AT THE SIGN of THE PENNANT

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 740, 13 August 1929, Page 14

AT THE SIGN of THE PENNANT

By

KEELSON.

PROPOSED CLUB AMALGAMATION

PONSONBY AND RICHMOND A proposal is afoot, though nothing definite has been done up to the present, to effect amalgamation of the Ponsonby Cruising Club and the Richmond Cruising Club. The scheme will not come altogether as a. surprise to yachtsnien who of late years have noted the trend of racing and the increasing difficulty of finding prize money and trophies. The cry of “Too many clubs" is not a. new one, and the opinion has been freely expressed in boating circles that the tendency is for one club to kill another. It is understood that “conversations," to use a political term, have been in progress for some time and that a. meeting of tne two clubs will be held at an early date. Most of Richmond’s members are said to favour throwing in their lot with the older club. and it is believed that there is a good deal of support forthcoming froni Ponsonby, and a. certain amount of opposition. It is only to be expected that the old hands and foundation Inembers' will be chary of a. change of name and constitution. Those who can see into the future will realise that something must be done to arrest the decline of racing among the western clubs. It is no secret that the clubs are not as financially progressive as in their early years and racing has had to be cuttailed. Moreover. it is sometimes found that prize-money and trophies have to be modified and this does not make for popularity of; the club conoerned. . . . 7 . , 7

The idea. in the minds 'of the advocates of amalgamation is that the clubs should adopt a. common pennant and have the same officers. but the existing boathouses at St. Mary’s Bay and Richmond should be used asthey are now. If the proposal is gone on with, and there is no rumour to the contrary, it is hoped to have the amalgamation an established fact by the opening of the 1929-30 season.

OUT OF THE LOCKER

Not a. great deal is being done as yet on the waterfront on account of the continued wet weather. At Judge’s Bay there is some activity, and isolated in‘stances of burning off and cleaning are reported from various hauling-out sites. '

The new owners of Elsinore have burnt the keeler off completely, and a. good deal of work has been put into the keel boat Kestrel and the 22ft. mulletboat Huia. Apart from these three, little has been attempted.

The Llanukau Cruising Club has its annual meeting tomorrow evening in the Orphans' Hall, Onehunga. The club asks that as many members as possible will be present,

Also tomorrow evening the Takapuna. Boating Club is holding its annual prize distribution and dance in the boathouse, Bayswater. The prizes will be distributed by the patron, Mr. George Winstone, Jun. The club reminds prize-winners that no responsibility is taken for trophies not collected on the evening. .

Another "Star” boat, making four in all, will be seen on the harbour next season. It is probable that an Australian fleet of "Stars" will be in proper going order next season, and that in this class at least it will be possible to revive intercolonlal sailing.

Sailing matches between Australia and New Zealand should be annual fixtures. The Los Angeles-Honolulu race is a bigger event than any race from New Zealand to Australia—about 2,500 miles. Some of the boats in this race make fast time. In 1926 the Invader covered 2,449 miles in 12 days 2 hours 49 minutes. She was winner in that year.

Attention is drawn to an advertisement elsewhere advising that the 18footer Surprise is for sale. The boat has a good sailing record and is goingcheap.

MAORI AS NAVIGATOR

NOMADS ON THE PACIFIC A sight that has practically vanished from the gulf and the bays northward is a. Maori canoe. At one time most of the \Vaihekc bays had a native family or two, and northward and southward of the Ilauraki Gulf the Maori settlements were common. There would always be a canoe or two drawn up on the beach, weathered and cracked, but surprisingly useful for all that. The Maori women were as adept as the men in the handling of the craft. In days of the past the Maori was a superb boatman. I—lis large canoes, hewn out with stone axes and tire, were looked after with as much care as a. modern yacht and he had a store of nautical knowledge that would shame a. 20th century seafarer. Few 0! our modems, equipped with metalfastened craft and the latest gear, would plunge off on a 2,000 mile cruise around the Pacific, yet there are records of Polynesian voyagers setting out, in outrigger or double canoes, and travelling from Tahiti to Honolulu or to New Zealand. Common sense, of course, goes a. long way in avoiding disaster. The schooners that traded from New Zealand to the islands war--manned by men who were not afraid or the sea. Their knowledge of "book navigation" was small, but they treaded tho‘sea-roads fearlessly. one skipper, after leaving Ne“: Zealand. found that his chronometer had stopped, yet he made his way to the l\larshall Islands. His son, who was classed as mate, relates that he was 20 years old before he saw a sextant. There is a story of one of the old “Blue Nose" captains, setting out trom Nova Scotia with 120 emigrants. llis ehronometer fell off the table and was broken after three days had been passed, but he sailed down the Atlantic, across to the ,Pacific, and into Auckland Harbour without it. Mr. Percy Smith has placed on record that in the tropical Pacific the natives could steer by the roll of the Waves. before the trade wind in the daytime and by the stars at night. They made a close study of the stars and in com~ mencing a big voyage laid their canoes on well defined marks. Thus at Rarotonga there are still known marks in a bay from which the trip to New Zealand was started, and Kealaekahikl in Hawaii, is in Maori, Te-ara-e-Tahiii, the road to Tahiti. The 2,000 mile journey from the Society Group to New Zealand was made frequently. We are inclined to think of these men paddling away over the ocean in one of the little canoes that used to be seen in the gulf indents. The Maori had his ocean liners as well as his dinghies; great double canoes securely braced together with hefty beams. On these, deck houses were built and the canoes themselves were decked over with matting supported on stanchions- They were good sailers on the wind and one early European navigator states that they could beat to Windward as well as, if not better, than a schooner.