known designers, Lord Dunraven's ' Valkyrie' having been built from his designs. Yachting in various parts of the Kingdom is treated, the various clubs and regattas being all done justice to by the several writers. Foreign and Colonial yachting is not neglected, and indeed our brethren at the Antipodes have summer seas and great natural harbours that form ideal waters for the true yachtsman. We cannot mention all the interesting chapters, every one of which is good reading even for the uninitiated, nor do more than men- tion the excellent diagrams and measurements which illustrate Mr. Pritchett's " Sliding Keels and Centre-boards " and Mr. Watson's chapter on " Evolution." All the technical details are here in full. Mr. Pritchett's illustrations and the reproductions from photographs are very well done, as the "Badminton" illus- trations usually are. Besides the writers we have mentioned, the following contribute E. Sullivan, Mr. Seth-Smith, Lord Brassey, Sir G. Leach, " Thalapa," Mr. E. F. Knight, the Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery, and the Rev. G. L. Blake, Lewis Herreshoff, N. Christopher Davies, and others. Not the least interesting parts of the second volume are the English and American accounts of the American Cup Race between the Valkyrie and the Vigilant' of 1893, respectively by Sir G. Leach and Lewis Herreshoff.
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