AQUATICS.

Auckland Star, Volume LIV, Issue 301, 22 December 1923, Page 8 (Supplement)

AQUATICS.

The race will start off the King's wharf this afternoon and with average weather the boats may be expected to arrive at the finishing line off the Mount, on Sunday afternoon, where they will be met by the local yachts ; and launches. Monday will be devoted , to seeing the sights around Tauranga. On Monday evening they will be enter- ' tamed in the Town Hall and those who wish to go will be taken out on a fishing trip to Mayor Island, leaving at • 11 p.m. Christmas morning will be • I spent exploring this famous spot, the | guests being landed back in Tauranga. ■ |in the afternoon. On Christmas even-j , I ing a big camp fire concert and dance i . I will be held at Waharoa. Boxing Day twill be taken up with motor runs to ' Gate Pa, Oiitumoetai lemon orchards , i \ and otiier places ot" interest, while the . | bowling greens, tennis and croquet lawns , , and picture shows will ho free to visitors. . who arc also invited to the Foresters' " picnic and sports at the Mount on Box- | 1 ing Day, concluding with a calico dance j : at night. The following day, Thurs- I day, is regatta day, when no less J than 50 events are down on the pro- j ' gramme. Truly a formidable round of | ■ entertainment, which will keep friend '■ Colin and his willing workers going from i daylight till long after dark. I " I As each year new boats take part in 1 the ocean race, I repeat the courses 1 and distances for their benefit. Since j ' last year a new light has been estab- I ' lished on Ohena Island, which should be L a great help in the dark. The courses • are as follows: Taking a departure from Emu Point, Motutapu. Emu Point to the Watchman Island off Cape Colvillc, ' north-east by ninth _ north, 26 miles. ' This course takes you midway between • the Cape and the Watchman. Watch--1 man Island tv False Watchman, or 1 Square Top Island as it is called in the ' chart, is north-east by east _ east, 4 miles; False Watchman to Waikawau '■ Point east by south . south, 7 miles; ' 1 Waikawau Point to Old Man Rock [ (220 ft high off Mercury Bayi. east by ' south _ south, 21 miles: Old Man Rock 1 to the Mount, off where the race finishes, " south-east by south, 56 miles; a total 1 of 121 miles. This course will take I you outside the Slipper and Karewa . Island. Ten miles south-east ot" Old 1 Man Hock is the Castle, another pro- ! mineut mark in the course. The distances on the northern run to > Russell are as follows: North Head to . C'unoe P.ock 23J miles; Canoe Rock to , Rodney 10_ miles; Rodney to Sail Rock ' 17} miles; Sail Rc-?k to Bream Head 9_ ! miles; Bream Head to Tutukaka 11_ ' I miles; Tutukaka to Cape Brett 30 miles; : Cape Brett to Russell wharf 14 miles; a total distance of 120 miles. . The new _4ft by Sft 6in fast cruiser t built to the order of Mr. D. Teed, of j , Epsom, by Messrs. T. M. Lane and Sons., i; Ltd., was launched from her builder's i' I

(By SPEEDWELL.) The Squadron race for the Hardie trophy held last Saturday proved to be ; a keen one. All ten boats started and j finished, the new course being used for j the first time and it was generally voted I a good one. It also has the merit of being some miles shorter than the old I course, enabling the boats to finish in good time with anything of a breeze, I which does not interfere too, much with | their cruising arrangements. It was a! long beat up harbour from the green j light buoy to the Rona buoy off Birkcn- i head, more especially as the tide was l strong ebb, but it gave them all a thorough test. Victory sailed true to name and won the race but she only had 30 seconds to spare from Ladye Wilma, which was second on corrected time, with Rawene third, 21 seconds later. This, shows excellent handicapping, although it is hard to see why the old-timer Moana should give a start to Victory. The Prize, which was sailing her maiden race, was disappointing, but should do better when her sails have a chance, to stretch into shape. Beating home on Sunday with two reefs down and a' Staysail, she appeared to be tender. However, as I have often said, a newboat is never at her best during her first season. The winner was well sailed, while Cyril Bassett excelled himself at the tiller of Ladye Wilma. Rawene had a new mainsail and did better than the haudicappers expected of her. Ariki looked a thoroughbred as she sailed close-hauled >.p the harbour with never a quiver in her sails, and the race was well worth watching from start to finish. The race for the M class was also a good go all the way round, the advent of a third boat in Mollie adding to the interest. Matarere again proved a little faster than her sister boat Mawhiti, beating her in by the narrow margin of 14 seconds, Mollie being third, lm 42sec behind Mawhiti. The squadron's next fixture is not till January 26th. Owing to exception being taken to the sale of the 14-footer Rona to Mr. C. G. Macindoe while she was the boat chosen to defend Auckland's title to the Sanders Cup next month the sale was cancelled on Thursday by mutual consent. Rona will still sail under the ownership of Jack Gifford. The Akarana Club had good entries for their events on Saturday, the 14-foot one-desisn class being a very good race, Queen March, sailed by A. Matthews,

—"judge, .sew \or_. i:

leading most of tho way, and she won by lm 24s front Nyria. which was handled by Edgar Swinnerton, and finished 3m 22s ahead of Desert Gold. In the V class Sea Gnome, one of the earlier boats of this class, led all round the course. In the T class, the new boat Kismet looked and sailed very well, although the surprise of the day was Sheila, which won easily on time. The bigger boats went to Awaroa Bay, always a favourite rendezvous, and used by this club for the past twenty years. Speedwell, for the fourth time this season, won first prize in her class, with Vanitie second. Cynthia and Iris finished a dead heat, and they were both oh the same mark, 16m. The race for 26-footers was a good one, and, although Waitere led the fleet iii, she did not secure a place, the honours going to Spray, which won by only two seconds from Kotare on corrected time. At the request of gome of the owners in the V and S classes these boats were allowed to race to the bay, all six completing the course. Magic, the new was fi.rst in, but the'honours went to Namti, Wizard and Magic, in that order. In the evening a dance was held ashore in Gordon's Hall, the music being supplied by Mr. Percy Payne's orchestra. Over 60* boats lay at anchor in the bay at night, and made a pretty sight with their riding lights up. As the wind was nearly due west and very fresh, all the small boats and the majority of the larger ones got underweigh very early on Sunday for home, many fetching up under East Tamaki head or Karaka Bay for a spell and for lunch. The members of the orchestra were taken for a run down Waiheke passage on Sunday in the launch Speedwell, arriving in town shortly after 5 p.m. Yacht and launch owners and crews have been very busy all this week preparing for their Christmaß cruise and before these notes appear in print some 'of the lucky ones will be well on their ! way north or bound for some of the j nearer anchorages. Kawau, always a 1 favourite spot, is more attractive than I ever this year as the new manager of j the Mansion House has gone out of his I way to cater for all the needs of the ' boating man, and it now reminds one of I the time when Mr. George ■Mann was ■in charge of this place, from whom i yachtsmen were always stire of a hearty ' welcome. For the bigger craft the attractions of Tauranga and Russell are i more insistent, and at both places regattAs will be held in addition to the race from Auckland. Whangarei regatta takes place as usual on New Year's Day at Onerahi, and the Waiheke regatta at Cowes Bay on the same day. A specially attractive programme has I been arranged by the Tauranga ComniitI tee for the visiting yachtsmen.

slipway this morning. This boat, which is painted black, should have a good turn of speed, her power plant being a i 100 h.p. Steams all-enclosed engine, j Maude T., as the new boat is named, has full head room under a long raised deck- i ; house, and is very neatly fitted below | with galley, sink, etc. The bunks in I : the main cabin are fitted with tip-up backs, which form extra berths, in addition to which she has three in the fore | cabin. Steering is by rack and pinion j wheel with controls alongside. The I cockpit has a permanent shelter over it, ] while a mast with cross-yard sets off the . , neat appearance of this boat, which is of : the semi-V bottom type. I

i "Vie" Lidgard. as he is usually called,; ; started his boating career very early. ]in life, and gained his first experience i |in handling small boats at Northcote. jHe is now owner of the crack 22-footer Marie, which won the Lipton Cup last [year for the Akarana Yacht Club of i which club he is vice-commodore. Marie i has an unbeaten record for getting home 1 first, although the haudica_i_iers sit on ;her hard at times. As a skipper of the j 14-foot i-ass Victor Lidgard is at his ; best, and formed one of the crew of Desert Gold when she won the Sanders j Cup in Dunedin in 1021, sailing her in i her third race, the first she won. This iseason he has sailed Joan in the trials, and in his hands she has shewn consider-. ably improved form. J