THE MAN FROM "DOWN UNDER"

NZ Truth, Issue 1262, 6 February 1930, Page 16

THE MAN FROM "DOWN UNDER"

Yachting

NEVER before m the ten years of the contest has the northern kingdom of boating so richly deserved to forfeit the Sanders Cup. That quiet man with the quick smile, came north on his fourth quest after the trophy, sailed his little craft four times round the harbor and departed leaving the prophets confounded. No two ways about it. Kellett abundantly merited his victory. Granted, he bagged the first of his three required wins for no other reason than he at least knew which mark to sail for m Rangitoto Channel, while Joe Patrick at the tiller of defender Avalon, waltzed on blissfully unaware until too late that he had misread instructions and was heading for the green light instead of the white light buoy. If any man ought to have known his course. It was Joe. He has sailed every' square yard from Kawau to Coromandel, yet here came a yachtsman from the other end of the coiin-

Skipper Kellett Proved Strategist In Guiding Eileen To Victory In Sanders Cup

(From "N.Z. Truth's" Special Auckland Eepresentative.) Skipper George Kellett, who succeeded so thoroughly m mortifying Auckland m the Sanders Memorial Cup contest, sailed on the Waitemata last week, took South the blue ribbon of New Zealand yachting, principally because his brain moved even faster than his boat.

try and found his way without the need of a pathfinder. It has to be acknowledged that the fates were on Otago's side when Kellett was able to stroll home In race three after Avalon had emptied out her crew when leadIng by a good halfmile m the last lap. When a man makes one error of magnitude, as Patrick did In race number one, the crowd begins to get a bit sensitive and therefore hasty of judgment. That was why some of the dryland skippers were heard condemning Joe for taking the risk of a spinnaker, or leading jib used as a spinnaker, when he w>- niinutes ahead of Kellett.It was a dangerous sail to employ m the treacherous following bluster ruling at that

time, and it was . the unwieldy piece of canvas that got out of control, sending a sure win for Auckland beneath- the tide. But If Patrick had not taken that risk, even though he had. the race well m hand, the amateur critics on the wharf would have been on to him just the same. When the spinnaker 'pulled Avalon head over heels and threw the crew of four overboard Kellett coming up fast did the decent thing and stood by until a couple of launches came up

five minutes afterwards and picked '■* Patrick and hls«companions out of the mess. . . When the accident happened there was not a boat within a quarter of a mile. Surely it is somebody's business to be right there m emergency. Kellett, therefore, won the first race by keeping his head and refusing to go astray. His next, the third race, came

: to him by pure luck. Avalon won the sec- ■ ond, and" a good win it was. But what about the fourth and deciding one? After Avalon had shown the way to the i first two marks with the race little more ' than started. Eileen, with Kellett watch - . ing his chance, split tacks with the Aucklander and went on a middle course. This was shortly to prove the beginning of the end for Auckland. Ke'.lett made it clear that he knew what he was doing He had obviated a board which Patrick

thought necessary, and which Rowntree, » sailing Clyde for Wellington, also thought j a good idea. Kellett then worked into "I a comfortable advantage from the Cup \ defender. : Thereafter for the next two hours, j strive all he knew, Joe Patrick could \ not lead Eileen and never more got '- to windward of the man from Dun- [ edln. Kellett displayed generalship -i which earned the admiration of those who were competent on the finer < points of the game. < But Patriok made one desperate and game attempt In the eleventh hour to salvage the Cup. On entering the final and all-important slog to the finish, he gambled for a fluke by standing m to the North Shore for a long tack across harbor while Eilaen, as before, set off on a protracted reach for the South coast. • Avalon held a better wind for some ' time, and when the boats met In Hobson Bay, Patrick had almost pulled off his fluke, but not quite. Wily Kellett knew - his drill and operated on a series of short boards, all the time watching the Auckland skipper like a hawk. Board for board they struggled, but ' Patriok could never head off the quiet j man at Eileen's tiller. ' In the last thrilling board which . brought the spectators to their feet, Kellett caught Patrick on the wrong tack. • So ended as exciting a battle as has been waged here for seasons, the Cup going to Eileen with a margin of 29 sec- . onds. Avalon failed this time for misjudging a tack, which Kellett showed him was not required. Veteran Joe was not on form. He had given a glimpse of his one-time brilliance In sailing a faultless race up to the time he capsized on Thursday afternoon, and that's all In the game, but he came within an ace of disaster m the second of the series on the morning of the same day. At the King'B Wharf mark Patrick again mulled instructions by turning on the ' starboard hand instead of on port. An official on the wharf bawled, "Go round the other way!" and Joe took the tip, but m correcting the hash-up lost one minute 30 seconds. If Otago haa been closer up, the mistake must have been expensive to Joe's reputation. It is questionable if the loud-voiced official was not exceeding his duties m blowing the gaff as he did. If Patrick didn't read his directions then that should have been nobody's business but Patrick's and the judges. Kel.ett was not the only lucky man. George Kellett Has a mind of his own and will not be subject to anybody else'sopinion. That" is why he declined tv follow Avalon on that wrong course ;-.* Neil Rowntree, of Wellington, did irus--.- j ingly. '