The 'Kitten,' built by Mr. Sibbick for the Hon. W. Ruthven, won a few second prizes; but 'Oretta' and 'Minuet,' built at Cowes for Mr. Lancaster Owen and his son, were not so successful, and the other boats which occasionally started--viz. 'Query,' 'Anaconda,' 'Dorothy,' and 'Tramp'--failed to score. Nearly twenty 1-raters competed during the season--pretty good for the first year of a class, and indicative that the class is popular. A 1-rater is, or ought to be, a good wholesome boat, costing but little more than a 1/2-rater, either to build or maintain. Most of the clubs limit the crew to three hands--an excellent rule--to prevent the introduction of a racing canoe with the Malays' system of ballasting.[12] [Footnote 12: This (and other limits of crew for the classes of 5-rating and under) has since been embodied in the Y.R.A. rules.] The racing in the 1-rater class is not fully reported in the sporting press, and the records given in our table have been obtained from the owners. _The 1/2-Raters, 1892._ This class suffered from the attention bestowed on the 1-raters. 'Kittiwake' had been sold to H.R.H. Prince Henry of Prussia, and 'Eileen,' 'Jeanie,' 'Bairn,' 'Narua,' 'Spruce,' and 'Torpedo' dropped out of the racing from one cause or another. 'Coquette,' 'Dancing Girl,' 'Tiny,' 'Dee Dee,' 'Mosquito,' and 'Ladybird' continued, however, to race on the Solent, thus forming an 'exhibition of Old Masters' and young mistresses, only one having changed hands during the winter, and Miss Sutton replaced her with the 'Pique,' a new boat by Mr. Payne. The late Mr. Sidney Watson also purchased a new boat from Mr. Payne, and called her the 'Lilliput.' She was the last boat he ever sailed in. He much enjoyed racing her, and not infrequently led the little fleet. His sudden death in the prime of life was a great shock to all his numerous friends on the Solent. English men and women are born lovers of sport, and attached to the tools they employ: the huntsman to his horse and hounds, the shooter to his dogs and guns, the turfman to his thoroughbred, and the sailing man to his yacht. A real devotion may exist for inanimate pieces of wood and metal. Especially is there poetry, and plenty of it, in a boat--that dancing, playful, wilful thing that only obeys the skilful hand. Ask any old crab-catcher. Yet racing seems to blunt the feeling. Many owners part with their boats and crews at the end of every season, and allow themselves no time really to care for any one of them.