YACHTING.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 55, Issue 169, 1 May 1935, Page 2

YACHTING.

THE AMERICA CUP. ANOTHER ENGLISH CHALLENGE. Scarcely lias the thunder roared out from those “big guns’'’ whose humour it w r as. to discuss the last series of America Cup races in their every aspect—before the report of another impending challenge is with us, writes Commander John Irving in the English “Field.” True or not—and there is every likelihood that for once Dame Rumour is on her best behaviour—the news is a welcome piece of evidence that the “advice” of those who never wished to- see the cup raced for again, is nob being taken. Successive challenges, only two years apart, for the story runs that the next challenge will be for a contest in 1936, is indeed like old times except for the fact that instead of challenge after challenge being made by the same individual, as in days gone by, a fresh knight, Mr C. R. Fairey, now enters the lists. Who will build his ship for him and who will design it is not yet reported —presumably it will be Nicnolson again, although there is many a Northern heart which would beat the. faster for a Clyde-built J class challenger. All that is rumoured so far on this side of the Atlantic is that Mr Fairey another renowned aeronautical expert, is going to challenge for 1936, and that he lias already earmarked fit rood, from Britannia, as the nucleus of a crew which he will train hard in the u r ay it should go. Whether or not some of this crew' may be amateurs cannot at this distance of time eyen be surmised, but it must be remembered that Mr Fairey has for long done his best to encourage the training of amateur hands in big class yachts. At the beginning of last season he offered to embark two undergraduates from Cambridge as working amateur hands in Shamrock, and apparently some of Endeavour’s amateur crew came from this source. On the other side of the Atlantic, where the rumour of the challenge was received with joy, the corresponding feeling is that the Americans will design and build a new defender and that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to find a better racing helmsman than Vanderbilt to skipper her. So there wo have the SO years old snowball beginning toi roll on its way again—challengers and defenders, builders and designers, merits and demerits, rigs and ballast, crews and skippers. Presumably there will once again he the whispered stories of won-der-working gadgets and the rest of it,

but we sincerely trust there will be a iittle less non-yachting criticism. Surely it is early enough in the day to draw attention to Mr Sopwith’s * sage •remark at the Pilgrim’s dinner: “The America Cup it too much in the shop window.” Too much outside attention altogether is focussed upon this contest, and it would be a preludfe to a successful series if “experts” would only realise that it is nothing more than a hard-fought series of races between two first-class yachts and helmsmen and it is not a matter calling for Geneva intervention.

Moreover, when contemplating these rumours of a new challenge, let us recollect the analysis of the 1934 races. It has been suggested that Endeavour, even though perhaps the faster ship, did not bring home the “battered old mug” because she was handicapped by a differing interpretation of the rules, and because on occasions she, amongst other things was outmanoeuvred. Whether or not these were the causes of her non-success, it is of some interest to consider them as the “lessons” of 1934 and to see how these apply to the rumoured new challenge for 1936. Whoeyer designs and builds the ship, the result will be a fast ship—that surely must he accepted. Presumably any differences of rules interpretation will be cleared up, and the actual rules governing the race will be understod very thoroughly by all concerned. Then comes the crew itself and) the handling of the ship.