YACHTING

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 103, 25 January 1935, Page 15

YACHTING

Anniversary Regatta NOTES ON RACING Inter-club Events (By Spinnaker.) “The best Anniversary Day regatta for years” was the general consensus ot opinion after last Tuesdays event at Evans Bay, and front all points ot view it was an accurate estimate. The day was bright and sunny, with a variable breeze in the morning and a stiff norwester in the afternoon. Entries were large, handicapping good, racing consequently keen, mid the large programme was dispatched smoothly and punctually. Atalanta Comes to Light. The Atalanta gave the other heelers no chance in either race on Tuesday, finishing each time in front by a comfortable margin. With a two-minute handicap. she came home about two minutes before the scratch boat, Wairere I, in the morning, and off the scratch mark was an even easier winner in the afternoon. Johnson Comes Back. “Cooee” Johnson, once well known as skipper of Betty, was seen in action after a long spell at Evans Bay on Anniversary day. He sailed Tassie in the morning race and led most of the way, to be beaten over the line by six seconds by Kitty, the other Wagstaff entry. ' A Tangle. The wind so managed things on Tuesday morning that at about 11.30 representatives of every class met on the bathing sheds buoy. The result was a tangle, with seven-footers diving in and out among the bigger boats striving to get clear, and the breeze coming from a different angle every minute and frequently ceasing altogether. For some minutes from 15 to 20 boats milled, round the buoy, and anyone asking the judge to decide on any collisions would have been tactless indeed. Impudence Runs Away. Impudence, the bluff-bowed 14-footer from Paremata, showed the way round to the field of 14-footers in the afternoon. She started late in the morning race, but in the afternoon the others saw nothing but her stern. However, Phantom, with nine and a half minutes, got near enough to relegate her to second place on handicap. Kio’s Narrow Escape. Under the influence of the stiff breeze in the afternoon, several of the centreboarders had very narrow escapes. The nearest of all was that of Kio 11, which has capsized only once in all her career. ’When opposite Burnham wharf on the run from Kio Bay to Shag Point she was planing very fast before a squall when the spinnaker boom broke in three piece.!. The spinnaker wrapped itself round everything and the boat broached violently, Jim Bolland narrowly averting a capsize. Kio completed the course half full of water. The Boys and Their Boats. Some of the keenest racing was seen among the seven-footers, of which there were over a dozen in both races. The Tauranga starting Ime is between the end of the jetty and the inside buoy, and in a northerly wind the jetty represents the weather end of the line. This meant that from the time the dises were up the bovs were milling round the end of the jetty, attracting crowds on both occasions, and many were the remarks passed marvelling at the swift skill and daring of these boys. A Good Sign. While a club can attract large and keen fields of boys for Tauranga races there is no need to fear for its future, for having started in the sport there is small likelihood of their leaving it Another point is that each boy who takes to yachting is practically certain to interest his parents in the game, for it is notorious that the conversation of a yachtsman rarely and reluctantly turns to any other subject. Keen Indeed. Surely the keenest yachtsman present at the Anniversary Day regetta must have been Desmond Findlay, of Heretaunga. who sailed his seven-footer Nancy across the harbour to take part in the regatta. When he announced before the day of the regatta his intention of sailing across* to the bay he was warned by Alf. Harvey that the weather would probably have a big say. Accordingly at 6.30. a.m. on Tuesday Findlay presented himself at Harvey’s house in search of guidance, and on being told that the weather would probably behave itself commenced to get his boat ready and by 7.30 was on his way. He arrived at Evans Bay about two minutes before the start of the Tauranga race, and went away to quite a good start, gaining fifth place in a field of over a dozen. He started again in the afternoon, this time running third. A Back Dive. One seven-footer boy received a most unexpected bath on Anniversay Day. While hiking well out of the cockpit he lost his balance and ’tumbled right out. His boat paid off on to a run for a lew yards, then rounded up’ and waited for him.

Inter-Club Cups To-morrow. To-morrow is to be another big day for Evans Bay, for four inter-club events are set down for decision. These are the Inter-club Cup, for 14-footers, the Idle Along Championship, the Duncan Cup, for Takapunas, and the Tauranga Cup. Large fields are expected to start, and. given anything like a decent sailing breeze, a most interesting afternoon's sport can be expected. Betty in Otago.

Betty’s memory still being frosh in the minds of Wellington yachtsmen, the following remarks by “Rudder'’ in the “Otiigo Daily Tinies” are of interest. Arrangements have now been mails whereby Detty is to represent Otago in the Sanders Cup contest That is how everyone had hoped it" would be. lint few, if any. could have foreseen the roundabout manner in which Betty came tn be nominated. From start to finish the Sanders Cup arrangements in Otago this year have been marked by most unusual procedure. In the first place the trials were proceeding smoothly, and everything looked very satisfactory until the owner Of Betty, which would undoubtedly have been selected to carry the Otago crew at Stewart Island, decided that he would not place his boat at the disposal of the sailing committee, but would rather sail in her himself for another trial, as he had not had an opportunity of showing what he could do in her. He appeared, along with other skippers, at a meeting of the Yacht Association in order to back up his statements. and there definitely Withdrew his boat from the trials, while Eileen, another of the trial boats, was withdrawn r.t the same time. ■

The upshot was that Vai. the only remaining boat, was selected, and her nomination was sent forward to the New Zealand Yncting Council within the approved time. Then a fortnight before the contest was due to start the owner of Betty decided that he would allow the association to have the use of his boat—under certain conditions, that lie should have the use of her any time up to the contest. Unfortunately, in the opinion of most of the members of the association, Betty represented Otago's only hope of winning the Sanders Cup. and now, after some rather unconstitutional procedure, the nomination of Betty has been substituted for that of Vai. Th? winning of the Sanders Cup v.ould undoubtedly mean a good deal to yachtin'" in Otago, but there must be many who could wisli that (lie representative boat of Ibis province was going forward in a manner that reflected more credit on Lhe control of the sport.