YACHTING.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 954, 22 October 1910, Page 12

YACHTING.

[Br Mainshem.] Cruisers' Club Formed. A Cruisers' Club lias boon formed in Wellington by the owners of big yachts, some of whom do not tako part in the Port Nicholson Yacht Club's races. The club has been formed with the idea of getting the cruising type of yachts together, and so enabling them to have racing among themselves. ' The formation of tho club is chiefly due to the efforts of Mr. P. A, Pethenck, of the Kotiri,_ and Mr. A. Petheriok, of the Eona. It is also understood that Messrs. G. Hogprd. and Donne, of the White Heather, and Messrs. Haines, Lancaster, and party, of tho Ngaira, have joined. The promoters of the club are desirous of abolishing the handicap principle. Local Jottings. Tho hard north-east gale which prevailed Inst Sunday did not prevent the pchts from taking tho week-end cruise, fho Muritni, Nancy Stair, and Mahena spenj; tho day at Lowry Bay. ■Mr. C. Watt has disposed of his 6cow Doroen to Messrs.-A. Card, L. Thompson;and V. King, ' _ The Kotiri was launched last week, and is looking quite a new craft after her overhaul. Eaweue and Ethel will probably be launched this afternoon. Yaohtsinen are. warned that gun practice will commence this afternoon, from lortKelburne, and will be continued until November 5. ■ The danger zone will be m the area between Port Kelburne, Sonmes Island, and Port Ballance. ■■.: Auckland Notes. The well-known Auckland yacht Ariki, owned by Mr. Hortpn (says tho Auckland iachtsnien") has been sold ,to Mr. E. C. Bloiuiield, vice-commodore of the Royal A.Z./lacht Squadron. Tho Ariki was built in 1904, by Messrs. Logan Bros, blie has an unbeaten 'record as a class "J'««r. Her dimensions are: Length, 0.a., 54tt.;:1.w.1., 38ii; beam, 10ft. ' 10iu.: draught; 7ft.; sail-area, 1600 so..'feet. : J fr. W. Wilson, commodore of tie Ponspnby Cruising.- Club, has purchased the yawl Heartsease from Mr. Swinnerton,,of Dovonport. . _ The 20ft.. launch- being bdilt by Messrs. i£ n £. and Sons for Mr. Sommerville,' of Wellington, is nearly completed, and is expected to be launched shortly. She will be installed with a 4-5 li p. Soripos engine. ■ ** , Sydney Yachting.

■Ao-fact to be deplored (says the Sydney Sun") is that there-will bo nothing now to, break the monotony of the racing of ■ the. past few seasons—no new' yachts—no new classes—not even the Sayouara_ Cup races. Sydney is not ijsen supposed to own the cup, according, to some Victorian yachtsmen. A determined effort was made by the Prince Alfred Club to create a new class for this season;;'a-one-design, one-class type of boat, built and .fitted out/for and all that wasrequired was a few good sports to build the pioneer, boats, but. they were notforthcoming, and the whole movement has lapsed. , ' • /Sydney boasts 12 yachting and sailing clubs, .11 operating on' Port Jackson, and the remaining one at Botany. This is tho eve of a; big season's racing, and already several of the'clubs/have issued theirprogrammes. Altogether there will bo some 150.: to .175 events.for all types .'of boats belonging to ono club or the ether. The total prize money offered by all the clubs and' regatta, committees may amount to jeisoo. ,■ .:■ -."• ■

-It'is surprising to learn that dinghy racing on; Sydney Harbour is. practically near the end; of its existence. ' The Sydney "Sun" says:—"Dinghy racing on, Sydney Harbour during 1910 'and 1911 .will be but a shadow of -what, it, used tovbe a very, few seasons ago.. There js now really only one class—the 10-footers—but these are fairly numerous, and there will be about 10 flying racing this season.. Uhtmtn'e'Ja'st thrc4' or foiir 'years there were'T&u'r classes, yiz., : the' li's, 10's; - B's, and 6's, and frequently'as many as 30 dinghies .were to be seen competing under the old- Sydney -Dinghy Club's flag on the same afternoon. Botany has, how-i ever, secured nearly all the fourteens, and has supplemented the fleet with/a' number of very smart craft,of the same class, and so these boats are not included: in tho season's programme on the harbour. The eights; simply dwindled down slowly until there were not enough of them to make a decent race, so they, too,; have teen dropped by the clubs, ; The tiny jsix-footers, known to; local : sailing men as the 'pea-nut shells;''are also now an absent'quantity in the sailing world., They sprang into existence very quickly, but have faded away almost-as rapidly, until less than half a-dozen- of them are left.. It is a great pity to see any of the smaller.classes sink into oblivion, as dinghy sailing is undoubtedly the nur'-. sery from which have sprung most of our very best yachtsmen,and open boat skip-; ,pers. -Three;clubs cater for the remaining class, however, arid between • them ; the Sydney Dinghy, Balmain Dinghy, and Lane Cove Clubs provide some 25' races each season for the tens. A few years ago it. was. an irregular thing to find a \ wooden boat amongst the dinghies.' They were all-canvas boats, of ivery limited beam and depth, but to-day" tho tens are big roomy, craft, built of cedar, having up to about 7ft. beam, and carrying enormous spreads, of sail for their length. In fact, they remind one of a match-box, sur- : mounted, by' a pocket handkerchief. The; decline of dinghy sailing on/Port; Jackson is attributable in a measure td the expanding ideas of the present youthful generation of sailing men, who own a; dinghy for a season or two and then'go in for boats.of a bigger class. Besides, tho prizes given now are but small, and offer but little inducement to the younger men to build.". - ~ ,