YACHTING.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1342, 20 January 1912, Page 12

YACHTING.

* THE TORPOR OF THE P.N.Y.C. i [fir MiuranxiTj Monday, January 22—Anniversary Eo> gatta. Saturday, January 27—P.N.Y.C. Picnic. Saturday, February 3—P.N.Y.C. handicap races for first and second-class yachts, on Course No. 2. An Irate Man on ths Managoment. A correspondent "Helmsman," writes as follows:— A few words ah cat tho Port Nicholson Yacht Club. A while ago wo hopod that tho cluh had at last been stirred from its torpor of tho last ten years or bo, but alas it was a vain hope, and it now: 6coms to bo' sinking back into its old condition—or worse. In tli© first place, tho annual subscription is a guinea, for which amount members receivQ tho very doubtful privilege of being allowed to race, and absolutely no othor advantage whatever. How cuii tho club, under tficso circumstances, hopo to enrol any but the owners of yachts as members? They evidently realiso this, and have now striven to mako it compulsory for every member of a crew to join the club or else pay an exorbitant fee for a racing permit, provided that they wish to saiPin tho yachts during the r.-LCos, and, a 6 the fee for the racing permit generally devolves on the yacht owner, it is asking a bit to much. Surely it is quite sufficient if the owner or owners are members of the club, without forcing tho crew to either becomo mcmncrs or pay a ridiculous sum for a racing permit, which lasts one series of three raoes only. I am informed of a certain club in Auckland, whoso membership is over 300, ivhicli has carried over from last season XS9 worth of trophies and' .£4O in cash, and yet thx> annual subscription is only 53. But this club is comnoscd of liv® , mon, who bustle round for their trophies and are not dependent on thoir own funds. In fact, they have a separata prize fund. You do not have to go far to see tin amount of widespread dissatisfaction caused'by the management of the P.N. Y.C. Why is it that, for tho first of tho series of threo races, only four yachts started in each of the two classes, out of a total number of fourteen in each class, all being yachts which would race, given 6omo slight encouragement. Again, a yaolit has to pay the sum of ss. ontranc* "fee for the privilege of competing for a trophy valued nt £2 2s. Tins alone is a dccided imposition, as, look through tho prizo-money of any sport you like, and where can" you find the entrance fee so hisjli a percentage of tho prize-money? In one sport I might instance—swimming —tho entranoe fee for a guinea trophy is Is., and for a threo-guinea trophy 2s. Gd., and the annual subscription to the clubs is only half a crown. Of courso it is all very well to Fay that a man should toco for the sport alone, but, when you take into consideration the fact that the bulk of tho yachtsmen aro voung fellows, and more or less impecunious, you will allow that they have a right to expect some fair return, in the way of trophies, for the money which they have to expend to got their yachts into racing trim. Again, no one can say that, going round No. 1 courso in a thrcc-reef "northerly" is exactly pleasant. It is certainly * strenuoiiß and bracing, but, when you como to think that at present you havo to sail round 'that or a similar oourse, throo times before you can win a £2 2s. trophy, it is no small wondor that the entries are decreasing. Even last year it was necessary to sail only ono raco for ono trophy, and, when r.ne is usod to this, it comes hard to get used to tho present absurd system, in which, at the end of tho season, two or three yachts will probably find themselves with an equal number of points. In conclusion, I should adviso th« P.N.Y.C. not to wholly rely on its own funds for allthe prize ,money,bbutt t to start an active - canvass'' found the city, There 1 aro many old yachting enthusiasts among the business men of this city, who, I am oertain, would do all in their power to help tho good old sport along, if they were only approachod in the right way. The Racing on Saturday. A reef breeze greeted the small batch! of competitors which faced tho starter on Saturday last. Despite the 6inall entries in both the first and second-class events—four and three yachts respectively—a considerable interest was centred on the racing. In the first class victory onoe mors rested with Siren. This lioat performed even hotter than on tho occasion of her first isin. Her sailing master (H. Cliisholm), with a crew comparatively new to the business, and himself by no means' on old hand, after steering a good courso throughout, landed his charge home a winner by two minntes. Tho Ailsa made her first appearance— three minutes late, though—at the starting line this 6eason. Her youthful crew handled her very creditably, and had she stOirted to time she muA have won. The Muritai decreased her handicap of 19 minutes to six before sho thought fit to start. She could not liopo to win. The Nancy Stair sailed a good race until off Korokoro, where sho had some difficulty in negotiating the buoy. The second-class raco fell to tho Lizzie. This little' packct completed the course in good time, though her performance on the wind was not up to her last year') standard. The Kaweno, although starting 15 minutes late, registered the best performance of the day. Her first hoard to Korokoro was the best bit of wimhuml worK done in either the first or sclond class. Although starting 10 minutes later than the Lizzie, from whom she was to receive some two minutes' start, tho littl® packet swung round the Korokoro buoy a minnte ahead of that boat, showing that, on the day's racing, sho was the faster boat by several minutes. Positions of Yachts. The following table shows the positions of tho yachts that liavo raoed and pained positions so fa.r this season in tli# P.N.Y.C. events:— FIRST CLASS. Firsts. Seconds. Thirds. T'ti Si inn 2 0 1 40 Mahina 10 1 25 Nancy Stair ... 0 1 0 12 Windward 0 1 0 12 Aiilsa 0 1 0 12 Muritai 0 0 1 10 SECOND CLASS. Lizzie 2 1 0 43 Baweno 1 2 0 39 Ethel 0 0 1 10 Taipari 0 ■ 0 1' 1(1 Jlahaki 0 0 1 10 Tho Regatta, The Port Nicholson Yacht Club has awakened from its slumbers of the past month or so. It has awakened with a start, but alasl it is rather too late. The yachtsmen's day— Anniversary Day—tho day that for years past had held forth such great inducement to yachtsmen, the day on lyhiich the yachts, big medium, and small, could settio their differences, and on which day thcv raced for substantial prizes well worth winning, is apparently now no more. Those old-time prizes have gone, anil honour and glory Is meted out in their stead. Big things seemed to be in store for yachting in this centre in the early,part of tho season. Tho fleet had increased, the yachtsmen were enthusiastic, but now, on the eve of this one day, there is no enthusiasm. The success of tho day now entirely depends on the yachtsmen themselves. Tliey must persevere, their interests have been neglected, tlioy have been discouraged, but they must in the interests of tho sport "get out to windward."