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The Royal Norfolk and Suffolk

one of the most popular East Coast clubs, was established in 1859.

The club provides racing both on the Norfolk Broads and the open sea, and has a delightfully situated club-house in Lowestoft Harbour. It has 413 members, and 125 yachts with a tonnage of 3,950.

The Royal Dart Yacht Club, of which the Duke of Somerset is commodore, was founded at Kingswear in 1866. The club, which has an annual regatta for the open classes towards the end of the season, numbers about 100 members and 50 yachts. The Admiralty warrant was granted in 1894.

Corinthian yacht clubs are numerous about our coasts. Their principal function is the encouragement of amateur seamanship, and they have taken a very active part in promoting sport.

In the early days of Corinthian clubs it was the rule that the whole crew should consist of amateurs. This rule has been greatly relaxed, mainly owing to the increasing size of ships, which has made the employment of a certain number of paid hands advisable, if not essential. The number of hands to be so employed is, however, still regulated by the rules of each particular club, and no paid hand under any circumstances is allowed to touch the helm. Corinthian clubs are much to be commended. Every owner of a small or moderate-sized yacht should aspire to steer and sail her himself, for in that lies the great delight of yacht racing. Where it is a rule of the club that amateurs are to steer, crews cannot grumble, which they may be inclined to do if the owner steers against professionals, for in yacht racing, as in all other arts, amateurs that come quite up to professionals are few in number; yet owners should always steer in all races, and if a man with a natural aptitude begins young, and works his way up from the small classes to, say, a 15-metre cutter, few, if any, professionals will be able to give him points.

The Royal Corinthian, the oldest of the Corinthian clubs, was established at Erith, on the Thames, in 1872, receiving the Admiralty warrant in 1884, and the Royal warrant in 1892.

Owing to the increase of steam traffic in the Thames, the club, towards the end of the last century, moved its headquarters to Port Victoria, at the entrance of the Medway, where it now has a commodious club-house and excellent racing courses. There is also a flourishing branch at Burnham-on-Crouch, which supports its racing classes. In 1898 the club, with "Maid of Kent," won an international contest against the Australian boat "Irex," the winner being steered by a lady member, Mrs. W. L. Wyllie. In 1909 the Royal Corinthian promoted a successful international regatta at Port Victoria for yachts of 6 metres rating, the cup, after three days' racing, being won by the English boat "Gipta." In 1909 the club had 624 members, and 307 yachts with an aggregate tonnage of 7,233. own One of the oldest and most successful of Corinthian clubs is the Mudhook, which has its headquarters at Hunter's Quay on the Clyde. Its membership is limited to 40, "and ane forbye," and 32 yachts constitute its fleet.

The Portsmouth Corinthian was started in 1880, and at its fourth meeting made the rule "that no person shall be considered an amateur who has been at any time engaged in the navigation or sailing of a yacht for pay." But this definition has subsequently been altered to the following :- " An amateur is a gentleman who has received pay for sailing in a fore and aft vessel, officers of the Royal Navy and Mercantile Marine excepted," and this definition is now universally accepted. never In 1880 the race, held by the Portsmouth Corinthian for service boats of her Majesty's ships stationed at Portsmouth, was remarkable from the fact that the "Wren" was steered to victory by Miss Foley, the daughter of the admiral commanding.

Her good example has been largely followed, and many ladies owning yachts in the small classes now steer their own boats.

The Clyde Corinthian Club, at Hunter's Quay, was started in 1876. Like the Portsmouth Corinthian, it admits ladies to its membership, and the club rolls now show over thirty ladies, many of whom own their own vessels.

The Eastern Yacht Club of England, which, under the title of the London Sailing Club, was established at Hammersmith in 1872, now has its headquarters at Burnham-on-Crouch. The club has always been a staunch supporter of the Yacht Racing Association, and makes a feature of "class racing" in small yachts. For ten years prior to 1898 it had the strongest class of 18-footers in the country, and now has a fine fleet of 6-metre yachts under the International Rules. The club numbers 164 members, and 92 yachts with an aggregate tonnage of 1,564.

The Castle, with its diminutive club-house on Calshot Spitt, has the advantage of possessing the best site in the United Kingdom. It holds frequent races during the season for the small classes, and is affiliated to the Solent Classes Racing Association, which safeguards the interests of small yacht racing in the Solent district. Distinct in character from all the clubs hitherto mentioned is the Royal Cruising Club, which is, as its name implies, devoted principally to the encouragement of cruising in foreign parts and in home waters. It aims at the dissemination of local knowledge, and to its list of membership a valuable index is appended, specifying the waters. whether lake or river, sea or ocean, known to individual members. Mr. Arthur Underhill, K.C., is commodore, and the Club numbers 260 members, owning 167 yachts and 62 boats.

The club, which received the Royal and Admiralty warrants in 1902, issues to the members excellent charts, and supplies them monthly with the official "notices to Mariners" in order that they may keep the former corrected to date.

Racing, of course, does not come within the scope of such a club, but several cups are annually offered for competition for meritorious cruising work, and the “logs" of the winners are printed in the year book of the club. Amongst other useful features may be mentioned a comprehensive library of nautical works and a club room in London where charts of every district may be studied.

It is, of course, imposible to allude to all the yacht and boat sailing clubs established about our coasts, or even to mention the names of the most flourishing among them. A few have been selected, not on account of their importance, but as being typical and exemplifying the various stages of development and various uses to which yacht clubs are put. On the shores of the Solent alone twenty or more yacht and boat sailing clubs week-day from early in May till the close of are located, and races are held on nearly every September. The yacht clubs and sailing clubs of the United Kingdom number altogether 150, to 48 of which the prefix "Royal" has been accorded. The number of yacht and sailing clubs recognised by the Yacht Racing Association was, in October, 1909, 100, and 48 clubs have been granted the Admiralty warrant which entitles them to fly the blue ensign. as Owing to causes already mentioned, yachting has long ceased to be of practical value auxiliary to the Navy, and has become more and more a pastime or sport; but even in modern times it is rather difficult to confine it within the limits of sport pure and simple, for many voyages have been, and probably will be, undertaken in the travel. Eliminating these functions of yachting, of science, adventure, exploration, and and looking at the matter as a pastime or sport, it divides itself naturally into two great branches, racing and cruising. I will take them in the order not necessarily of merit, but of convenience, and will treat of racing first. cause The first yacht race of which any mention can be found was sailed on the Thames on October Ist, 1661, between Charles II. and his brother the Duke of York. The match was for 100 guineas, and the course was from Greenwich to Gravesend and back. The King won.

The next recorded instance consists of a race which took place in the Bristol Channel under the auspices of the Bristol Sailing Society-a society concerning the origin, history, and fate of which I can find no information. The race is thus described in the Sporting Magazine of July 21st, 1796:- 6 "This morning the following boats took their station in King Road, to contend for the premiums given by the Bristol Sailing Society, viz., 'Severn,' Despatch,' 'Antelope,' 'Dolphin,' 'Experiment,' 'Hope,' 'Frolic,' 'Fancy,' 'Industry,' and 'Chausen,' a Dutch boat. "About eight o'clock they started, but the wind blew so strong from the westward all day, and the swell was so great, that only four boats out of the ten could keep the sea; the rest were obliged to run into different places for security. The other four sailed round the Holmes. The 'Antelope' was the first boat that returned; about two minutes after her the 'Dolphin' came in, the 'Hope' third, and the 'Experiment' fourth, when the first received their respective prize cups, and the latter a telescope. No accident happened the whole day of any consequence, notwithstanding the high wind and rough sea they had to encounter in a race of fifty miles, allowing for traverse sailing."

Of course, vessels have raced from time immemorial, and will always do so. To get there first is, commercially, of great advantage, and wherever vessels sail together, emulation in the matter of speed is certain to arise. But of racing pure and simple, premeditated racing without any ulterior purposes of gain, the above-mentioned matches in the Bristol Channel and the Thames are the first instances on record.

For a long period racing consisted of matches between vessels used for ordinary cruising purposes, and it was not until comparatively modern times that racing developed into a distinct branch of yachting, and that vessels were designed primarily and principally for the purpose of racing. Racing is conducted subject to certain rules of the road and rules of measurement, which will be alluded to later on. Up to 1875 these rules and regulations existed in a somewhat chaotic condition, and were not reduced to uniformity and to accuracy of definition until the creation of the Yacht Racing Association in that year. The object of rating, or measurement rules, is to define for racing purposes the size and capacity of yachts, and to bring them as far as possible into distinct and homogeneous classes.

Obviously the interest of racing is enormously enhanced if all the competitors start on even terms, and, consequently, if the vessel first across the line wins; but it has been found impossible to insist upon absolute uniformity in rating, especially among big vessels. The cost of building and racing vessels like "Meteor" or "Cicely" is very large. Vessels of that description will always be few in number, and the men who can afford to build them will not be and cannot be expected to be tied down to particular classes; they suit their own convenience and their own ideas as to size; and in such cases yachts are brought together-or, to be accurate, an attempt is made to bring them together-by a time allowance, something in the nature of weight for age in horse racing-so many seconds a mile per ton or unit of rating being allowed to them. But in the case of smaller yachts, the object of clubs and of the Yacht Racing Association has been, and always ought to be, to confine vessels as far as possible to distinct classes, in which all the competitors are of one and the same rating. Rating rules endeavour to provide for the development of the most speedy type of vessel, subject to certain conditions affecting safety, seaworthiness, and comfort. The object of the rule is to restrict the designer: the object of the designer is to get the better of the rule.

Various rating rules have been in force in the