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Yachting.—The magnates of the Royal Yacht Squadron or of the Royal Victoria Yacht Club are apt to allude in somewhat disparaging terms to Thames yachting, but there is no doubt that the Royal Thames and the Royal London Clubs have exercised a great deal of influence over yachting in English waters. Thames sailing is peculiar, and it requires a skilful pilot to grapple with the curious difficulties of sands and tide which are to be met with on the voyage from Gravesend round the Mouse. Those who have seen the Lower Hope or Sea Reach in bad weather, with a gale of wind blowing and the tides running-against it, will not be slow to admit that, especially on board one of the smaller craft, the Thames yachtsman wants skill and pluck as much as his brother who sails the open waters of the southern coasts. The principal London yacht clubs are the Royal Thames, which has a club-house in Albemarle-street. Station, Thames; headquarters, club-house. Entrance: yacht owners, £15 15a., non-owners, £21. Subscriptions: yacht owners, £5 5s. ; non-owners, £7 7s. The Royal London; station, Thames; head-quarters, 22, Regent-street. Entrance fee, £10 10s.; subscription, £6 6s. The New Thames; station, Thames; headquarters, Caledonian Hotel, Adelphi. Entrance fee, £5 5s.; subscription, £3 3s. The Junior Thames; station and head-quarters, Greenhithe. Entrance fee £1 1s.; subscription, £1 1s. The Corinthian; station and headquarters, Erith. Entrance fee £1 1s.; subscription, £1 1s. The Nore Yacht Club; Station and club-house, Gravesend. Entrance fee, £2 2s. ; subscription, £2 2s. Among the features of the London yachting season are the races from Southend to Harwich and vice versa and the Royal Harwich may also be classed among Thames yacht clubs. The head-quarters are naturally at Harwich. Entrance fee, £1 1s.; subscription £1 1s. The burgees of the above clubs are as follows: Royal Thames, blue and white cross with crown; Royal London, blue with City arms and crown; New Thames, dark blue with phoenix; Junior Thames, white with blue cross; Corinthian, blue with wreath; Nore, blue with cross and anchor; Royal Harwich, blue lion rampant. The matches of the larger clubs take place in May or June, and if a stranger wishes to see Thames yachting at its best, he should endeavour to obtain a ticket for the club steamer accompanying one of the races for cutters, or schooners and yawls. Tickets for these steamers can only be obtained through members of the respective clubs, but, a reference to the advertising columns of the newspapers will generally discover one or more boats chartered on these occasions for the accommodation of the general public.  

Charles Dickens (Jr.), Dickens's Dictionary of London, 1879