"WHITE WINGS"

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 18, 22 January 1924, Page 8

"WHITE WINGS"

SAILING ON THE HARBOUR

AQUATICS IN IDEAL CONDITIONS

OTAGO WINS JOHNSTON PRIZE.

Yachtsmen and motor-boat owners were early astir this morning, for Anniversary Day i s the biggest day of aquatic sport of the year in Port Nicholson. • By 9 o'clock the Boat Harbour at Clyde quay, was a scene of hum and bustle in preparation for the day s racing programme. The sun shone its brightest, and a light 'breeze from the north delighted the hearts of those who for weeks had been looking forward to fine weather and favourable sailing condition for the holiday. The conditions were almost ideal when the schedule of events was started punctually at 10 a.m. The yachting regatta is the oldest established sporting fixture in Wellington, for it has been a feature of the celebrations of the foundation of the city, with one exception, since 1841. The entries in all events were satisfactory, and special interest was shown in the events in which the Sanders Cup contestants, which will be in the limelight to-morrow, and until the end of the week,'were competing. It gave yachtsmen pleasure, also, to note that the interest shown in their programme by the general public—of late years has been somewhat apathetic in its support towards the sport of yachting— was considerably greater than usual. This was probably accounted for by the excellent weather, the publicity recently given to the importance of the Sanders Cup contest, and the fact that many people from the country have been drawn to the city by the Welcome Week attractions.

For the first time in its history, the regatta is being controlled this year by the Wellington Yach and Motor Bo^t Association, which is also managing in part the Sanders Cup competitions. The executive officials are:—Sailing committee, Messrs. W. Duncan, D. Wall, J. A. Mac Donald, W. Webb, and A. Aldred; handicappers, Messrs. R. Millman (yachts) and J. Barry (launches); starters and.. time-keepers, Messrs. R. Millman, 'J. Barry, and E. M'Culloch; judges, Messrs. A. J. Ibbotson, and G. Bothamley.

For the convenience of visiting yachtsmen, the .steamer Natone was engaged to follow the racing on the harbour, and the opportunity of' witnessing progress of the contests, was seized by a large number of sportsmen, as well as by relatives and friends of the competitors.

Eleven events constitute the day's programme, and seven were got off this morning.

SECOND-CLASS YACHTS.

The first race was the handicap for second-class yachts, the course lying from the Clyde Quay Wharf, round a buoy moored Ayff Somes Island, round the Blinker Light, and back to the starting line. There were seven entrants, but Galatea did not start. The start -was a poor one, Rawene getting away first, followed by Seabird and Wairere. The starters' handicaps were : Romp (A. J. Ibbotson) scr, Windward (Nicholson and Co.) 7min, Wairere I. (C. Holmes) 12min, Venus (Messrs. Martin and Rose) 17min, Rawene (N. D. Blair) 20min, Seabird (D. Kirkcaldy) 24min.

On corrected finishing times the race was. wpn ,by Rawene, which finished 75 sec -clear of Ve-ius, and 95sec ahead of Wairere I. Tho corrected finishing times were :— • : ■ Eawene, 12hr 3Smiu 54seCj 1. Venus,, 12hr 37min 40sec, 2. ■Wairere 1., 12hr 47min 20sec, 3. Romp, 12hr 47min 55sec, 4. Windward, 12hr 48min ssec, 5. Seabird's finishing time was not recorded. FIRST-CCASS YACHTS. A "field" of eight fine-looking yachts was dispatched in the race for first-class yachts, which commenced a quarter of an hour later over the same course. The start was a fairly good one, Ailsa leading the "field/ followed by Atal'anta, Marangi, and Kotiri. The starters' handicaps were: Marangi (B. Clarke) scr, Rona (J. R. M'Lean) £mm, Ailsa (Messrs. Scott and Jordan) 13min, Atalanta (W. H. Hill), 14min, White Heather (H. J. Smith) .15min, Viola (C. Neil) 16min, Kotiri I. (Petheriek Bros.) 2Cmin. Marangi eajly took the lead, and maintained her advantage throughout, finishing some,minutes ahead of the following yachts. On corrected finishing times, however, Kotiri won with 80 seconds to the good. Corrected finishing times were:— Kotiri, _12hrs 30min 55sec ■ 1 Marangi, 12hrs 31min 15sed ..." 2 Viola, 12hrs 35min 25sec 3 White Heather, 12hrs 39min 48sec, 4; Atalanta, 12hrs 40min lOsec, 5; Ailsa, 12hrs 45min 46sec; 6; Rona, 12hrs 68min, 7. THE THIRD CLASS. The third race, which was got away at 10.30, was for third-class yachts, a new class, put on this year for the first time. There were only three starters— Miru (J. Breen) scr, Amai (T. M'Cormack) lmin,'and Nancy Stair (E. Sexton) l^min. Miru was first to cross in a fair start, followed by Amai. Miru held her lead and won 6min 35sec ahead of Amai, and Bmin 20sec ahead of Nancy I Staii\ - * ■ CENTREBOARDERS. The popularity of tho centreboard class was demonstrated in the event which was next dispatched—the race for centreboard boats, 18ft apd under. There were eleven starters, which were handicapped as follow: Claire (Clarke and Blair) scr, Cooee (A. Johnston) scr, Eynin (E. R. Clunies Ross) scr, Peggy (E. R. Clunies Ross) scr, Linnet (S. Sinclair) scr, Murihiku (T. Bragg) scr, Geisha 4min, Irex (A. Aldred) smin, Spook (E. Wilson) 7min, Kewpie (Messrs. Epsom and Appleton) lOmin. The course was from Clyde Quay Wharf, round the Jerningham Buoy, around the hulk Rama, off < Kaiwarra, back to the starting line —twice round. Linnet, though the last boat to start, gained on her leaders, and was the first to turn after the,first round. She lost time in turning round the buoy, but led Peggy by 40 seconds; Irex followed SO seconds after the lead boat, and Claire lmin 19sec, Murihiku lmin 30sec, and Eynin lmin 35sec later. The race concluded, on corrected finishing times, as follows :— Irex, 12hrs 29min 54sec 1 Peggy, 12hrs 32min lOsec 2 Linnet, 12hrs 34min 45sec ;.. 3 Claire, 12hrs 45min, 4; Murihiku, 12hrs 47min 58sec, 5; Eynin, 12hrs 53min 45sec, 6.

Cooee, Kewpie, and Geisha did not finish.

RONA CLASS.

There were' three competitors in the race for the prize of £25 offered by Mr. J. B. Johnston, chairman of the Auckland Yacht and Motor Boat Association, between boats of the Rona design, the approved type for the Sanders Cup contest. Only three boats were eligible, and all started from scratch over the same course as the other small boats. The Hawkos Bay representative, Konini, got away first, about two lengths

.ahead of Rona (Auckland) and three lengths clear of the' Otago representative,: June. Just after the race commenced (11 o'clock) a sudden change occurred, in'the direction of the wind, which freshened from {he west, but the change was only temporary, Rona/ soon took the lead, and after the course had been half covered she led Konini by lmin 18sec and the Otago boat, June, by 3min. Standing well over towards Somes Island on the second time round Kellett, skipper of the June, caught the breeze and gained on the other two boats, finishing the. course 2 minutes 52 seconds ahead of Rona, and 4 minutes 3 seconds ahead of Konini.

LAUNCHES UNDER SEVEN KNOTS.

The corrected finishing times in the race for launches of under seven, knots, handicaps being shown in parentheses, are as follow :— Moana (15min), 12h llm 40s 1 Tangaroa (smin), 12h 15m 24s ... '2 Dolphin (2min), 12h 18m 20s ... 3 Puriri (smin), 12h 19m 20s, 4; Occident (7min), 12h 19m 255, 5; Addeley (lmin), 12h 20m ss, 6. LAUNCHES OVER SEVEN KNOTS. The. corrected finishing times, with handicaps in parentheses, in the race for launches over seven knots, were as> follow :—

Joseghine (smin), 12h 15m 55s ... 1 . Maxie (15min), 12h 17m 19s ... 2. Kereru (7min), 12h 17m 26s .... 3 Koeheke (12min), 12h 18m 14s, 4; Nellie (lOmin), 12h 20m 3s, 5; Resolution (lOmin), 12h 20m 10s, 6; Taua (15min), 12h 23m 20s, 7. ,