YACHTING FATALITY.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1932, 15 December 1913, Page 4

YACHTING FATALITY.

YOUTH LOST IN EVAN'S HAY, SLIPS OVERBOARD IM A SQUALL

During the process of the Welling, toil Cruising Club's yacht race on Saturday afternoon a youth named Victor KniS aged about ]y years, liv.HR with l.'is mother at 23 Caroline Street, was accidentally lost overboard from the yawl White Heather, owned by .Messrs. Jioggard anil Donne., in Evans' Bay. Tlie yac'hU Kotirs, White Heather, Moan, and Ailsa, at the time of I'hc ncci. dent were taking part j n f], o Cruising Club's race. The race started from t'ho Clyde Quay Wharf at A p.m., about which time tlie wind, already blowing a fresh northerly, increased in fnrw. 'i'lio Whito Heather had trie following crow on board: tiny Hoggard, Basil Doime, Jack and Ernest Barnard, Geo. M'Lcan, and tho deceased. Ail on .board wero enjoying tho blow as t'ho yacht rated through the i'oainind; waters. The Ailsa led in the race, followed by tlie Kottii. then tiro White Heather, aiid the Bona, last. At the end <of Evans Bay, in tlio vicinity trf the Patent Slip, lay tho Dolphin, which was to be rounded by t'ho yachts. In. order to reach the buoy a course was set from the Clyde Quay Wharf to the. vicinity of Shelly Bay, then about ship and ,a run. to the buoy. 'Hie yachts Ailsa and Ivotiri had negotiated the "about" portion of the course satisfactorily, and it vras when those on hoard tho Heather were preparing to go ■about, off Shelly Hay, that the accident happened. It was about 3.30 p.m., and was blowing particularly hard. _ Kin,; was on the leo side of the yacht, just a<i she was about to round up, when ho sljppc-d overboard. Almost immediately Basil Donne also slipped into tho water. Meanwhile- the yacht* was on the move, and what with "the rough sea and tho heavy wind p, rescue was somewhat difficult, especially with tho amount of sail the vessel was carrying, Ascordsng to a statement made by Hoggafd, barely two minutes had elapsed before Donne was pulled aboard, and all -hands turned their attention to King, who, whilst being.a good swimmer, was in the. rough sea with his clothes on. 'Hie accident was witnessed by the crew- of tho Boisa, which was in the rear of the Heather. Wl.eii those on tlie Rons saw Bonne brought aboard they thought everything was all right. After somo two or throa. attempts tho Whito Heather went' nhol.it and cainn np alongside King. .Tack Barnard caught hold of the' deceased, hut was unalilo to keep his grip. A cork mat was thrown to him, but he was ..too far off to spcu.ro it. King then, disappeared from sight. The yacht was brought round again, hut the d-Mcased could not he seen. Those on board could not manage the yacht owing to the amount of sail she was carrying. The Vessel cruised around in the vicinity for about, an hour, and then returned to the Boat Harbour. At 5,45 p.m. Hoccard reported the matter to Constable K. -I. M'Kelvoy, of the Clyde Quay Police Station. The first Indication that something was amiss-was the Marnier in which the competing vaelrts returned to the.Boat Harbour. 'The fact that they dm not cross tho finishing line aroused curiosity amongst yachtsmen, and it was not long before the sad iiews was being discussed. .. . , The deceased was of a very bright awl enciablft disposition. He was educMcl at Clyde Qirav School and at the. Wellington Technical School. From the m ter'school Kind went to a" position if 111- Citv Council's offices, where he hat beW employed for about three years, ' So for t'ho liodv has not been feertv-of-ed, hut the pnlieo are searching t.« i shores of Evans Bav for it. As a mark of respect for the deceased, i the pennants oii the yachts at tho Boat Harbour were flown at half-mast yestef day, ■