AQUATICS.

Auckland Star, Volume L, Issue 250, 21 October 1919, Page 8

AQUATICS.

FINE WEEK-ENDS MAKE OWNERS HURTLE. BIG FLEET OF 22-KOOTERS. (By SPEEDWELL.) The very fine weather of the past two weeks hae enabled all boat-owneiv) to get well ahead with the necessary painting and varnishing work on our local pleasure fleet, and already the various 'bays are beginning to fill up with boate. Last Saturday fully a dozen white wings could lie seen on different parts of the harbour, several of them going for their initial week-end trip. Those who did go away over-night had rather a good dusting coming home in the westerly breeze of Sunday. THE 22-FOOTERS. The 22-footers will be a strong class this season, and the three or four new boats will make the racing very interesting. For some years past this has. been the most popular class, and by the time of the first race on XovemlSer 15 there should be a fleet of about fifteen of these handy craft, and the judge's task in dis- ', tingiiishing them will be no sinecure. Fortunately several will be painted dififerentlq. For instance, Valeria has green tojxsides, Lucille wil be blue,; Venus and Dulcie are red, Marie is brown, and Waima looks smart in a coat! of black enamel. This will greatl} , faci-j litate the work of distinguishing these ; : hoate and be easier for the public onco i J their colours are known, and be better than any device on the mainsail. Besides i the boats mentioned there will be SDoreen, Puawanga, Wairangi, the new I boats of D. Spencer, A. Spencer, J. Ben- ! ders, and one or two others, while the Arcadia will most likely .be brought up from Taurunga by her former owner, Mr. I Saundere. This "will make quite a. for- ] miduble fleet, and will require plenty of, room on the starting-line, and should give some Rplendid finiehee, as the handicaps, except in the case of Valeria, will not be more than a few minutes. JOTTIXGS. Mr. V. Lidgard, of Xorthcote, late owner of Vuruna, which he sold before I enlisting, has purchased the Champion ; 26-footer Celox from Mr. H. George, and ; has got her looking well. Sh e was on Saturday. J Mr. H. A. Adams' launch Ariel and Mr. A. K. Breckon's Zeila were put into the I water on Sunday jit Xorthcote, also the 2ti-foot auxiliary Curlew. Mr. J. A. Holloway's new 43 by 10 foot' I launch is practically finished at Uailev and Lowe's yard, Xorthcote, and only waits for her 50 h.p. engine, which is <t«e| I tomorrow by the Niagara. This firmi , shipped a 25-foot V-bottom launch ! /equipped with a 17/ ii h.p. engine, to Kai- '< koura by the lnet trip of the Mokoia. Mr. Mills, of Devonport, for several years owner of the launch Romance has sold her and is having a 35-footer built. She will b e similar in every way to Col Andrews' Manu, and ehould be ready by Christinas. ' • Mr. Chas. Court's new 45-foot cruis-r is well advanced. The hull i s finishec off and painted, and a start has been maue! with her internal fittings. She will bo ready early in December. The 26-foot auxiliary Colleen has been 8 f f. C a " ny " Holla nd to go fishing at the Thaine|, and left on Saturday for her new home. J Mr. A. Spencers new 22-footer was launched laet week, and was out for a tna spin on Sunday, she stood up well to the fresh breeze, her 10ft of-beara standing her in good stead. l Ml '\, D , al . e S P enC(,r ' s ne «' 22-footer was launched last Saturday, and was out " westeX *, tW ° reCfs d °" n in the westerly _ She appears a bit too light, but no doubt her owner will soon get her in good racing trim. The ex-Jlanukau keel yacht Anahera «h,ch has been purchased by two Auck'Valdora wil, go off about £g •berd ,^^: t i^^/„ a ;emt^ ed ■ b " t - Il •ffii ST3L iaST: S; h nearly ready and will be dXnTtime Messrs n 7 °T aCT % °l tUc J ach * Otisv, d or^^w^^s^i cruder and she will take the water in Baileywho raced her for ££ pride in her, both h"mee land" l/t ' handling her e ql ,,,y EfiL When Mr. Fenn's estate was sold she was purchased by Mr. J Inkier w sold to the present „„„ Th ; (' strong,,- built, w ,t h s Hns, a 1 the water_at St. -Holier's Bay last wee", and took her to Judges' Bay to finish off and will moor her within a few varda of I her original moorings. The 14-footer Desert Gold could ,be eeen last Saturday towing a 30-foot launcli whose engine refused duty. The ,

diminutive tug took the launch from Ponsonby to Hobson Bay, and it was surprising how well she kept her tow g-oing. 1 A new 14-footer of the flattie type had I a trial of speed with Desert Gold on Saturday, and quite held her own in the pulfe. When the wind lightened the I extra 80ft of eail told, and Desert Oold gradually got away from her 150 ft canI vassed rival. The 14-footer Square Rigger, which was so badly damaged after winning her race in the Anniversary Regatta of 1018, has been repaired, and seems to go better I than ever with her new sails. The 20-footer Sadie was launched a week ago, and looks well with her brown topsides. Ruhiri, Glady, Cynthia, Wayward, Lorelei, Zoe, Pauwanga, Dulcie, and the launches Sceptre, Ngaroma, and Okere were all put afloat this week-end. More than ordinary bad luck eeemed to trouble the crew of Sceptre on Sunday. She was safely floated off, but ' when her engine was started up the propeller fouled her warp, and brought her (up all standing. Mr. W. Casey kindly came to the rescue with his launch Imanota, and towed Sceptre to her moorI ings in St. ilarj's Bay. Xo sooner did I she get on her moorings than they (parted, and in running out an anchor to help her clear another boat the dinghy swamped, and two of her crew had an ! exceedingly cold quarter of an hour before regaining her cabin. Mr. P. Hickeon'e Countess, which has been in commission all winter, was hauled up on Saturday for an overhaul. She will be off in plenty of time for the first rates. Oood progress is being made with Mr. Colebrook's 44-ft launch at Slattery'a shed. She is now far enough advanced to give a good idea of her size, her 10ft .'of beam ibeing carried all the way from ten or twelve from her stem to within 'a few feet of her short compromise stern. The main cabin is 13ft long, the engineroom 9ft, with a fore-cabin of Bft, besides a roomy cockpit, over which a standing canopy will be built with canvae dodgers. Mollie, as ehe will be called, is a raised cabin boat with fore-deck and good side-deckti. The cabin-top gives lift 3in headroom all over, and as she is a deep-bodied boat, with the floor well down, it does not appear at all high. The .{-cylinder,engine is already installed, and ■ looks a sturdy job, as indeed it needs to be to drive this hefty boat at !) knots, llollic's internal arrangements have been well thought out, and the best use made ;of the space. She will have a lavatory, iwith tip-up hand basin built in jon the port side, also big galley I and sink, with water laid on, and plenty of lockers everywhere. Rack and pinion steering gear is to 'be j fitted, and all engine controls lead to the j'eockpit, giving her a one-man cNntrol, a I very desirable feature at any time. Electric lighting is provided by a Westinghouse generator charging a 100 amp. hour storage .battery, which will allow five.main cabin lights, two in the engineroom, and one each in forecabin and cockpit, with a searchlight on top of the deckhouse, controlled from the cockpit. The benzine tank forms a steering eeat in the cockpit, while water tanks are placed under the side seats. Mollie will i have two masts and a fairly good spread lof canvas, which should come in handy I for long cruises which her owner is looking forward to enjoying this summer. She will be launched about the end of November. The launch Banshee, which wintered on Cumin Street Hach, was launched last Saturday, looking very neat. During the operation of lowering this boat on to the beach from where she was blocked up, an accident happened which might have been fraught wdth very serious if nofc fata , conseqwinceß t U / Q of her crew. It seems that a start had been made to lower her when, through iTn e w g ° One of the W. the Fort?, ♦ d ° Wn ° n her starboVd side. ■ • °u*hT y a *?'- left b >' another *»*. enough I' 61 " n" d CheckeU her fa » long enough to allow two of her crew who caking a httle when put afloat, Banshee tTJI ifVw°n rSe 'r r ,aH - Ifc WOul <* launrfiW °" ners , took «*tra care when the right place m case of accident. A NOVEL INVENTION air ss'.rrssJrHE Hliiil vent.on mstalled in their boat" w?1 be able to leave them without fear'of them ewampmg at their mooring Th e New