Page:Yachting wrinkles; a practical and historical handbook of valuable information for the racing and cruising yachtsman (IA yachtingwrinkles00keneiala).pdf/210

 craft are balanced so exquisitely that they show little or no proneness to gripe, even with the wind abeam or on the quarter. Phantom carries her rudder nearly amidships, only taking a spoke or two of weather helm. Captain Marlin steers her with one hand, and keeps as cool as a cucumber.

Meanwhile Ghost crawls up on us, inch by inch and foot by foot, her aim being to pass us to windward and to blanket us. This we will never permit without a hard fight.

We are now half way to the first mark, the wind continuing true and strong—an ideal breeze for racing. The sea is not steep enough as yet to do us any harm when we trim in our sheets for the final beat; but before this shall come to pass we have a leg to sail with the wind dead aft, and even now the men are making sure that the spinnaker gear is all in readiness for setting that enormous sail immediately after rounding the first mark. We are going to do our prettiest to get the better of Ghost at the turn, and the yacht that gets the spinnaker boom down first and the sail broken out most quickly has a big advantage.

I can't help remembering how a mishap to her spinnaker caused Valkyrie II. to lose her last race with Vigilant, and I express a silent but fervent hope that nothing untoward may occur to stop the smart setting of our own good sail.

But now the sly and swift Ghost is crawling up, pointing her bowsprit for