Government to Encourage College Yachting for War

"Go boating and help win the War" is the slogan that might well sum up the official government attitude toward college yachting. Navy and Coast Guard officers everywhere are urging yacht clubs to teach all seamanship possible to ablebodied young men and thus provide a reservior of trained commisioned officers and enlisted ratings for coastal and harbor patroling, and even for offsore service in the nation's war effort.

Thus, the activity of the Harvard Yacht Club this season is not being regarded as a frivolous pasttime but is being hailed as a patriotic gesture.

That it is one of the few sports that can help the nation directly and immediately has been stated by Pres. Roosevelt and lesser government officials. The chief executive's office recently wrote to Commodore Howard A. Finch of the Interlake Yachting Association that "the continuation of yachting is encouraged by the Navy department, and many young men with yachting experience have joined the Navy and have there demonstrated the value of their previous training."

Arthur L. Besse '42, Commodore of the Harvard Yacht Club, terms this government statement as very encouraging, and emphasizes the fact that the accelerated program, with the resulant large Summer School enrollment, will prove a boon to yachting at Harvard.

The Yacht Club's chances for a successful season have also been enhanced by the new plan whereby the club now has the unlimited use of the dinghys belonging to the Community Sailing Association in Boston, founded by Jack Wood of M.I.T. Faculty.

In past years the club has been forced to borrow the M.I.T. dinghys, which because the boats were not always available, limited its activities. The Yacht Club, although prospective funds from Alumni to pay for dinghys have always been available, has never had its own boats because of the high cost of a boathouse in which to keep them.

Being a member of the Intercollegiate Yacht Racing Association, the Club's activities are mainly carried on in co-operation with the other members of that organization.

Members of the association compete weekly in dual meets, each team represented by three crews. In addition to these dual meets, the association will sponsor eight regattas this spring, the first of which will be the annual George Owen Trophy Regatta in the Charles River Basin, sponsored by the Harvard Yacht Club.

All sailing by the individual clubs is done in fourteen foot, V bottom dinghys which are manned by a two man crew. It is expected that the facilities of the club will be available to students in the Summer School.