AQUATICS.

Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 116, 17 May 1924, Page 21

AQUATICS.

I (By SPEEDWELL^ j During the past week we In. .'en privileged to see the splendid ships comprising the Special Service Squa iron at anchor on tho harbour, and "the fleet" , has been the principal topic, of conversa- , tion, not only among yachtsmen, but | with land-lubbers as well. When the j majority of us were familiar with many jof the dimensions of the miglity Hood and her escorts through illustrations , and other articles in the Press, yet nothing could bring home to us such a ! real understanding of the immensity of the great battleship as the first Bight lof her as she appeared off Rangitoto j Reef last Saturday. It was a grey | morning, in keeping with the shin, anil it looked as if a smaller edition of j Rangitoto had sprung from the sea over- ! night. Followed at a respectful distance Iby a large tleet of launches and numer- | ous steamers all well loaded, the flag j ship came out of the mist at a good I speed, and in a few minutes was abreast iof North Mead, where she slowed down, land, making a wide sweep to starboard on a hard-a-port helm, she entered the harbour just as the sun broke through the morning mists. To the thousands of citizens who lined the shores and the many points of vantage overlooking the I harbour, the sight of this va .t ship. . surrounded by pigmies in the shape of ! our pleasure fleet, was one which will linger long in the memory, and all eyes followed her until she was safely berthed at the new wharf, where she overshadowed everything by ber greatness. No sooner was the Hoed safely berthed than a rush was aiain made down channel to greet the four ships which formed the second division. On they came in line astern, headed by tho Repulse. This time the dotilla of yacht, and launches did not venture so far out, and, turning in good time, they escorted the four cruisers up to their anchorage off the wharves, making a line sight, which drew a word or two of praise from ViceAdmiral Kield when speaking at the reception in his honour. The Admiral said that with such a good harbour and

large fleet of pleasure craft, the number of which surprised them all, we had an excellent training-ground for recruits to the Navy. It certainly was a brave and very orderly show. A number of patrol boat_s had been appointed duties on either shore, but their duties were a sinecure, for every skipper did his best to keep to the spirit of the request made in this column Inst week, that for the reputation of the port we should make an orderly dispay. One or two ventured ( out of bounds, but were back again at j the first request of the patrol boats' , skipper—at least, this was our pleasint j experience. Naturally, when the ships i had come to an anchor and while the ] Hood was being warped alongside the wharf, many of the launches ventured to get a close-up view, but they were not in the way. and all hands are to be congratulated on the discipline and order they displayed. No doubt when the fleet leave this afternoon there will be another great gathering of craft to bid i hem good-bye. and we hope the same onsiderntion will be shown. The question of better police protec- I ion for yachts and launches both ashore I nd afloat appears likely to receive the | ttention of the authorities, judging by eccnt happenings and we will all be j cry glad to have this assurance. The j amage to the cabins of Rawene seems : specially callous, the panels and mir- i ors having been removed in a way very lestinctive to the cabin. Owners who ometimes pay a visit to their craft at light may now have to establish their i dentity to the satisfaction of a police l ■flicer, but this is preferable to the state, if thing_ which has prevailed for so. ong. : The Victoria Cruising Club will hold ' heir annual distribution of prizes in j he Trades' Hall, Hobson Street, on! Tuesday, May 27. The gathering will I ake the form of a social and dance, rhich this club has carried out so sue- I essfully for several years past. The Northcote and Birkenhead com- } iitt.ee will hold a social and dance in j he Masonic Hall, Northcote, on Satur- I ay, May 31, when the prizes won at the i ist regatta will.be distributed. '

Speaking of speed and thrills, the; owner and crew of Miss Auckland had a marvellous experience the other week. With a party of five, including one lady, Miss Auckland was returning from a run down harbour. There was a fresli we*--1 torly breeze and when between Victor a wliarf and H.-M.c.s. Iris she struck two ; , seas which sent her over on her cliinc j and pitched her skipper, Mr. Les. I " White, up against the back seat and finally overboard. The next moment.! J the mechanic, Kay Beilby, was also . ■ thrown out. T.'io boat, still ri? t over i lon her side, ran on in a circle, and the . next to £o overboard were the two male [ passengers, leaving only the lady, who f was kept in her seat by a mooring line ' . becoming entangled round her Lo'ly. ! , The lady was .holding on bravely Irut . lying out over the water at a danger..us I angle. Miss Auckland careered around : i jagain, still at an angle of 4.1 degrees, ! . anxiously watched by the lour men in '■ . the water who, while concerned for the j . lady's safety, were highly amused at the | antics of the boat. The little speedster j I now suddenly righted herself, and still i ; going at top speed made straight fur the , four men, who immediately prepared ti> I jdive. When barely 100 yards away and I still -heading for the men, the motor 1 suddenly stopped, the boat's momentum ' !>eing just sufficient to carry her rig it ! up to and alongside of her crew. Xecd--1 I less to say they lost no time in fiettiiu • (aboard, only having a few strokes to ! swim to reach her. Looking for the (possible cause of the providential stop J page of the motor, it waa found that some water had cot on to the magneto wires. Hy this time there were one oi ' , two boats near which had come as close as they dared while the boat was circling . round at about 30 miles per hour. The , first question from the would-be- rescuer* t I was to ascertain if the whole thing wat , a "movie stunt" but unfortunately , ithere was no camera handy to record j the wonderful sight of a boat circling I i round at a 30-mile clip with a lady hang ! ing over the side with her hands and ■ hair waving in the wind. From one o< i j these onlookers a handkerchief was bor • rowed and the magneto points wiped dry, after which ehe started on the first swing and completed her interrupter I journey to her moorings without furthei ; mishap.

i Arrangements are in hand for the! fifty-second annual prize night of the' Royal New Zealand Yiacht Squadron j which will lx> held in the club rooms on i Tuesday, June 10. His Excellency, the Governor-General and Viscountess Jellicoe will be present and as this will, be the last occasion on which the ', Squadron will have the pleasure of entertaining their Excellencies before ] they leave New Zealand, the gathering' i will be in the nature of a farewell. Sir Thomas Lipton is quite as deter- I mined as ever to try and win the! ■ American Cup and his latest challenge' i will be Shamrock V. The contest will | be held in August or September, 192f>. | The veteran yachtsman's latest joke is ; that Americans should not want the cup j now as they cannot put anything yn it. ; Another good story is to tiie effect that 1 a lady wrote to him saying she believed ! the Americans put something in the I water to make their yachts go fast, i "And I told her," said Sir Thomas, I "That she was right. They put Re-, liance in." Speaking of the cup. he! said, "It baa been away from us for seventy years and it would do it 'good I to get back if only for a few weeks." j As a possible result of the especially ! fine summer we have experienced, there is quite a fair demand for pleasure craft, j many looking for bargains at, this sea- j son. The various building establish-1 ments are fairly busy, one or two new j craft being on the stocks at each yard, i A recent addition to the launch fleet is' a 34ft by Oft by *2ft 6in V-bottom cruiser! built by Col. Wild of Stanley Bay to I the order of Mr. W. Rapley of Devon-! port. This boat has a distinctly smart! appearance with her light blue topsides i and bright varnished coambings. Her! main cabin is lift, cockpit 7ft, with a' wheel house amidships, under which the - 35 h.p. Kermath is housed. This j launch is well fitted below and can accommodate eight persons comfortably. I The same builder has underway 'a 30ft hy 7ft Bin by 4ft (iin keel vacbt for Mr. J. E. L. Cull of Wellington" late owner of Kntiri. She will carry the ; triangular mainsail and be very snugly I rigged, in keeping with most" of the ' Wellington yachts. She is being built to a design published in an English yachting magazine and is a very shanelv i little -hip. " l" |