Page:Small-boat sailing; an explanation of the management of small yachts, half-decked and open sailing-boats of various rigs; sailing on sea and on river; cruising, etc (IA smallboatsailing01knig).pdf/173

 gallons of oil. It needs but very little oil to form a coat over a large expanse of water; and where the oil is the sea will roll smoothly, the waves will either break at the weather edge of the oil or pass harmlessly across it in gentle undulations. When a vessel is hove-to, the oil bag is hung over the weather bow and the oil, oozing out slowly, leaves a smooth space to windward. If the drogue is out, an oil bag can be secured to that. When running before the wind an oil bag is hung over the stern or quarter.

Some years ago a North Sea fisherman, with whom I was cruising on the Doggerbank, gave me his experience of the use of oil in a gale. It was on the edge of the Dogger, in five fathom soundings where the seas break heavily. The fleet was running before the wind, when he and some other skippers bethought them to try the effect of oil. The result was magical, and their vessels at once began to make good weather of it. But he told me that some other vessels following them had to pass through seas breaking heavily on the weather edge of the oily expanse, and had a very uncomfortable time of it. In his opinion when the seas do break thus on approaching the oil, they do so in a more dangerous fashion than if no oil was there; which seems likely enough. To judge from all the evidence that has been collected on the subject, there can be little doubt that, given plenty of sea room, even quite a small yacht—provided of course that