The Week-End Book was too• good an idea to be
left alone. We have had week-end books for horsemen, for motorists, for golfers, for anglers, and now—why not before ?—for yachtsmen (Seeley, Service, 8s. 6d.). There are notes on rig and lines, descriptive for the " ships that pass," advisory for the owner ; there are succinct words of wisdom on every aspect of cruising and racing - there is weather lore ; there is a potted guide to the art and mystery of navigation - there is a delectable chapter (with diagrams) on bends, hitches, and ornamental knots ; repairs to crew and ship are not neglected, nor is upkeep for either ; Stores, Provisions and the Sea Cook sharing some sixty pages of the rota''. There is an anthology, though the editors deny it the name, pleasantly arranged on the Beaufort Scale from 0, or flat calm, to 12, or Hurricane. Signals are there, if you need them, and the rules of yacht-racing, and the etiquette of dressing ship, and the law as it affects the yachtsman ; there is even (kindly thought) a five-language glossary of " some seafaring terms." In fact, the fare is rich and various. Complaint seems ungrateful ; but, even apart from the inevitable differences of opinion over the anthology, there is a large category of readers who have reason to complain. Why is the small-boat sailor neglected ? There is hardly a word to suggest that such things as sailing dinghies exist. Dinghy sailors perhaps hardly qualify as yachtsmen, but they are of the same fraternity ; and no one is likely to compile a Week-End Book for them alone. Much might be said on the possibilities of camping with a dinghy ; on dinghy spares and stores ; on the types of dinghy from the comic six-foot pram to the pocket America's Cup winner. When Seeley, Service and Co. bring- out a new edition, let us poor forgotten centre-boarders hope to find a chapter or two squeezed in to meet our special needs.
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