YACHTING.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 413, 23 January 1909, Page 12

YACHTING.

;.,..;,:' [Br'MAINSEEEI.]: ;'■;'._ '-.'■' ; > ,-,; THE SEASQN'S RACING. ; ■ .'.' ;■■' January, 23.r-Ocean Race. , ,';",' ' , January 3q.^-Mills,Memorial -Handicap. : February 6.—Second-class■ and Third-class '■■.'•' Handicaps. ■ : ,-• '""' February 13.—16 ft. Handicap. ,On Saturday last yachtsmen were amongst the few sports who could indulge in thoir hobby. The boats- all left the Boat Harbour .in- a nice breeze and under full sail, but they; were nearly all reefed down and bore half-soaked mainsails when\they returned-in the evening,. the wind having freshened considerably/ ■■' '- ■■'?■.-,, {'■■-■■■:".■"::.; y. The Kotiri.went across io Day's Bay and back to have a'run in the heavy sea that .was rolling down the entrance. She reached' home under a jigger arid jib,, her .owners' not wishing-to.reef.their now./sails. .The Kotiri ;is considered by. yachtsmen, whe; should knowto be, one of, the most up-to-date -cruising yachts in Now Zealand waters. .'■ She'is fitted with a two-horse-power engine,, has a patent reefing; gear, and is yawl-rigged, and is one of the prettiest; little things to be seen in the way of cruisers; ■:;','. .The Janet beat up. to .Evans: Bay, and when, the: breezo freshened she lowered away andput in two tucks,, .She ,boro marks of the 'sea ;in.;the.; bay .'when'sho.r'etiirned -to her moorings.; ... -.-• ,' , : ; :,..'.•,;•■.■.. , ■'.;-,,." The Queenie from Evans. Bay .was', seen making good'-work of tho .beat up tho bay. The only: Martin's Bay boat out.,was the Taipare, and she appeared to bo' carrying plenty, of' sail. ''• '.''■.;. ,;,. . :Tho Waitangi under her two trysails' ,was' bopming alpng at a good paco, but seemed to be' standing upright throughput the,afternoon"".,.-, .: 7. ;. / ; '■•'-.- -.:' ■ Janet, May,' and Nancy Stair- were all slipped at midnight on Saturday for cleaning purposes. 'The different, types-of boat.w'ere open to criticism on Sunday morning. Tlie May. represented the-old type'of ,• the seaworthy craft.... The■.intermediate type was prpsent-in the Nancy Stair, and' the modern - ' rabirig' boat' Was .reflected 'hi Dfi' Makgill's ■smart little.Jariet.' : The May'and jariot were' refloated at about 11 o'clock, and the Nancy Stair,came. off.-about .ah hour later. : Tho Janet has been repainted, and is looking neat .and trim. The.Ruihi was taken round to Marian's, Bay, and will undergo cleaning and overhaul, preparatory to leaving,for a''cruise in-the Sounds at the end pf the month. .',..". . On Sunday the breeze came in from'the nprthj arid, the majority of the. boats put in the day cruising about 'the harbour. The Siren went, outside. the;.Heads i and ;got :a bit of a-shaking up in the heavy sea that was running. •.-.- ■■ Tho Taipare; May, and Narioya all went on to the slip for drying and cleaning in anticipation of the •■regatta;.''.: ■■■ , Tho loss from the list of local' -yachts of.-.'.the. ,'Wairerfl, .a greatly -improved: boat under her:-,new rig, is,\to be regretted, although she has not been' racing this season. :'lt 'is stated that, her now owner in Nelson intends to race;her good and strong. ; Rumour has it. that' Messrs. Scott Bros., and Smith intend going in for another boat, but. nothing definite is /announced, and I have my doubts as to whether -there;is.any foundation for the story.. .

. v /: FASCINATION OF RACING. ;.. Of the many,influences at work that make the yachtsman the enthusiastic sportsman lie is (says Mr. ,S. ,E. Holroyd in the Melbourne "Argus"), "none is "so-great as the exhilarating fascination <jf a hard-fought race. > It. affects skipper and crew ahke.From the flash of the first gun five minutes before the start till its welcome boom is heard/at the finish every man. aboard 13 keen with suppressed excitement. Every: yacht, race is full of incident, and as success of failure, the possession or loss of. some coveted cup or trophy, is often a matter of seconds, both . skipper 4 and crow, each in. his',. : own sphere, feel how much depends upon him. AH muat work together, and everyone must bo 'on''the alert from start to finish, never more:so perhaps than in. those five minutes between the'guns. ; A good start': with' a weather herth puts heart into the slaokest crew. At the'-flash of the first gun tho iaanwith the stopwatch starts checking the'timo. Four minutes-to go—threer—two—one minute to.go, and all the while the man at the tiller is_ manoeuvring to get the best of the start, with the. rules of the game at his fingertips, and not'unmindful that though -thero is no rulo against bluff he must play tho game like a sport, keeping watchful eyo on the, other, boats and issuing short, sharp orders] which the experienced members of. his crew will have instinctively almost anticipated, as he wishes to increase or slacken his boat's speed. "Ease that mainshbot a... bit." ■ "Goo.l." "Tako a pull on that staysail." "Not too 'flatl" "Fifty seconds to go—4o—3o—2o— 15; let her go for it." ' "Keep your luff,, there." "Ten. seconds to go." "Give us room;" "Five' seconds to go." Bang goes the gun. The race ;bas started, and you have just missed crossing the line too soon. The next few seconds aro air bustle and apparent confusion. "lii mainsheet," comes from tho skipper. '"Flatten down your .staysail and. jib.'? ,:"Mako;fast;"', '•: "All fast," "Up to windward and into your places," and eaclf momber of tho orew stretches himself out on deck, coiled up as flat: as he can got, and waits for the next order, which may come at any minute. If you have your most formidable opponent tucked nicely under your 100 you do your best to keep him there, but if you are in that uncomfortable' position yourself, the sooner you get eut the better. A quiet'order may their bo passed along, "Stnnd by. to go about." One man slips unostentatiously down to \ leeward—they're watching you on board tho other boat—and .stands by to: let the jib and staysail sheets go. No ono else stirs. . "Right, there?" "Yes," "Leo oh!" and each man is at .bis station aa you swing round under tho otbovY stern.'. " ...-"-.••■'.■ .'•;•.:•■;■'. ■■■■■-.■'■:

• If you havo been quick and smart enough you may get away from him before he can go about too, and get you in the same position as before. If you do, you settle dow.i, whilst the skipper finds how she is balanced. "Come aft a bit there; bunch »p together, boys," and you cuddle up together whilst your boat starts to thrash her way down, to tho windward buoy. Not much is said, and that little is mostly whispered endbarmeuts to yolir vessel,-or heartfelt prayers for a steady breeze. Your opponent may be on the opposite tack to you, and you inwardly speeulate as to whether you will cross his bows when you next meet.' If it is going to bo a close- thing, you thank your stars you are on tho starboard tack. Should thero be a. good stiff breeze, Bpray is bound to be flying about; and if you are on a wet boat a bucket or two of green water may have come on board, but it is only the first lot you mind—the rest merely warms you up. ' So you will race down to and round : the first buoy, whon sheets will be eased off for the reach to No. 2, Balloon, sails may have to be sot, and you will hum ■ along at almost your topmost speed. You can assume a less cramped position on deck, but still you must not shift about so as to disturb the trim of tho'boat. ' -'•.''■'.

As you approach the second buoy, ■ the order, "Stand by for a gybe" will be given. Gybing in a big cutter, with a good stiff breeze blowing is a ticklish job at any time, and when racing, with no time to lose, each man must know and smartly do his business, ,or the mast or topmast may go but of her. "Tail on to the mainsheet, there." "In s-ho comes." "Put your back into it." "Stand by that funrier." , Up conies the tiller, and over goes the boom with a lurch, and the man on the mainsheet pays out .as fast ,3s ho can. But woe betide.him if ho hasn't caught, a good turn. He'll lose a finger in the mainsheet block, or have no palms left to his hands.

, Should the breeze be sufficiently aft, the spinnaker-boom, already in its socket,: will be smartly lowered, and the sail set to Ihe topmast head.: Tho slack of the guy is hauled in, the sail bellies out, and then she begins to travel. With a sbort-kecled boat, this is one of the most anxious times for the man, at the tiller, for as each wave: comes surging up from astern she will yaw and twist like a snake. Every movement must be anticipated and checked, or 6he may get a swing on, and at any minute, so ; to speak, turn round and look at you.. Result, an involuntary gybe and a cleared' deck. It is possible to mention but few of the exciting situations or. individual battles that may occur in a race with several starters; but one of the most interesting to watch is a' good luffing match, where one boat overtaking another tries to work; her, way through the latter's wash, pass her to windward, ■ and blanket her. By tho rules, tho overtaken boat may luff up into the wind as much.'as> she can, and by forcing her opponent to.do the same,,prevent hor passing; Herein liesthe skill of : the man at the, tiller. He' riiust sail as close to the wind as he can, and whilst keeping enough way on his boat to keep'her ahead, must, with a little, to spare, • always be ready to point a bit higher than the other fellow.' This may go on for any length of time, and a trying test it is for any man's nerves. :••. ':'■■■'•