REGATTA FINANCE

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 882, 28 January 1930, Page 14

REGATTA FINANCE

RECEIPTS AGAIN DECLINE Contributions from the public to the Auckland Anniversary Regatta funds and general receipts again show' a decline, according to information given to the regatta committee last evening by the chairman. Mr. E. B. Webster. ‘jn announcing that finances revealed a shrinkage of £IOO as compared with last year’s figure, Mr. Webster said he expected smaller receipt, but not as much as £IOO. Besides a general decline in public subscriptions the chairman said that entry money a year ago produced £BS as against about £BO this time. Mr. B. W. Beaumont: We have extra commitments this year. We gave £3O toward the Sanders Cup contest. Mr. Webster: All said and done, we are only acting on behalf of the public, of Auckland. Without the support of the citizens w'e cannot carry on. Mr. Beaumont: We sent out 800 individual appeals and only 200 people replied; 600 are going Legging somewhere. Captain W. Ross, the veteran supporter of the regatta and a one-time trading schooner skipper, recalled the time when Auckland, with a quarter of its present population, subscribed £ 800. Mr. Webster: But there are many other calls today. Unless the committee in future secured a much larger number of collectors money would not come in, said Mr. Beaumont. “Unless we get round among the public and point out that the regatta is a fine thing for Auckland —which It certainly is—the funds are not going to swell,” declared Mr. Beaumont. “The only way is personal application,’* he urged. Mr. Beaumont said it should be recognised that business houses had many calls made on their generosity, some of which should not and could not be refused. The only thing was to make a greater number of personal applications. Mr. G. P. Robertson believed that the- chief difficulty was to find men with time enough to go round. Captain Ross: The money will go down and down if we do not get men with spare time on the committee. If we only sit here and send out circulars we will not make headway. After further discussion it was decided to send out last-minute appeals to the 600 business houses and citizens who up to the present had not responded to the original appeal. Members of the committee have themselves contributed generously. Mr. Percy Carter, who is wellknown for his enthusiastic interest in the rising generation of Auckland yachtsmen, has charge of the Tauranga 7-footers* racing in tomorrow’s regatta. He asks all boys taking part in the races to assemble at 9.30 a.m. at the Akarana Yacht Club’s boathouse. The races will take place in the vicinity of the compass dolphin alongside the new waterfront road. In the remote event of a hard north-easterly wind the events will probably be held near Devonport. In any case Mr. Carter requests the boy a to meet at the Akarana Club for instructions. If there is an ordinary breeze an effort will be made to sail both the handicap event and the championship in the morning. In the event of very light airs one race will take place in the afternoon. Betty, three times winner of the Sanders Cup contest for Canterbury, arrived yesterday in charge of George Andrews, her builder and skipper, to take part in the Anniversary Day Regatta tomorrow. So enthusiastic is Mr. Andrews that ho had Betty out on the harbour in the evening. She is entered in two races for Jellicoe class boats. In order to assist the public in identifying the boat, the regatta committee decided last evening to notify Mr. Andrews that the rules required a distinguishing mark. He will be supplied with a B for Betty’s mainsail. lona staged a good recovery in the Squadron’s general handicap for B and C. class boats on Saturday afternoon. She was last to cross the starting line, being 1m 23s late, but when the boats rounded the Bastion on the first return from Saltworks, she was leading the pack by 3m 4s. Subsequently she lost her lead, but she kept in the van and won the event on corrected time. lona has not been on the Waiiemata for long, having arrived here two seasons ago from the South. Her performance on Saturday marks her as a craft to reckon with in the future. * * * Some surprise wan expressed by yachtsmen on Saturday afternoon over Ariki’s lateness at the start of the Macky Memorial Cup race. Usually well on the mark, Ariki was last to cross the line out of a field of five, and the starter's watch showed her to be lm 24s behind the gun. v m m lorangi, which had not done any racing for some time, entered the lists again to some purpose when she bid for and won the Macky Memorial Cup on Saturday afternoon. She led the field from clearing the Bastion on the first leg down harbour and at the finish was first on both actual and corrected times. MODEL YACHT NOTES Enthusiasts are looking forward to Anniversary Day, when the following races will be held on the Orakei Basin. (1) Boys’ Race, (2) Open Handicap. Referring to the latter, Nigger, scr., looks the likely winner, with Silver Bell, scr, second, and either Expediency scr, or White Wings, 2|min. third. There may be dark horses on the day. but the boats mentioned are in capable hands and should acquit themselves well. The boys’ race carries £2 prize money and the open race £3. Through the generosity of Auckland Anniversary Regatta committee. these races are made possible every year.