Page:Yachting wrinkles; a practical and historical handbook of valuable information for the racing and cruising yachtsman (IA yachtingwrinkles00keneiala).pdf/168

 V.

DUTY AND DISCIPLINE AFLOAT.

THE SHIP'S COMPANY IN DETAIL FROM THE SKIPPER TO THE SEA-COOK.

To cruise with pleasure from port to port and to win races—the yacht owner must remember that he can do neither unless his sailing-master thoroughly understands his business. Whether amateur or professional, the skipper must be a man of dash and daring tempered with a modest soupçon of discretion, active, vigilant, with his weather eye wide open at all times and seasons. He must have the knack of handling men so as to get every foot-pound of energy out of them that is in them. He should be a strict, but not necessarily a stern, disciplinarian; and he should have sufficient diplomatic instinct in his make-up to know when to wink at a slight lapse on the part of a generally capable and faithful blue-jacket.

The personnel of the racing yacht is of the greatest importance, and, if not of the best, the career of the vessel is not likely to be crowned with the laurels of success. The man in command must have the rare gift of personal magnet