THE AMERICA CUP.

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 62, 4 June 1927, Page 13

THE AMERICA CUP.

YACHT RACING TROPHY. DOMINION AS COMPETITOR. A.V impracticable suggestion. For 76 years the New York Yacht Club has held the world’s greatest yachting trophy, the America Cup, despite attempts on the part of British yachtsmen to regain it. Next year Sir Thomas Lipton, the grand old man of yachting in Great Britain, will cross the Atlantic with another Shamrock, in his fifth attempt to bring the long-lost cup back to British waters. Recently it has been suggested that New Zealand should build, equip, ant man a yacht to compete for the American Cup, the cost to be borne by the yachtsmen, the Government, and the public of the Dominion. Whether she were successful or not, it has been said, the scheme would be a splendid advertisement for New Zealand. The first difficulty to he met would naturally be that of cost. It is extremely doubtful whether the enormous sum necessary could be raised in the way suggested, or by any other means. When it is remembered that the various yachting associations throughout the Dominion had the greatest difficulty in raising the few pounds needed to finance their competitors in the last Sanders (lup contest, it seems hardly likely that even the yachtsmen, the Government, and the public together could or would find £30,000 for building and equipping a yacht to sail to America on the extremely unlikeli” chance of winning the America Cup, even were times more prosperous than at present. OTHER DIFFICULTIES. The contest is open to yachts of all nations, hut it is a condition that competitors must sail to New York, which necessitates their being built strongly enough to withstand the heaviest gale that may he met with on the way. This is one of the causes to which Sir Thomas Lipton attributes his past failures to lift the cup, and it is a consideration which would he even more important in the building of a yacht which would have to sail the 10,000 miles from New Zealand to New York, as against tlie 3000 miles from Great Britain. It has been suggested that the yacht should be designed in New Zealand, hut with all due respect to New Zealand designers and naval architects, it is questionable whether one of them would be sufficiently skilled and cx perienced in the art of designing big racing yachts to compete successfully against famous British and American >acht designers, and at the same time incorporate in the vessel the necessary features to make her capable of a long ocean voyage, without sacrificing speed. The yacht probably could be built in New Zealand, but from the fact that most of the yacht owners in the Dominion have their racing sails made in Australia or America it appears that there would not be a New Zealand sail maker capable of turning out a sufficiently good suit of sails. Further, there is the question of finding a skipper, with a crew of anything ip to 30 experienced men, who could *ace a huge yacht such as has never been seen in New Zealand waters. Igainst the world’s most skilful yachtsmen. accustomed to handling such craft. A MORE PRACTICAL SUGGESTION. While it would hardly he practicable for New’ Zealand to enter a competitor for the America Cup, there are ao very great difficulties in the way Tv® n international contest nearer home The majority of the racing yachts sailed in New Zealand waters range from 20ft to 40ft in length, corresponding to the sixmetre (20ft), eight-metre (26ft), and 12-metre (39ft) classes so popular ,n Great Britain and America, and in which racing is extremely keen. If a cup were presented for competiion between Australia and New Zealand in one of these classes, a muchneeded fillip would be given to yacht.laS in the Dominion, and it might lead \ n *” e course of tira< fo participation in races f.rrM. G4 BSTA v