AT THE SIGN of THE PENNANT

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 936, 1 April 1930, Page 14

AT THE SIGN of THE PENNANT

By

KEELSON.

OUT OF THE LOCKER NOTES FROM ROUND ABOUT Conditions were light last weekend and on Saturday afternoon in particular. The Parana Club's . cruising and harbour races were marred by the flukey, light and van- j able airs which, with flat patches | intervening periodically, prevailed throughout, and yachtsmen in general, | who were out for a week-end “had their styles cramped." Dusk saw all sorts of craft making strenuous endeavours to reach Islington Bay with the aid ®t dinghies and paddles. At ono stage, a dinghy witn an outboard motor was towing three large yachts, onlv the mosquito fleet bothered to. go ri"ht into the bay. By 8 P*m* a view from the bay showed riding-lights dotted about everywhere, apparently extending halfway over to Browns Island. Auxiliary power must have been the main topic of * most of the cabins. A beautiful Sun dav morning dissipated all bad feelfngs. however. A light south-easter y breeze enabled ardent fishermen to reach Bikino, the N'oisies or the northern end of Waiheke. andin the afternoon a strengthening north-east breeze was responsible for a Brand sight as the fleet returned on the making tide with all light sails drawing. Ida started off on Saturday afternoon for a few days' cruise round the Hauraki Gulf. H \orere, the first-class schoonerrigged yacht with moorings at Kawau has lately been up on the hard at tha yards of W. G. Lowe and Son under"oing an overhaul, and is now almost ready to tako the water again. Genera! opinion was in favour of the use on Saturday afternoon of the spar buoy to mark the end of the Akarana Club's starting line oft Judges Bavin place of the compass dolphin, as has been used heretofore. It i» understood that a spar-buoy will be employed henceforth by this club.

Another five weeks should see the j -present boating season over and the , r-raft going up on to the hard. Closing . day takes place on April 26 and tho ~nd Yacht and Motor-Boat Association will stage cruising and har- J hour races for all classes of sailing j and powered craft. There will he j harbour events for classes M to Y, -Star class, speedboats and outboards, j Vll other boats, including launches, j will be dispatched on cruising races ■to Islington Bay. s Victory is just back from a honeymoon cruise with Captain Geoff. George at the tiller. , e , There was a good number of rra ft at Matiatia Bay during last week-end, xhe most of which were participants in the Akarana Yacht Club's cruising race to that destination. Other boats there were Waitangi and Kongo. The squadron’s * fixtures for the j season are at an end with the | exception of a resail of an M class jevenh L. Wood, of Devonport. contemplates having a small keeler built during the winter to replace his 18-footer i Paws. » • * There is every prospect of a Z class | fleet being initiated at Islington Baynext summer. Two shackholders "there are now inspecting boats with the intention of buying. Rumour has it that the absence of some of the usual Lipton Cup contestants on April 12 may be accounted for by the fact that more than one honeymoon cruise starts on that day. * * * Sad coincidence marks the deaths of two old yachting rivals. Mr. Hector George and Mr. E. V. Miller, each of whom breathed h!s last while on board the boat he had raced so keenly against the other. Some of the keenest racing seen on the Waitemata has been between the two first class keel yachts Moana and Victory, the former sailed by the late Mr. Miller, and the latter by his late rival, the boats being similar in build. Fate seemed to have decreed that these keen boating men should die aboard their beloved yachts. Mr. George passed away some years ago while racing the Victory (Lady Jellicoe was on board at the time), and Mr. Miller died a few weeks ago on board the Moana while returning from el cruise to Kawau.

After having taken part in the AkaTana Club’s cruising race to Matiatia Bay for H class boats on Saturday afternoon. Awatere left the bay early on Sunday morning and went up to Fine Island. Up there were Valeria, Rinaldo, Marere, and Shalimar..

♦ * * Lady Sterling was at Beach Haven on Sunday. Starloch went to Howick for the week-end. Speedwell returned home from Matiatia after finishing in the Akarana Club’s cruising race for O class on Saturday. * « o Twilight went for a picnic on Sunday. She made for that little beach on Rangitoto behind the beacon. Maratea was there, and Mermin, which had had tolerable luck fishing off Tiri, and called to clean. Heartsease arrived in the afternoon, and Mr. Beckett’s yawl-rigged keeler Mizpah was in the vicinity. * * * The Akarana Tacht Club’s weekly dance will be held in the clubhouse, Mechanics’ Bay, tomorrow evening. MODEL YACHT NOTES The Orakei Basin Model Yacht Club had another day out on Saturday afternoon, but light and baffling northerlies made the handling of the small craft very difficult. Conditions improved a little later in the afternoon, and the race resulted: lona, scr., 1; Mercury, 2 l-ssec, 2; Foam, 2 l-ssec, 3. Nine boats started. A new model. Starlight, was tried out in the week-end, and in a light breeze showed a very clean pair of heela to the other boats. This boat has the makings of a first class handicap performer.

THE MANUKAU VISIT PONSONBY'S HOSPITALITY The most informal and enjoyable j outing of the season vras the Ponsonby j Cruising Club's entertainment of the Manukau Yacht and Motor-Boat Club J at Islington Bay last week-end. Pon- j sonby, Victoria, Akarana, the Power- j Boat Association, and Manukau were j all well represented. A social evening was held at Mr. George Dennis's cottage, which! had been liberally decorated with i hunting. Mr. R. Francis, secretary of j Ponsonby Club, was chairman. Among the speakers were Messrs. Curcell, Hannah, Griffin, Goodison, Swales and Gordon Miller, all of whom made reference to the generosity of Mr. Dennis in allowing the use of his cottage. The “piece-de-resistance" of the outing was a series of single-handed 12ft Cin races, and there was great disappointment when it was learned that the Takapuna Club would not sanction the use of its boats unless it controlled the racing. i These races were organised and con- | trolled by Mr. Ivo Dennis, of the Manuj kau Club, and the trials were purely sporting. I The Manukau Yacht Club's three I boats had been hauled over by Mr. L. ! Stericker. who had made three trips to | the western harbour, bringing over one S boat each trip on his outboard’s | trailer.

The racing proved interesting, ; though the breeze was light. In one race only six seconds separated first and third boats. The Tua Tea had this season’s Cornwell Cup sail bent on and Mr. Norman Wilson used last year’s Cornwell Cup sail. Comet, leaking, and with an unfinished keel repair, used scratch sails, a second set being unearthed in the locker and bent on during the day. Mr. W. Ellis towed the visitors' boats to the has-. A number of Manukau men were anxious to leave their boats at the bay and repeat the visit at a later date. The racing results were published in The Sun yesterday. LIPTON CUP ENTRIES CLOSING DATE APRIL 7 The “Derby” of the yachting sea- j son will soon be run. On April 12 the Ponsonby Cruising Club stages the annual Lipton Cup coni test for 22-footers. This cup, prej sented by Sir Thomas Lipton, of worldwide yachting fame, is valued at £230. Mr. R. Francis, secretary of the Ponsonby Club, advises that the closing date for entries has been extended from yesterday to April 7. The following entries have been received, the clubs represented being j shown in parentheses:— Rakoa (Dev- ! onport Yacht Club), Marie (Tamaki j Yacht Club), Varuna (Manukau CruisI ing Club), Mowai (Richmond Cruising | Club), Malua (Ponsonby Cruising Club), Valeria (Akarana Yacht Club), j Entries have yet to come from four i more clubs): —Takapuna Boating Club, Milford Cruising Club, Manukau I Yacht and Motor Boat Club, and Point Chevalier Sailing Club.

DRIFTING MATCHES RACE TO MATIATIA Saturday's weather made the Akarana Club’s cruising races to Matiatia an fiasco. In the race for first and second class yachts, only t\vo competitors were able to complete the course through lack of wind, and the day was no test of yachtsmanship. Several yachts were towed to the* starting line. After having crossed with nice judgment and with a good lead. Windward poked a spinnaker out forward to catch a slight northerly air, and worked slowly down the harbour to establish a comfortable lead at Bean Rock lighthouse. For a long time Ariki and Nga-Toa just managed to stem the incoming tide, and the painful procession continued down the harbour. In the Motuihi passage Windward was becalmed, and Nga-Toa, with her great area of light sails, gradually overhauled and passed her. Ariki and lorangi had by this time given up, and were making efforts to reach an anchorage at Islington Bay before nightfall. & Nga-Toa reached Matiatia shortly after 8 p.m., and Windward arrived some 20 minutes afterward. As to the other classes, many boats dropped out of their races at the entrance to Islington Bay. They could get no farther. Those that were able to, and did, struggle bravely on had a deadly time, reaching the finishing line at times which extended as late as 11.10 p.m. The Akarana Club was unfortunate indeed, but it is not the only aquatic body that has suffered through similar conditions this season. There has been a veritable glut of these “flat” days, particularly on the occasions of club regattas.

POWER BOAt PICNIC LAND AND WATER CONTESTS A large myster of launches was found in Islington Bay on Saturday on the occasion of the New Zealand Power - boat Association’s annual picnic. Glorious weather conditions favoured the gathering, and the water was ideal for the numerous dinghy races which were held and the race back to the city contested by the outboard division. During the day running events were also held. Mrs. H. O. Wiles, wife of the commodore, distributed the prizes. Following are the results: Running Events.—Tiny tots’ race, 4 years and under: Patricia Usher, 1; Margaret Hutchinson, 2. Girls’ race, 12 years and under : Joan Schofield, I; Doris Ley land, 2. Girls’ race, 17 years and under: Elaine Kingsford, 1; Thea Taylor, 2. Women’s race: Eileen Taylor, 1; Dorothy Wrightson, 2. Boys’ race, 15 years and under: R. Mclnnarney, 1; R. Knock, 2; B. Sehischka, 3. Boys’ race. 10 years and under: J. Schofield, 1; R. Wilson, 2; M. Robertson, 3. Youths' race, 17 years and under: J. Kingsford, 1; L. Knock, 2. Executives’ race: Melvern, 1; Rushbrook, 2. Dinghy Races.—Women’s race: Mrs. L. Sehischka, 1. Boys’ race: Sehischka, 1; A. Fish, 2; B. Sehischka, 3.