Page:Popular Mechanics 1928 01.pdf/139

 

 

to leeward with the speed of an ice yacht, tacking to windward with all the nautical nicety of a centerboard skiff, feeling the tug of fifty square feet of taut canvas veering into a spanking breeze—that's the thrill that comes with the skate-sail. You don't have to be a wonderful skater, or a good sailor, either, to go skate-sailing. All you need is the sail, the necessary expanse of slate-gray ice, and a moderately strong pair of ankles, and then, if you hold the sail—no matter how—you are bound to glide off in one direction or another.

And how! Don't be surprised to find yourself "sailing" all over the ice on some portion of your anatomy other than your feet. But don't let that discourage you. Skate-sailing, like skiing and skating, is a sport that comes bump by bump, but it is only through experiencing these beginner's mishaps that you can later enjoy the gliding swiftness, the sensation of flying, and the thrill in maneuvering that comes with the skate-sail.



In taking up skate-sailing, the first thing to do is to make the sail; and the first thing in making the sail is to cut a paper pattern of the sail proper. This can be conveniently done on 36 sheets of 