It is intended to run a series of short articles in the Bulletin which will be instructive and, we hope, amusing. One learns slowly all the time when sailing but on occasions the process becomes very rapid and the lesson often remains clearly in the memory long after the other details of the sail have been forgotten. It is this type of incident which we aim to describe, and since the articles will be short, we hope that many members will be inspired to contribute.

What does the name 'Admiralty whaler' mean to you? A 30 knot M.L. with a crowd of matelots around a harpoon gun on the foredeck, or one of those sharp boats with queer rig that you see on Navy Day? The latter is correct and to fill in the rest of the details for those who have not had the pleasure of sailing in one, one could add that they are 27ft. long, about 6ft. beam and 2ft. draft with the plate up. A bit big for a dinghy you may say, but they are open except for a small grid abaft the mizzen mast. Strictly speaking it is a ketch because the mizzen is stepped forward of the rudder, but the helmsman sits in front of the mizzen because the tiller is arranged to pivot about this mast, being connected to the rudder by yoke and lines. The main mast carries a staysail and a loose footed standing lug main sail, the whole issue being called the Montague rig.

With this rig they sail in a way common to most long, straight-keeled craft - well off the wind, but poor on, and they are slow in stays. However, these yarns concern a certain whaler, which amongst other things won the Southampton whaler regatta three years in a row, and which is reputed to have overtaken the Hythe ferry when conditions were right! The moorings were about half a mile upstream of the Swinging Ground at the end of the New Docks, Southampton. As soon as we were under way with a Force 2-3 North Westerly behind us, the tiller was handed over to the lady member of the crew, while the rest (three blokes), busied themselves stowing gear and sorting out the usual clutter.

With the breeze and tide fair we were making good progress when someone glanced up and was amazed to see one of the Harbour Board deep-water posts almost alongside the starboard bow. Now these posts are not mere withies - they are fire upstanding timbers about 18" square, and this particular one was decorated with one inch bolts projecting at intervals from its sides. Our mainsail was out to starboard and the twin sheets sagging from the clew caught neatly round one of these bolts. Despite the rapid but uncoordinated actions of the crew, the boat came smoothly to a halt as the mainsheets drew out to their full length. Progress was rapidly restored when they proved unequal to the strain. Meanwhile, the dinghy astern had continued undisturbed on its way but on the other side of the post..... The painter proved stronger than the mainsheets and held us firmly until we freed the dinghy by some elegant dancing on the rudder head and prodding with an oar.

As we moved on once more we learned why it happened; the helmswoman had seen the post and was trying to sail close to it, just as she had seen others do on occasions. She had, however, failed to observe one important detail, that they had always put the windward side of the boat next to the post or buoy!

One day three of us were just leaving Newtown on the Isle of Wight in the whaler, when we passed a small yacht aground. It was low water and she was aground on the windward side of the narrow channel. There seemed to be a good chance of giving them a. pluck off the putty so we turned and reached back up the channel, turned again and reached back, going as slowly as possible. They heaved a line as we passed and we clapped it on our stern samson post just before it came taut. The jerk pulled them off and we sailed along together, connected by the line. However, the jerk which started them off so nicely practically stopped us, so that they came abreast of us, sailing faster! Trying to steer so as to counteract the turning effect of the warp which was now towing our stern, I bent over the post and freed the line in double quick time. As I straightened up I was just in time to see the owner of the yacht throw his end of the warp in the drink! It sank very quickly......

We had no time to worry about this (it was his warp, anyway) as by now we were pointing straight for the lee shore, about ten yards away, and gaining speed. It was softish mud and nothing carried away but the crew, who were less firmly attached, descended rapidly to the bottom boards. Ten minutes later, after a lot of swearing, shoving and rowing, we were under way again and reaching fast for the entrance. As we bore away N.W. along the channel running into the Solent we passed the little yacht again; she was heading N.E. right across the bank. In a short time she came to a halt, and we decided that the wait they would have while the tide rose would give them opportunity to contemplate the folly of their ways.

During the time of the last Fleet Review in Spithead, the whaler had been left about eighty yards off shore at Lee-on-Solent. Standing on the low cliff one can look S.W. right down the length of the Solent and if the wind is S.W., as it was that day, then the shore is a lee one, and the sea has a fair fetch.

There were five in the party, and it was decided to make several trips in the 8ft. pram dinghy. Three got in and reached the whaler without difficulty. One returned, and after some consultation on the beach, left with only one passenger - seated in the stern. The effect of this weight distribution was enhanced every time they lifted to a wave and at the fourth wave they sank by the stern with spectacular suddenness. (The shore was solid with cars and spectators for the Review and this entertainment was missed by no one!)

The value of carefully distributing the weight in the cockleshells which pass for dinghies was by now clear to all concerned, but a further lesson was following close behind; the unfortunate gentlemen giving the aquatic display were immediately subjected to the action of the tide, dropping further and further astern of the whaler. In the whaler, after uselessly throwing them a lifebelt which just added to the amount of floating bric a brac, we started getting in the anchor on the end of 15 fathoms of warp. This took time and carried us a few more yards away from the dinghy, so that it was several minutes before we reached them. The moral is obvious. Be prepared to slip your anchor and warp at any time. If your anchor is buoyed, the end of the warp can be dropped over without more ado; if not, then keep handy something buoyant which yon can tie to the end of the warp. In our case the lifebelt would have been far more use employed for this purpose.