The yacht, let it be supposed, is fitted out. She has a racing outfit, and was the crack boat of the past season. There is a smart young fellow engaged to look after her, and the only thing that remains to be settled now is the question--Shall I give myself up to racing or shall I cruise this year? If it is to be racing, here are two or three words of advice well worth noting. The first is, never pinch the yacht when sailing on a wind. Always keep a clean full and bye--_i.e._ the yacht must be headed, as near as she will go, to the point whence the wind is blowing, but the sails must be kept well full. Then the yacht will travel. Do not, because some other yachts seem to be lying closer to the wind, try to make the little vessel head in the same direction, if she will not do so without her sails shaking. Many races are lost through this form of bad sailing. The next point to be noted is, 'mind your jibsheet.' No sheet requires such tender handling. The foresheet can be left to a tiro. All he has to do when on a wind is to take and harden in all he can, and belay. The mainsheet can also be hauled in pretty close; but when that is all done, the sailing-master must not think that he can go any closer to the wind by treating his jibsheet after the same simple fashion; for if he does he will find himself very much at fault, as it will take all the life out of the yacht, and the jib will make her bury her head in the seas. He will only stop his ship. The best plan to adopt is to get the sheet in before the yacht's head is pointed as close as it will go to the wind, and then check out inch by inch till the luff of the sail near the tack has a slight inclination to lift. At first, it is somewhat astonishing to see how much jibsheet a vessel will stand when close hauled. Pinning in the sheet tends to stop the boat, whilst, on the other hand, giving her as much as she can stand will make her fairly jump ahead. The helmsman who knows his duties ought to keep an eye open for this, and watch, in the excitement of going about or hauling round a buoy, that the poor jibsheet is not pinned in or unfairly treated.