HEAVY FOG VEILS OCEAN YACHTS

Rotorua Morning Post, Issue 5288, 28 December 1946, Page 5

HEAVY FOG VEILS OCEAN YACHTS

( PresS Assn.—

SYDNEYJHOBA'RT RACE ILEX LYING IN GOOD POSITION

-Rec. 11.30 p.m.)

SYDNEY, Dec. 26. G6ve£ed by a v&st pateh of sea fog and low cloud,' an R.A.A.F. Liberator sighted ohly fouf of the 19 yachts taking part in the SydneyHobart race during a flight of fotir hours to-day. Just before the plane was about to abandon her patrol, some boats wer^sighted through a break in the couds. Diving down, the plane ' identified the Saga, Ilex and -'Sirius. The ?-aga was well ahead of the Ilex off Jervis Bay, and about three miles hehind the Ilex was the Sirius. Altliough the leaders were npt sighted, it is thought those hoats seen were in the middle ox the fleet, which indicates that the Ilex has considerahly improved her position. iShe was previously reported lying second to last. The Morna, still leading the field, is believed to be 50 miles to the south. . To-day several of the yachts were heard in radio contact. First throuigh Sydney Heads 50 .minutes after the start of the race, the Bermuda cutter, Moma, led the fleet of 19 yachts. The gaff schooner Wanderer, ari intending- Tasmanian entry, was reported near the Heads on the way from Tasmania, but as she had not arrived at Sydney early this afternoon, it is unlikely that she will take part. Light sailing conditions are enabling the Bermuda cutters to pile up a commanding lead. When last reported, Morna was six mles ahead, with the gaff cutter Defiance second, and Merlin, Mistral, Active and Winston Churchill all within a mile radiras. They are five to eight miles •off the coast. The New Zealander, Ilex, evidentally liandicapped in the light weather by her heavy gear, was second last, a few hundred yards ahead of the Tasmanian ketch, Kalua. Thousands of people paclced South Head ' and every harhour vantage point and a vast fleet of more than 300 small craft surrounded and followed fhe race entrants. Keenness to obtain the blue riband of Australian yachting is so intense that crews are reported to have baclved themselves for as m.uch as £4000. The New Zealand ketch Ilex was the 13th vessel to clear the Heads 49 min'utes after the leader. Active and Saga were involved in a collision before the start, but good seamanship prevented damage to either vessel. 'Meteorologists have promised fine conditions and relatively light winds for about half the passage with southwesterlies off Gabo Island. Two hours after the race started Morna was off Bondi and leading Merlin by noarly half an hour.