o shave too closely. I witnessed last summer the capsizing
of a boat resulting from this desire.

The mark was a buoy placed near a heavy stake, and the helmsman of the
boat wishing to make a close shave steered too near it, and in passing
fouled his sheet-rope on the stake before gybing; the result was the
boat became unmanageable, and its momentum carrying it around gybed the
sail over, causing an upset. As you near the mark have the man forward
stand by the peak-halyard, ready to let go if anything happens wrong. As
you are about to turn, have the board raised and come around with an
easy sweep; but not so rapidly that the sheet-tender cannot haul all the
sheet-rope in. The sheet should be brought in with a steady pull, and
allowed to run out evenly. If any amount of slack is given as the sail
goes over, the wind on catching on the other side, if it does not
capsize the boat or carry away something, will bring her head up into
the wind with such force that it will be some seconds before you can
overcome it with the rudder.

[Illustration: FINISHING BEFORE THE WIND.]

[Illustration: PEAK LOWERED TO AVOID "GOOSE-WING"]

The remaining leg of our course we will suppose to be nearly free. When
running this way the board should be kept up, and all the weight in the
boat aft, as a boat under the great pressure exerted by the wind when
running this way has a tendency to dig its nose under. It is not
necessary for your crew to lay down now, and you may allow them to stand
and stretch themselves, as whatever wind they will catch will help the
boat instead of retarding, as in the other cases. (See sketch of
finish.) The only thing to be looked out for when running free, or
nearly so, is a "goose-wing." This happens when the wind is so strong as
to cause the boom to jump up parallel to the mast, and the sail wrap
around it. If when running before the wind you find your boom is jumping
too much, lowering the peak a little will lessen the pressure on the
sail, and stop it.

It is impossible to prophesy the result of the race, but I can say that
it depends equally on your boat and your management, with the training
of the crew a close second.

[Illustration: RIGHTING A CAPSIZED BOAT.]

A few hints on how to right a capsized boat may not be out of place
here. If you should happen to be near some boat that has capsized you
will, doubtless, feel it your duty to assist the unfortunate. It is not
a difficult matter to right a bo