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CHAPTER IV

EARLY ENGLISH YACHTS

Pepys's Diary and Naval History—Evelyn's Diary—The yacht Mary—First use of the word yacht in English literature—The King's yacht Catherine—Use of lead for ballast—Holland duck for sails—The Duke of York's yacht Anne—The Dutch yacht Bezan—Progress in ship building—Calculating a ship's displacement—The King's interest in maritime affairs—Yacht race between the King and the Duke of York—The Besano, Jamie, Charles, and Experiment—The Royal Society and Sir William Petty's inventions—Catamarans—The "versatile keel"—Propelling power in a ship, and copying machines—Petty's epitaph.

KING CHARLES appears to have possessed a genius for amusing himself; he is known in history as the "Merry Monarch." Fortunately, yachting was one of his pleasures, and it seems reasonable to suppose that during his exile, some seventeen years, and while in Holland, he acquired a knowledge of yachts and yachting. The first yacht ever known in England as such was the one that, as we have seen, was presented to King Charles II. before his departure from Holland. In due course, she came to England, together with her appellation.

Concerning the yachts of England at that period, we are indebted to Samuel Pepys, John Evelyn, and the Admiralty and State papers, for nearly all our information, but chiefly to Pepys, who was Clerk of the Acts, and subsequently Secretary to

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