The American Citizen

Sailed with a Cross Fin on Her Keel

From the Biddeford Journal: During the yachting season last year it was noticed that the Syndicate, a boat owned by four yachtsmen, was always a tail ender, but the cause of the backwardness was not apparent. It was laid to the build of the boat or the bad seamanship of her skippers, but it now appears that the trouble was elsewhere.

The secret has just leaked out. The owners of another boat at the opening of the season hit upon a simple device for ridding themselves of the Syndicate's rivalry. They pulled the craft upon the shore and nailed a board across her keel. This had the effect of making the Syndicate very stiff, and there was little danger of her tipping over, but the effect on her speed was equally marked, and, as has been said, she usually managed to get distanced in a race. Blissfully ignorant of the handicap they were carrying the owners of the craft continued to sail her in this condition all summer and at the close of the season the board was removed in the same surreptitious manner.