NONFICTION - May 29, 1994

THE COAST OF SUMMER: Sailing New England Waters From Shelter Island to Cape Cod by Anthony Bailey. (HarperCollins: $23; 368 pp.) Unlike the other fantasies on this page; journeys backward, forwards and sideways, varying in expense and imagination, this is one that remains fairly well cloistered from reality. Sailing yachts along the coast of New England for entire summers is not something you can recommend to people in an offhanded way. It seems even more difficult than moving your family to a village in Umbria. But it’s a culture, with a language, and the nostalgia is somewhat contagious, even if the yearning is downright unproductive. But don’t let me burst your bubble, let’s let the author, in this comment about class on Fisher’s Island (affectionately known as “Fishers”) do it himself: “the local class structure is evident in physiognomy, I decide (perhaps quite unjustly).” The very need for the parenthetical should clue you in. “Messing about in boats” needn’t be so exclusive.