room, and their names are added in manuscript in the old copy of the rules in possession of the club: 'Edward Roche, Edmund Roche, Richard Dunscombe, Robert Atkins, John Baldwin, Robert Baldwin, and Samuel Stawell.' The appearance of the Water Club fleet when manœuvering under the orders of the admiral or vice-admiral must have been highly picturesque, as much pomp and ceremony appears to have attended the displays. The size or tonnage of the yachts composing the fleet does not appear, and it is likewise strange that the name 'yacht' does not once occur in the whole book of the ancient rules. From the following graphic description of a 'fleet' day with the old Water Club, it would appear that the vessels composing it were deserving of a more distinctive appellation than merely 'boats.' It is extracted from a work printed for J. Roberts, in Warwick Lane, London, in 1748, entitled, 'A Tour Through Ireland, by Two English Gentlemen,' and written in a series of familiar letters:
"'I shall now acquaint your lordship with a ceremony they have at Cork. It is somewhat like that of the Doge of Venice's wedding at sea. A set of worthy gentlemen, who have formed themselves into a body, which they call the "Water Club," proceed a few leagues out to sea, once a year, in a number of little vessels which, for painting and gilding, exceed the King's yachts at Greenwich and Deptford. Their Admiral, who is elected annually, and hoists his flag on board his little vessel, leads the van, and receives the honour of the flag.
