and whose ambition it is to acquire a stock of more or less inartistic silverware, will continue to pin their faith to the fin. Others who like to enjoy a modicum of comfort when afloat may safely swear by the centerboard.
When I was a young man I had an unconquerable prejudice against the centerboard. My opinion of the type was often expressed in language of great warmth and strength. Mind you, I was not so utterly devoid of common sense as to be blind to the advantages of the "board" in shallow water. I had, however, a fixed idea that the average centerboard sloop was no good in a blow. This view has been considerably modified in the school of experience. It once fell to my lot to be an eye-witness of the excellent seaworthy and speedy qualities of a centerboard sloop in an easterly gale on Long Island Sound. When we reached port I was perfectly willing to confess that a vessel of the type aboard which I had been, if well-found and well-manned, was equal to any keel boat of her size that I had ever sailed on.
Permit me to spin you the yarn:
The cruise of the Atlantic Yacht Club in 1889 will always be remembered because of the bad weather encountered on the Sound between Black Rock and New London. In that year Jefferson Hogan was Commodore and the schooner Cavalier was the flagship. I was the guest of Vice-Commodore E. B. Havens
