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THE HISTORY OF YACHTING
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had by 3 feet the greater draught, with only 7 inches more depth of hold.

And so yacht-building in England began in a truly characteristic English way. The yachts were built by brothers for brothers, and were named for the wives of their owners; and we find that the sagacious Pepys, on his first examination of the Mary, had a fear that the yacht to be built by Commissioner Pett, "for the honour of his country," would "scarce better" her. However, the dinner at the Globe with the Commissioner, and a visit to the new yacht, removed this fear, and made him hopeful, so that he is able to record his opinion that she will prove " beyond the Dutchman." This is by no means a solitary instance in English history of a dinner—provided it be a good one—inspiring hope and even confidence.

May 21st, Pepys writes: "So took barge again and were overtaken by the King in his barge, he having been down the river with his yacht this day for pleasure to try it, and as I hear, Commissioner Pett's do prove better than the Dutch one, and that his brother built." It now begins to appear evident that the dinner at the Globe must have been an excellent one.

Still, after this trial trip, and probably others, and notwithstanding the flattering accounts chronicled by Pepys, the King, who had a very good idea of what a yacht ought to be, was by no means satisfied with the new yacht's performance. On June 4th Commissioner Pett's troubles began; for on that date the King required new sails, and