Personalities Afloat

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 232, 20 December 1927, Page 18

Personalities Afloat

MR. A. St. C. BELCHER Vice-Commodore Manukau Yacht and Motor-boat Club Alan St. Clair Belcher has been one of the Manukau Yacht and MotorBoat Club’s best known members for upwards of 15 years and as such has done much in the interests of the sport of yachting on the great western harbour. He has had a long experience of yacht racing and motor-boating and was known as a capable yachtsman when he sailed the

16ft champion Mis- j tral. Mr. Belcher j sailed for some years with his younger brother, but had to give up yacht racing a couple of years ago in favour of launching owing to old war wounds. In the same season as he had to relinquish yachting Mistral was ex-

changed for the I.4ft champion flattie Cupid which his brother now races with success. Mr. Belcher now owns the launch Lily Meg and spends most of his leisure time in fishing near the Manukau Heads. In addition to being a flag officer of the Yacht Club Mr. Belcher is widely known in football circles. He is a member of the executive of the Auckland Rugby Union, on which committee, as representative of the Grammar Old Boys’ Club, he has served since 1920. Notwithstanding his active share in the management of his chosen summer and winter sports Mr. Belcher gives much of his time to the Mount Roskill Road Board, to which he was elected two years ago.

CORNWELL CUP TRIALS ACTIVITIES ELSEWHERE As the day draws near when the Cornwell Cup contests will be held on the Waitemata the various selection committees in th© ports to be represented at Auckland are busily engaged in holding trial races for the selection of the two boys to “strive mightily” on behalf of their port. The contests will be held at Auckland beginning on January 14 and continuing for four days or more. Entries have been received from the following nine ports: Auckland, Canterbury, Christchurch, Manukau, Napier, Otago, Tauranga, Wellington and Whangarei. Selection is nearly completed in some ports, but in others choosing the crews has yet to be undertaken. Auck-

land began on Saturday when a race was held by the Takapuna Boating Club, the parent body of the contests in th© Dominion. The following is a brief resume of activities in other centres: Otago.—The trials were concluded on Saturday afternoon, when Riddell, in Betty, again won from the fast boat Colleen, with Campbell aboard. Four trial races have been held. Riddell and Churchill have won three of them, so that there is no doubt as to who will come North. Canterbury.—Altogether eight trials are being held at Lyttelton, thus enabling each crow to sail in the same boat twice. Five points are allotted for a win, three for a second and one for a third. The position of the various skippers now is: G. Brasnell, 13 points; H. Norris, 8; F. Foreman, 4; and R. Taylor, 1. Trial: races in other ports have not yet been conducted. In some centres elimination heats will not be required as selection presents no difficulty. The trial race which was to have been conducted last evening was not held, as the boats could not turn out in time. However, the trials will be continued to-morrow (Wednesday) evening at 6.30 p.m. off the clubhouse, Bit ys water.