The degree of leisure and wealth, so essential to the development of yachting, was not realised by the citizens of the American seaboard until nearly one-third of this century had passed, and even then only a mere handful of nautically inclined sportsmen could spare time from the stern duties of country settling and fortune-hunting to follow in any measure their tastes in seeking pleasure on the alluring waters that flowed at their very feet. It must not be supposed, however, that our ancestors took absolutely no pleasure in sailing; they had their pirogues and other small craft which were kept ostensibly for trade, but which served the double purpose of affording gain and pleasure. In the traditions of my ancestry I learn of a small boat kept by one who used her to visit an island farm, whence he brought produce; and another would sail down the bay (Narragansett) for the love of it, but largely to meet and pilot up the tortuous channel his returning vessels from their coastwise trade. No people were ever more advantageously situated for yachting, as to frequency of harbours and tempting conditions of water and weather, than are the dwellers on the eastern seaboard of North America. True that the season for yachting is from May to November only in the more northerly portions (north of Hampton Roads); but if a genuine yachtsman takes in five months of his beloved sport, it will be found that the remaining seven will be none too long to talk over the exploits of the past season, and prepare and plan for the coming. [Illustration: R.Y.S. Cup, won by the 'America,' 1851.] As the character of water and weather that surround a locality has a direct bearing and influence on the form and rig of yacht, it is thought that a short sketch of the coast and its surrounding waters will be of interest. The shores of Maine, as well as those of the British Provinces, present one of the most interesting fields for yachting that can be found in the whole continent of North America. The deeply indented coastline and numerous outlying islands afford endless variety in scenery as well as in the surface of the water. Choice may be had between sheltered bays and the open sea.