YACHTING

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 138, 7 December 1929, Page 24

YACHTING

By "Mainsail" SANDERS CUP

TRIALS TO-MORROW

CORNWELL CUP SERIES

If weather conditions are suitable, ' a start will be made to-morrow with 1 the local series of Sanders Cup trials, ■ Tho view of the selectors is that oven- - nig trials aro generally of litvlo use t owing to failing wind, and they are of j opinion that Sunday trials are muck _ to bo preferred. The first race will 'I take place to-morrow morning, and the "Iboats will be towed from the- Boat ' Harbour at 10 o'clock. The course is from the Somes Island light to tho . Ward Island blinker and back, twice round, about eight miles, involving ; windward and leeward "work which '| should thoroughly test the boats and crews. In the afternoon, it is hoped to get off another race, starting from Point Jerningham. The boats will sail up to Shag Point, back to the Shelly Bay buoy, and thence cither to Point Jerningham or Point Halswell, according to the wind, twice round/ : No Reply from Auckland. -.: r . No reply has been received by tho Wellington Provincial Yacht'" and Motor Boat Association to the letter sent to Auckland asking whether it would be possible to postpone the commencement of the Sanders Cup races, set down for 2uth January, so as to allow the local crew and boat to participate in the Anniversary Day regatta. At the meeting of the association on Thursday night, members were generally of the opinion that it was unlikely the date would bo altered. Sealing of Engines. It has been decided to notify owners of auxiliary yachts who intend to race on Anniversary Day that their boats must be at the Boat Harbour one hour before the races start to allow the sailing committee to seal the engines. "It will stop a lot of arguments later on," remarked a delegate at Thursday night's meeting. Trials at Petone. Mr. A. G. Harvey, sole selector of the ■Wellington Cornwell Cup representative, stated on Thursday night that he was disappointed with the nominations of crews by the clubs, only the Worser Bay nominees being to hand. He was given an assurance that the other nominations would be supplied next week. The trials commence at Petone on Saturday next at 3.30 p.m., and the Heretaunga Club's Takapunas •will be used. ' . Prize Money for Kegatta. An animated discussion followed the receipt at Thursday night's meeting of the association of a letter from the B.P.N.Y.C. suggesting that in order to make the regatta more attractive for yachtsmen the prize money should be increased by. means of larger donations from the affiliated clubs. Mr. W. P. Shorland (8.P.N.Y.C.) explained that what the club intended was to have an effort made to bring the regattas up to the standard of years gone by. With bigger prizes it might be possible to attract boats from other centres to compete; Ma-. C. Garrood (Heretaunga) maintained that, prizes were not the . only inducement for yachtsmen to race in the regatta. Yachting was supposed to be the cleanest of all sports, and it would be spoiling, it to ofier bigger cash prizes. Mr. H. Elliot (Evans Bay) said he did not think the prize money was a great inducement to boat-owners. The same boats raced each year, whether the prizes were large or small. There was a diversity of opinion as to whether it would be possible to get the views of club in time for the next regatta, and it was decided that a copy of the letter be sent to each club, and that the matter be brought up again at the next association meeting. Paremata Club. Members of the Paremata Boating Club who had proposed to sail round to the Plimmerton Club's opening.on Saturday afternoon were keenly disappointed when the strong nor'-westerly, accompanied by rongh seas, prevented any of the small boats from going outside. However, quite a number made the trip by car and train and were very, cordially received, a most enjoyable afternoon being spent. Conditions were again unsuitable for racing on Sunday, and all the events were postponed, although several of the boats were taken out for a short spin. Plimmerton Club Opens. There was. certainly no lack of enthusiasm at the opening of the Plimmerton Boating Club's fifth season oil Saturday afternoon, a gratifying feature being the good attendance of local residents. The B.P.N.Y.C. was represented by Mr. W. Duncan, commodore, and the Paremata Boating Club by the commodore (Mr. P. Huggins), who was accompanied by a good muster of members. Unfortunately, the boisterous conditions prevented the boats from taking the water, but there was compensation for those present in the hospitality dispensed by the club and lady residents of the district. The speech of the commodore (Mr. E. Burd) indicated that the club was making good progress, and that members and residents were displaying marked enthusiasm in its activities. New members were being enrolled, and the new clubhouse, which was in course of construction, would do much to arouse increased interest. ■ . Worser Bay Club. No race was held on Saturday. Club members, however, spent the afternoon profitably in cleaning out the boatshed. and re-arranging the boats. A system of placing tho lighter boats on racks has been adopted. The racks are supported from the walls and are high enough to allow another boat to rest underneath. Eoom for many more boats can be provided for in this way, and one side of the shed can. be kept quite clear to allow any boat wherever it is placed to be taken straight out of the shed without shifting any other boat. The forecast was for moderate wind on Sunday, and if this were so, then a fresh breeze might be designated as one which would just ripple the water. On the contrary, it might be said that a strong wind was blowing on Sunday for most of the day. The day was-typical of Wellington, especially from the yachtsman 's point of view. A fierce squall would strike the sails without warning and lej.vo them as qui;i:>. si lowing the boat to. right itself uncomfortably quickly. A couple of -Worse* Bay boats were out in the morning witlt full sail, and when the wind was steady sailing was quite good- but the wind was seldom steady. The training of the club's Cornwall Cup aspirants is under way, but the spinnaker hands did not have a good opportunity on Sunday to practise their part. The same might apply to the skippers. Sailing in» a rough wind and sea necessitates the abandonment of all the finer points of sailing, ana the chief difficulty is to keep the boat from capsizing.