The atmosphere during the first half of the yachting season is somewhat obscured by fogs, but after July the air is clear and bracing, with pleasant breezes from the sea during the day, and land winds during the night from north-west. Tidal currents are swift and the change of level is large, particularly on the shores of the provinces, ranging from 10 ft. or 12 ft. at Portland to far more as one sails eastward, whilst in the Bay of Fundy the rise and fall often reach 50 ft. Moving southerly, good yachting ground will be found from Cape Anne to Cape Cod; the waters thus included are fairly smooth in summer with harbours available every few miles, the shores being fully occupied by summer resorts where the visitors are, as a rule, yacht-owners, or deeply interested in aquatic sports. In fact, this locality, embracing Massachusetts and Cape Cod Bays, with their many inlets and harbours (the chief being Boston Harbour), is the scene of more yacht racing and boat racing than any other sheet of water in America, as evidence of which some of the open regattas often start no fewer than 130 yachts and boats varying from 15 ft. to 50 ft. in length. The winds off the coast of Massachusetts are moderate, twelve to fifteen miles an hour, easterly in the early part of the season, and south-west during the summer, with north-west in the autumn. Tidal currents are moderately strong, with range of level from 6 ft. to 10 ft., fogs are infrequent and short in duration. After rounding Cape Cod, Nantucket Sound is entered, a large semi-enclosed sheet of water full of sand shoals, amongst which the tide rushes to and fro with great speed, and whilst it is always traversed by yachts and trading vessels, it cannot be said to be strictly a favourable yachting ground, although sail-boats of shoal draught may be seen sailing for pleasure or fishing, which pastimes are enjoyed by the visitors that flock to the island of Nantucket and the adjacent mainland during the summer season. Fogs are very dense and frequent during nearly, the whole of the yachting season; the winds are more fresh than in Massachusetts Bay, and usually are from south to south-west, except in autumn when north or north-west may be expected. From the foregoing we sail directly into Martha's Vineyard Sound, where strong winds and tidal currents are found, with fewer obstructions in way of shoals than in Nantucket Sound. On the right of Martha's Vineyard Sound lie the Elizabeth Islands, some of which are picturesque. The nearest one to the mainland at Wood's Holl, called Naushon, is owned by several of the Forbes family, who for many years have been--and still are--most interested and intelligent patrons of yachting; and in one of the most beautiful little harbours on the north side of Naushon may be seen their fleet of yachts, lying at the safest of anchorages, often a dozen, some sailing vessels, and others steam.