VAL WILL NOT RACE

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 864, 7 January 1930, Page 14

VAL WILL NOT RACE

SANDERS CUP CONTEST Southland will not be a challenger for the Sanders Cup this month, and /or the first time in many years there will be no boat to represent the sailing men ol! Invercargill and Stewart Inland in the contest. This is unfortunate, because Val was recently purchased from Auckland, and it was expected that she would give a good account of herself. Finance appears to be the trouble, as it would cost a good deal to bring a boat all the way from Southland to Auckland. Stewart Island enthusiasts are very sorry about it, and they have written to Auckland expressing regret at not being able to participate. lan T releaven, skipper of Betty, Canterbury’s challenger, is at present at. Stewart Island. He says sailing men there are very pleased Betty has been selected to represent Canterbury. The showing she put up at Stewart Island In 1928 is still green in their ni VaS* 1 and Murihiku 11. took part in the regatta at Bluff. but Trcleaven does not say which won. The futu e of the Jellicoe class is tegarded with a considerable amount c»r gloom in the South, principally be- « a use of the uselessness of the boats for anything but racing, and the increasing difficulty of raising money to finance the contests. The establishment of some kind of Dominion fund is regarded as the only solution to the difficulty. BETTY’S REAPPEARANCE The reappearance of Betty as Canterbury's representative has caused no little interest and some displeasure in Auckland boating circles. "C.D.” writes: —• I note that the Betty has again been selected as the Canterbury representative for the Sanders Cup. Although I am no longer an active participant of the sport, I still take a keen interest in it through the newspapers and I am se l : wondering how the Betty is eligible this year when she was not last year. If my memory serves me right, the chairman of the Canterbury committee, Mr. Andrews, drew attention to the fact that the Betty did not comply with the conditions governing the cup. and she was withdrawn from last year's contest by her owner. How then is she eligible this year? In view of the interest aroused **Bobstay,” the yachting authority of *'The Sun,” Christchurch, was invited to comment on Betty's selection. He says:

Yachtsmen in the South were not surprised when Betty made a reappearance in the Sanders Cup trials this year, and they were also not surprised when she came out without George Andrews, her skipper in previous years. This year the boat was sailed by lan Treleaven, who in past contests has acted at Andrews’s spinnaker hand, and he> will be skipper of her in the contest races this month. It was never thought by Canterbury eailng men that Betty would stay out of the trials unless she was sold to some other province, and even when she did not sail last year it was thought by many that she would put in an appearance in the trials this year. No doubt a number of the Auckland yachtsmen are wondering why she should put in an appearance again after a statement made by Andrews at the conclusion of the Sanders Cup contest at Stewart Island. However, it must be remembered that Andrews never said that the boat would not be seen in any more contests. His statement was to the effect that he would not be sailing the boat himself in any more races. He has stood by his statement, and never since the Stewart Island contest has he sailed the boat. The reason why Betty was not brought out for the 1928 contest was that Andrews was much too busy with other work to get the boat ready, and >o Colleen, then a new boat, and the best available, was sent to represent the province. A CAPABLE SKIPPER In this year’s trials the boat was never sailed by Andrews, but always by Treleaven, who won every one of the three trials held. This is the first occasion that Treleaven has been given the opportunity of displaying his ability to ?ail the Jellicoe class boat, and although most sailing men in Canterbury will admit that he is not a patch on Andrews, he displayed that he is a very capable skipper and will take a lot of beating in the contest. He had a hard fight with Colleen in the trials, but he managed to scrape home in the three races, although in the second trial there was only a second to spare between the two boats at the finish. Andrews was in the boat in the last trial, but this; is the only occasion that he has been seen in the boat at all since the Stewart Island contest. He did not sail v.he boat in this race, but acted as spinnaker hand for Treleaven. There is no gttting away from the fact that if Canterbury is to put up a good showing in the contest she will have to send Betty to Auckland, although a few of the enthusiasts here are doubtful if Treleaven will be able to lift the cup. Some say that he does not possess the experience necessary to sail with the cracks that he will meet the contest. Betty is Canterbury’s only hope. Bast year Colleen was sent to Akaroa. and although she proved herself to be a fast little boat off the wind, she was no match for Avalon. Eiieen or Clyde.

From the time of the conclusion of the 1928 contest up till the time of the trials for the coming contest Betty had been lying in her shed, and had never been touched, and although she managed to win all the trials this year, die did not appear to sail as well as she did when last seen in action. She seemed much more sluggish in the water, and her windward work was not near as good as it used to be. This is put down to her sails which have now seen five year's service. However, new sails were ordered some time ago, and she will probably have a try-out with them before she is sent to Auckland. Although Andrews will not be sailing the boat this } ear. there is a possibility that he will go North as a member of the crew. The arrangement regarding the selection of a crew this year was that a crew should be recommended bv the skipper chosen, and that it should be considered by the Sanders Cup Committee of the Canterbury Sailing and Power-Boat Association. This has not yet been done, but it is believed that Andrews is among those suggested by Treleaven.