"THE ROYAL CRUISING CLUB JOURNAL."* FOR those who take the
sea in small yachts and act as their own navigators the publication of the journal of the Royal Cruising Club is an annual event of deep interest. The members of the club await its appearance almost with the anxiety of those readers who used to buy Dickens in monthly parts. For the journal contains the logs kept by those who have carried out adventurous or novel cruises in the com- petition for the prizes of the club ; and the competitors can compare their logs, while everyone can pick up some "wrinkles" from achievements which have been won out of bard experience and sometimes even out of humiliation or disaster. To those who have not a mind for the sea the logs may appear dull reading. It would be absurd to recommend them to anyone who would not approach them with the necessary prepossession in favour of the sea. One is either drawn to the sea, so that one is not completely happy away from it, or one is not. If one is not, the log of a small yacht, earn- ing her way with caterpillar movements along the chart, may amount to a monotonous repetition of insignificant distances and a recitation of unmeaning barometrical and anemome- trical symbols. One may even agree with Dr. Johnson that being on board ship is like being in prison with the chance of being drowned added. But if one has the sea-sense and a small knowledge of navigation, the symbols leap to life ; they imply, with a vividness which rises to a power to thrill, the overcoming of elements in bitter opposition to human purpose ; they imply the preservation of a good heart under
• Ths Regal Cruising Club Journal. Si,,,eLLH 1910. London: Printed for the Royal Cruising Club by C. F. Roworth, 88 Fetter Lane, E.C.
conditions of anxiety, and of alertness under the relaxing pro- cess of a long strain ; and they imply the knowledge necessary to avoid the snares and ambuscades which make the sea-bed of our coastal waters a labyrinth of treachery.
We spoke of a " sea-sense," but perhaps we should have said, more comprehensively, a "water-sense." For in many people the sight of water responds, to some fundamental need of the mind. To the vision of these disciples of Thales every- thing that is agreeable somehow proceeds from water, and into water everything may somehow be resolved. When they are away from water they are vaguely restless, perhaps feel- ing that the road of freedom and escape is cut off. The sea, which to some eyes seems to lead nowhere, seems to them to lead everywhere. Iceland and the Azores open their ports equally to the owner of a boat, and the wind is ready to blow him there, house and all. The water-sense is the contradiction in many people of the hill-sense. They of the water-sense cannot tolerate that too large a slice of the sky, in which they love to read the weather-signs, should be eclipsed ; the wonderful lightning of the mountains is less significant to them than the marshalling of vapours and tell-tale clouds upon their spacious horizon. But this water-sense which lays a spell on you exacts severe tolls of labour. The yachtsman who employs no paid hands must sweat for his enjoyment; the simple acts of keeping a yacht in sea-going order, of getting the anchor and making sail and of stowing sail and tidying up the ship when he has returned to moorings, mean exacting and continuous work. If he goes for a short sail the labour might reasonably be said to be disproportionate to the pleasure ; and if he goes for a long sail the pleasure itself may easily turn into labour before the end. These disadvan- tages and uncertainties the yachtsman knows, and yet they are for him no deterrent. He may spend a miserable night giddily tossed about in an open and unsafe anchorage and call himself a fool for being there; but the next week he will expose himself to the same discomfort. Why P Because it is in his blood ; because he has this water-sense which compels him, bullies him, and enthrals him.
The Royal Cruising Club is composed of men who are under that spell. It was founded in 1880, at the suggestion of Mr.
Arthur Underhill, the well-known barrister, to whose guidance its success is due ; and nowadays its reputation stands so high for competence and good fellowship that it is not very easy to become a member. Its purposes are to bring into association amateurs who own yachts, boats, and canoes, so that they may circulate local information among themselves ; to offer prizes ; and to issue to members charts and sailing directions. In practice one does not hear much of inland navigation, though this is within the scope of the club. The majority of the members cruise in small sea-going vessels with little or no professional help. In 1902 the club was granted the honour of bearing the Blue Ensign, and in the same year King Edward, who was interested in the club, gave it permission to be styled the "Royal" Cruising Club.
A well-known member of the club, Dr. Claud Worth, has said that yachting may be either a pastime or a sport, as you choose. You may pick your weather and make short sea journeys from port to port, or you may disregard the barometer and go ahead, accepting everything, or nearly everything, that comes. No one could hope to win a Cruising Club prize who was not prepared to accept a good deal. An extract from the award of Mr. Justice Channell, who judged the logs sent in for the Cruising Club Challenge Cup last year, will indicate the kind of cruise one must undertake to win the cup a--
"I think the cruise which most deserves the Cup is certainly that of Mr. Deakin, who, in his 15-ton cutter Prudence,' circum- navigated England, Wales and Scotland. Starting from Sea View on June 9th to the westward, his crew consisted of himself and his friend, Mr. Burnett, and a paid hand whom he took as far as Holy- head, and then dispensed with his services. The rest of the cruise up the west coast to the Outer Hebrides, and thence to the Orkneys and Shetland, and down the east coast to Lowestoft—and, after an interval, back to Sea View was accomplished by the two amateurs without any professional help, but with a friend on board for about a fortnight of the time whose work was below deck. All the most difficult part of the cruise was in waters not previously known to either of them, and consequently I am clearly of opinion that the cruise well deserves the Cup. I have had a little doubt whether Mr. Deakin has sufficiently complied with the Cup rule as to stating daily distances run. This he does not in terms do, but he always states his position at the end of the day, and gives quite full details of courses, weather, and the readings of his log and
barortleter, so that the daily distances run in miles could, if desired, be supplied now from the materials he gives by reference to the proper charts. I have thought, therefore, that I could treat the rale as sufficiently complied with, and I award the Cup to Mr. Deakin."
The Cruising Club Cup is for cruises in any waters, but the Romola Challenge Cup is for cruises only in British waters or in waters near by. Mr. Sanderson, the judge for the Romola cup, in awarding the prize to the owners of the nine-ton yawl Gulnare,' says :— " The log of this vessel shows a keenness and thoroughness on the part of the skipper, Mr. Donald C. L. Cree, and his father, Mr. Charles E. Cree, which is very commendable. They began the fitting out early in the year—on March 24th. This was followed by a series of week-end sailings from Port Victoria, and then a summer cruise as far as Falmouth and back. This latter, though not a record of stirring adventures, is an account of a cruise well planned and successfully carried out. Professional assistance does not commend itself to the skipper, and I think credit should attach to the fact that the fitting out and the whole working of the ship throughout the season was accomplished by amateur labour. The lack of paid help did not, however, deter the owners from undertaking difficult tasks, and in this respect the long non- stop run from Port Victoria to the Solent, together with the awkward navigation of beating through the Four-Fathom Channel in the dark, are both worthy of special notice. Mr. Donald Cree's account of the fitting out of. his ship will be useful to others who work without paid hands, and it may be said that Gulnare's ' log well conforms to the request for ' instructive information for other cruisers.' " Mr. Norman Deakin was fortunate, on the whole, in his weather, but he had times of real strain. For example :— " On getting to west side of Fair Isle found very high, confused, and breaking sea which remained with us until abreast of Sum- burgh Head. So high was the sea that the masts of a drifter in the next trough could only just be seen when the 'Prudence' was in the hollow of the sea. Kept whole mainsail with tack triced nearly up to throat on her so as to avoid being becalmed in trough. Seas breaking. Boat behaving very well and moderately dry considering the state of sea. Motion very violent, in fact neither of us ate more than a few biscuits till evening. 6 a.m., called by Burnett from a short sleep as a heavy sea had unshipped the forward starboard lumber iron, carrying it, with the topsail and yard and other spars, over the lee side, leaving the whole of the weight on the after iron. Managed to get a bowline on to the after end of the spars, and after an hour's heavy work alone, as B. had to steer her the whole time, got the spars lashed back in their place and secured to the shrouds by a heavy piece of manila. (The other lashing of six parts of heavy nambroline, nearly new, had parted when the sea struck her.) Only lost a dinghy paddle and canvas bucket. Sea continued very bad until midday, when we were seven miles S.E. of Sumburgh Head, when it became slightly truer. Tacked in towards land, getting close by 1.15, and then worked, keeping the shore aboard, up to the fishing village of Hoswick, just S. of No Ness, where we brought up to windward of the fishing fleet in seven fathoms at 5 p.m. Very tired and hungry."
Mr. Donald Cree describes going through the "Four Fathom Channel" in the mouth of the Thames :— " The wind was N.E., and very strong at times. We had to turn out of the river, and outside found a nasty sea running up against the ebb. When we made the Cant we decided to go through the overland route and Gore Channel. We expected to be off Beculvers by dark, otherwise we should not have attempted this way, as the channel is very narrow, shallow and unlit. We made fair progress, but the head seas knocked our way off, so that at times we were doing very little in the way of speed, especially as the wind was inclined to draw ahead, making it a case of long and short boards instead of the close fetch we had looked for. However, when it was dark we were only off Warden Point, so I hung out the side lights; then our difficulties began, for we could not see the buoys and the tide was ebbing fast. I spent my time working the lead and head sheets when we went about, as we constantly had to do, and working off our approximate position by cross bearings on the Girdler and Princes and other Light Ships and Light Buoys. No easy matter as we were pitching heavily and taking a good deal of spray aboard, and an occasional green one over the bows. Then suddenly the soundings rose from a more or less uniform 2 fathoms to 6 or 7, and the sea calming down almost as suddenly we knew we had made the Gore Channel safely."
The club has to deplore the loss of one of the best amateur navigators of our generation, Mr. C. T. R. Scovell, who was drowned while bringing his steam yacht ' Charlotte' from Hamburg to Dover. He had brought her through terrible weather—a gale—and had just come off the bridge exhausted but satisfied. He leaned against the rail, a lashing gave way, and he fell overboard. He was a strong swimmer, but before the dinghy, which was instantly lowered, had reached him he had disappeared.
These few notes and extracts will suffice to show that the Royal Cruising Club keeps alive the tradition of our island seamanship, and is a club as worthy of esteem as any in
existence.
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