OCEAN YACHT RACING

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 855, 26 December 1929, Page 6

OCEAN YACHT RACING

WAIRIKI WINS RUN TO TAURANGA FASTEST TIME TO NGA-TOA Despite unpromising: weather conditions, 16 yachts started in the annual ocean races to Russell and Tauranga on Christmas Eve. Fluky winds and drizzling rain characterised the start. ; In the Russell event, seven keel ! yachts and five mullet-boats faced the j starter at 7.34 pm., and the race to j Tauranga brought out four keel boats, i which were dispatched at 7.15. The Tauranga contest was won by j Wairiki. on corrected times, Nga-Toa i being first to finish. Nga-Toa crossed the starting line first, closely followed by Wairiki and ! Queenie. Hartsease was 19min late, j Spinnakers were set for the long run j to Cape Colville, where they were j taken in. Xga-Toa soon gained a big ! lead, and at eight o’clock Wairiki and I Queenie were about half a mile behind, j At nine o’clock there was a moder- j ate westerly, and intermittent light ; rain, At 11 p.m. a hard breeze came down, with a good sea running. At 12.10 Nga-Toa passed the Watchman, and at 1.45 she was off Port Charles, with a moderate south-west wind. At 2.45 she was off Kennedy Bay, and at 4.45, sunrise, she was passing through the inner passage of the Dole in the Wall. NGA-TOA BECALMED

The other boats were not in sight, and the wind was light and the sea calm. At 6.30 a.m. Nga-Toa was becalmed between Castle Rock and the Shoe Island. At 7.10 Wairiki and Queenie were in sight near the Old Man. Nga-Toa was becalmed 'for a long period, and Queenie was about 100 yards ahead at 11.10. Just before noon in a light easterly Nga-Toa repassed Queenie. At 2.15 p.m. the wind was all over the place, and Queenie was a quarter of a mile ahead of NgaToa, and Wairiki a quarter of a mile astern. Queenie then drew away, NgaToa and Wairiki being becalmed. There were light fluky winds during the afternon. At 7 p.m. Nga-Toa was off Matakana Island in a steadv southwesterly, with Wairiki and about one hour to leeward. At 7.30 Nga-Toa was about four miles off Mount Maunganui, and Wairiki and Queenie about a mile astern. Nga-Toa steadily increased the lead to cross the finishing line at 8.9 p.m. The finishing times were:—Nga-Toa, 5.9 p.m.; Queenie, 8.49; Wairiki, S.SS-’ Heartsease, 9.34.

Result on corrected times:—Wairiki (2hr SOmin), 1; Queenie (2hr lomin), 2; Heartsease (lhr 45min), 3.: NgaToa (scr.), 4.