THE sea and its sagas seldom fail to be interesting, and this account of last summer's ocean race to Spain is no exception to the rule. All the details of the trip over in the winning schooner, the "Elena," a boat only a little more than 100 feet long over all, are told by the daughter of the "Skipper" and owner.

It is an interesting tale, even though the race for the King's cup turned out to be, for the larger schooners at any rate, merely a protracted cruise in pleasant weather. Charts, the ship's log complete, diagrams, lists of provisions, in fact every aspect of the race is related, with one notable exception.

This deficiency is in the one field in which a yachtsman would least expect it. The chapter on the actual sailing across the Atlantic relates too little of the actual competition of the race. One is curious to know why for instance the "Elena" made what appears to be a "faux pas" in strategy by her sudden shift of course the fifth day out from the Ambrose lightship. The actual racing tactics of the competitors receive very little description, yet this is supposed to be a kind of official record of the race.