Yachting

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 236, 5 October 1928, Page 14

Yachting

OCEAN RACING.

EIGHT AMERICAN YACHTS CROSS ATLANTIC.

MODERN COLUMBUSES RETURN TO SPAIN.

ONE COMPETITOR SINK'S IN MID-OCEAN.

On June 30, .four American schoonerfigged yachts, Nina, Pinta, Mohawk and Rofa, started from New York in a race across the Atlantic Ocean to the port of Santander, Spain, a distance of 3055 miles. One week later five larger yachts started in a race to the same Spanish port. These boats were Elena, Atlantic, Guinevere, Zodiac and AzaTa. A cup for the larger class presented by His Majesty the King of Spain was the prize in class A and a similar cup for class B was presented by the Queen of Spain. This was won by Nina, the smallest boat in the race, with Pinta second, and Mohawk third.. Elena won the A class, with Atlantic, Guinevere, Zodiac and Azara finishing in that order. Elena sailed the distance in just under 18 days, crossing the finishing line lh 15m after Nina, which had started one week earlier. Nina, the winner of the smaller 'Class and the first boat to finish, is 59ft overall, 50ft on the waterline, 15ft beam and 9ft 9in draught, with % sail area of 2275 «ql ft. She was designed by Burgess and Morgan, for Mr. Paul Hammond. She was. built specially for this ocean race, and staunchly put together, the planking being If in mahogany. She carried 16 tons of lead ballast, 13 tons inside and three tons on the keel. Her rig is the modern jib-headed type. She has a Bermudian mainsail, and no gaff foresail, but in its place she sets two staysails, one above the other. (See illustration.) This is termed the etay-sail-schooner-rig, and Nina has the distinction of being the first vessel to carry the rig across the Atlantic. Ordinarily she has a high speed Diesel engine, but this was sealed, and the propeller removed for the Tace.

The winner of the larger class, the schooner Elena, is 136 ft overall, and owned by William B. Bell. She had a good race with her old rival, Atlantic, which holds the record ran of 12 days 4 hours in the laat Atlantic ocean Tace, held,in 1905. This boat is capable of 13 tmota under favourable conditions. The story of the race is told in the "New York Herald Tribune," from which the-following is taken:— "No one who has not sailed in a long ocean race can realise the strain- of carrying sail to the limit, of driving night and day, of watching squalls make up to the windward, and wondering if the little ship will go through them without shortening sail, while all the time the knowledge that your unseen competitors may be "hanging on' a little longer, or driving a bit harder/ persists until it torments. "Therefore, it is a certainty that when the little schooner Nina, only 59ft long over all, slipped across the finishing line off the bold Spanish coast, nearly fwerity-d&our days out from Sandy Hook, and first of the fleet to arrive, the elation felt* by her _ crew-on hearing that they had Won in their class wae a measure of the tension of the previous: three weeks. Hud on the heels of Nina came the :bj[g schooner Elena, first in the large class'end. winner over her rival, the Atlantic. "Close as this finish was, and there was only one hour and IS minutes between the two yachts, it must be remembered that the Nina had started .a week before the Elena and the other yachts in- the larger class, and had thus token nearly seven days longer to sail the course, 3055 miles. Yet the showing of the little boat was truly remarkable, for the big Elena is capable of a speed of 13 or 14 knots, while the Nina's maximum is hardly; oyer nine and a-half . knots, which shows that the Nina sailed, in proportion to .her size, nra& .faster than the Elena or tfo Atlantic/ many times her size. That she could do this is probably due to the fact that the yachts experienced light weather for a good part of the' voyage. The Nina's best day's run, neon to noon, was 213 miles for the entire 24 hours, a really remarkable performance, for when it blows hard enough to drive a boat of this size at that speed it means that there must be considerable sea to hold her back and that she is throwing water from stem to stern. According to the Ninafs log,, she exceeded 200 miles- on. three days; yet to offset these fine daily runs she made less than 100 miles a day for five .days and on two of these she made only 25 miles. This indicates a long spell of soft weather, which, by the way, is more trying on skipper and etfßW than a breeze of wind, though not so uncomfortable. The Elena's best runs, noon to noon, were 282 and 279 miles, . not noteworthy as records, go, for in the' race of 1905, before referred to, the Atlantic, Bailed by 'Charlie' Barr, did 341 miles, and several of the fleet that year did better than 300 miles. The fact- that the Elena took nearly 17 days to sail the race is indication enough that the winds were light for a good part of the journey. As .- a rule, we aire told, competitors • are rarely in sight of one another in an ocean race after the first day In fact during the first night the fleet usually scatters and it is rarely that they see each other again until the boats converge at the finish line. There are, of course, exceptions to this, but it is the rule. Thus each skipper is more ». or less 'on his own,' and must use his best judgment and make his own decisions, irrespective of his competitors. This lack of visible competition also is responsible for many a crew letting down,' for the incentive to carry sail as long as spars and gear will stand; to drive, drive, drive, night and day, to. shorten at the last possible moment and 'crack on' at the first let-up, is missing when one has the whole ocean to himself, and there is :no. one. in sight to spur to one's best efforts. In eeean racing competition is surely the life cf trade.- •• • • ' " ''In this connection they: tell- a; story; about the Atlantic in the great race of .1905, when she broke the record for the course. 'Charlie* Barr, the best profes«opal. yacht skiver that ever trod -sr

by speedweĺ

sou'-west gale he was driving her to the eastward with all she could stagger under full fore and main, and reefed spanker. The suggestion was made that it was time to heave-to. Barr said she could run a bit longer. At the change of watch heaving-to was again considered. Barr again allowed as how she'd still keep goin'. By and by it really began to blow, and it looked as if she must be hove-to; but Barr merely said, It's too late to heave-to now. We'd never get those sails in whole.' So they carried on and made 341 miles in less than 24 hours. It is such driving and judgment that win ocean races.

"In one respect the two classes "in the trans-Atlantic race of this year differ widely. In the small class the yachts.are all manned and navigated by Corinthian, or amateur, crews, with the exception of a paid cook, while on* the big yachts the crews are all professional, and in most cases the skipper, also, is a professional. It will be recalled that just before the start of the large class the crews of the Elena, Atlantic, and Azara 'jumped ship,' and it was necesary to scour the waterfront to get men to take their places. To these professional sailors the race is merely a job. The skipper, of course, has his reputation at stake, and does the best he can with the material forward, unless he has a two-fisted mate to instil some 'pep'- into the crew, there is not much enthusiasm shown in handling sail or driving. Quite different is the spirit oh the little fellows, where enthusiasm and a willingness to bear physical discomfort cheerfully usually make up for any lack of sea-going ex-

perience. The little fellows are usually sailed well and sailed hard, frequently under the most trying conditions, when the preparing of hot food is out of the question. "The loss of the 50ft Sofa, owned by Mr. Rooa, whose wife was also aboard, resulted in no fatalities among the crew, we learn with relief. The. rescue of the yachtsmen and the yachtswoman was safely effected by the British tanker Tuacarora in mid-ocean. The squall which dismantled the Rofa came without warning. Wind and rain came together with a loud' blast, and before the sails could be adjusted to withstand the attack of the elements, the mast snapped off. All hands, including the cook and Mrs. Roos, concentrated on cutting away the floating spars, while saving the sails and rigging.lt had to be quick work, for the roughened waters were driving the masts against the fragile hull. It was perilous work, too, for the little yacht was pitching badly, rolling about without control, and the ropes and canvas had to be saved for future use. "At 8 p.m lights were sighted. Rooa had his Very pistoLready, and whenever the increasing swells lifted the Rofa he turned loose a blazing ball. The Tuscarora saw the lights and came to the rescue..Not until the lifeboat was alongside was it known the persons* in distress were on a yacht. The tanker's men believed they were to save an airplane that had failed on a trans-Atlantic attempt. Boob wanted to stay aboard the yacht, while the Tuscarora towed him into New York. Captain A. W. Hart, of the tanker, would not hear of it. He had received storm warnings, and the wreckage did not look safe to him. So while the rough seas worked against an easy transfer, the crew of six were put aboard. A cable was made fast to the . yacht, and the voyage to New York resumed;' Three hours' later, in the midst of a ten^c'storm of wind and rain, the remnant 6f the mast that held the cable pulled loose, and the Rofa disappeared!"

HIGH WATER FOR i9aß-a*

This year, the sailing committees of the various clubs on the Waitemata appear to be in order for the coming season' earlier thaa : usual. Even fixtures* which are seldom decided before the'end of October have already engaged a certain amount of attention. While it is the custom for each club to decide the number of racing fixtures required for the season, the actual dates are fixed by the delegates to the Auckland.Yacht and Motor Boat Association. A meeting of this association will be •held on Tuesday week, October 16, and to assist' delegates in arriving, at suitable dates the time of high water on all Saturdays from October 22 to May 1929 are below. The nautical almanac tide for !929 are not yet available, but the times given here will be found to be correct within a-small mar«Bfcl2sSW

Saturday, October 20,1150 a.m., 1130 p.m.; Monday, October 22 (Labour Davf 12.10 atjno 12.43 pin.-, oIX 27 So **%} 5 24 November 3, 11,21. p.m.; "November 10, 552 turn. 546 pjix.;" November 17, 10.10 «m pjn.; November 24, aao, 3:46 pjn.December 1,9.61 a.m., 10.12 p.m.* Decem-

ber 8, 3.50 a.m., 4.3 p.m.; December 15, 9.7 a.m., 9.15 p.m.; December 22, 1.43 a.m., 2.10 p.m.; Christmas Day, 4.53 a.m., 5.19 p.m.; December 29, 8.43 a.m., 9.3 p.m.; New Year's Day, 11.12 a.m., 11.39 p.m.; January 5, 2.34 a.m.,2.52 p.m.; January 12, 8.17 a.m., 8.25 p.m.; January 19, 12.36 a.m., 1.1 p.m.; January 26, 7.37 a.m., 7.58 p.m.; February 2, 12.37 a.m., 12.53 p.m.; February 9, 6.41 a.m., 6.49 p.m.; February 16, 11.51 a.m., 12.14 p.m.; February 23, 6.20 a.m., 6.42 p.m.; March 2, 11.37 a.m., 11.58 p.m.; March 9, 5.4 a.m., 5.20 p.m.; March 16, 10.46 a.m., 11.12 p.m.; March 23, 4.59 a.m., 5.25 p.m.; March 30, 10.20 a.m., 10.45 p.m.; April 6, 3.23 a.m., 3.43 p.m.; April 13, 9.40 a.m., 10.3 p.m.; April 20, 3.28 a.m.,] 4.2 p.m.; April 27, 9.15 a.m., 9.39 p.m.; May 4, 1.46 a.m., 2.8 p.m. Full moon November 27, December 27, January 26, February 24, March 24, April 22.

CLUB NOTES

The annual meeting of the Auckland Yacht and Motor Boat Association had been fixed for next Tuesday, but as this date clashes with the Victoria Club's smoke concert to retiring officers, it has been postponed' one week, and will now be held on October 16, in the Squadron rooms. Much to the regret of all the delegates, Mr. J. B. Johnston, who has held the position of chairman for the past seven years, has definitely decided to retire. It will be very hard to fill Mr. Johnston's place. His unfailing courtesy and tact, added to a thorough practical knowledge of our sport, the advantage of a trained legal mind and the gift of oratory, make a combination unequalled by any who have occupied the office, and members readily recognise it. It is largely due to Mr. Johnston's efforts that the present very friendly feeling exists between all the clubs. He has always taken a keen interest in the annual contests for the Sanders Cup, and has attended all except the last one. While regretting the necessity for his retirement from office, members recognise that Mr. Johnston has earned the right to a spell by his close attention to duty for the past seven years.