AQUATICS.

Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 170, 19 July 1924, Page 21

AQUATICS.

(By -'SPEEDWELL.")

The annual prize nights of the local yacht clubs, especially where they take the form of a smoker, servo the purpose of an annual re-union of past and present officers and others interested in the sport, had none of these functions are : more popular with members or visitors than that of the Manukau Yacht Club. ' Last Saturday the club held their thirty- I third distribution of prizes, and there , was a great gathering of yachtsmen from both sides of tne island to do j honour to the occasion. Ever since its inception in 1891 the Manukau Club has j been carried on actively with the help cf i a few staunch supporters, and with fine j club premises, fully paid for, the present ! members have a lot to thank the older j members for. Like the majority of local clubs, this club has had good and bad times, but they have always' kept the flag flying. Only last season there was some difference of opinion with a certain section, the outcome of which was the . formation of another club. This action I was taken in good part by the parent club, and the result has been to stimulate it and bring many of the older members back to the fold. The new club was specially invited to the prize night, and its representative accorded a hearty reception, which ho duly acknowledged. Apart from its members, the public men of Onehunga have always shown a friendly feeling to the old club, and requests for small favours have always been granted. When responding to a

toast, the Mayor of Onehunga, Mr. Co well, said that a club like the Manukau was a real asset to the district. It encouraged a love for the sea in the youth of the town, and helped to make good citizens of them. This gentleman caused no little amusement amongst the Auckland visitors when.in the course of his remarks he had occasion to refer to the Auckland Harbour Board. No doubt, said the speaker, the board would provide them with a boat harbour. They had given the Auckland yachtsmen one, and now it was their turn. This statement was greeted with a chorus of "Where is our boat harbour" from the Auckland representatives, and the Mayor had to admit he was a bit previous, but got out of it nicely by saying, "Well, you deserve a boat harbour long before this." Another speaker suggested the revival of the annual interchange of visits between the two- harbour representatives, while another suggested that they should wait until they could come through the canal. The reference to the old hands of the club by another speaker was rather keenly appreciated, judgilng by the way many of the old members present thanked the speaker for remembering them. Amongst those mentioned were Sir Frederick Lang, the Bray i brothers, W. Marks, the Jeffs brothers, j J. Park, A. McLcod, Tom Pardington, ! Capt. "Bob" Gibbons, Bert Herd, W. j Catley, A. Brain, Arthur Holdsworth, W. Vaughan, Donald Sutherland, and others, who worked for years for the good of the sport generally and the old club in particular. At the present time men like Messrs. Wynyard, Osborne, McGnire, Wilson, and Pardington, jun., are great assets to the club, and with their help and guidance the next season should be a record one in every way. The ear ?y enlargement of the clubhouse, for j which the present committee have wisely ' set aside a certain sum, will then come I as a matter of course, and the dredoine of a low tide channel to the front oAhe j building might be possible. The Point Chevalier Club is also to be congratulated on what they have achieved in the short space of six years, i-teir club house is a very spacious building and an ornament to the foreshore. With the help of good friends who have organised carnivals and other forms of i raising the necessary cash, the club can look forward to paying off their liabil- I ity in a year r two. Quite the best object lesson in what can be accomplished | in this way is tho position of the Taka- i puna Boating Club. The clubhouse erected by members of this club - is ! second to none in the Dominion, con- i sisting as it does of three storeys, with every possible convenience. It is pleasing to note that the latest attempt to extinguish the liability on this building, which took the form of an extravaganza, showing all last week at the King's Theatre, was a great success and will help to swell the fund. Commodore Moller and his energetic workers have a definite aim to clear the balance due on the building all off by the beginning of next boating season. No small undertaking, but the plans now in hand should ensure this happy result if they continue to work together as they have done in the past.

The New Zealand Power Boat Association's clubhouse was well filled on Tuesday evening, when Lieut. P. P. Nisbet, R.N.R., graphically detailed some of his war experiences on mystery ships. Lieut. Nisbet was accorded a hearty vote of thanks, and after refreshments had been served, the rest of the evening was devoted to a dance. The committee of the club will meet next week to decide the question of a new restricted launch ■ class. It is understood the size to be j recommended for this class will be 26 ; feet, although some favour a larger | boat, which would be a real cruiser in [ every way. The Victoria Cruising Club will tender a smoke social to Mr. Eliot Davis, vice- ' president, in the clubhouse next Wednesday evening. The Ponsonby Cruising Club's 24th prize night takes the form of a smoker Ito be held in the clubhouse on Thursday ■ evening. The Akarana Club's prize night jon Saturday, August 2, completes the ■ list, with the exception of the Power Boat Association. Mr. Louis Nathan, owner of the 45ft launch Atatu, returned from a lengthy visit to England on Monday week. He j has already completed plans for launching Atatu early next season to make up I for the 12 months spent in her shed. The Devonport Yacht Club held a very enjoyable social and dance in the Masonic Hall on Wednesday evening, when the prizes won during the season were presented by Mr. T. Lamont, Mayor of Devonport. Although only started in October last after a lapse of eight years the club has progressed in a wonderful way, and the fine array of prizes neatly displayed in the eocial i hall, showed the great interest taken in the new club by local residents and other friends. Mayor Lamont, who confessed that he was not a yachtsman and hardly knew which end of a yacht went first, said he had a great respect for the manly qualities which a love of the sea encouraged in all yachting men, and he advised the girls of Devonport to choose a yachtsman as their mate for life. A meeting of the Auckland Yacht and Motor Boat Association will be held on Tuesday in the squadron rooms, when the question of the locale of the next Sanders Cup contest will be decided. Considerable discussion took place at the meeting of the association as to the venue for the next Sanders Cup." All the various ports were considered, and it seemed to narrow down to a choice between Auckland and Half-moon Bay, Stewart Island, the home of the Southland Club. It was pointed out that the communication from Invercargill to Stewart Island was not regular, but no doubt this could be arranged by Mr. Arthur Moffett and his fellow enthusiasts. Quite a number of delegates thought that the claims of Auckland should not be overlooked, as the last contest was sent away from here. With the keen spirit of rivalry already displayed by Wellington and Dunedin in building new boats to the Rona plana, it was pointed out that it was quite likely that the cup would be wrested from us at the next contest, in which case we would be compelled to follow it South. As this matter is quite a serious one, in view of the fact that the affiliated clubs are called on to bear their share of the expenses of each contest, it was thought the best plan would be to refer the matter back to the clubs for an expression of their opinion. The question of the adoption of the name "Jellicoe class" for the 14-foot one-design boats was also mentioned. The advisability of linking his Excellency's name with this class for all time is to be commended, in view of the near departure of Lord Jellicoe from these shores, and it would be a j graceful tribute to the great interest! his Excellency lias taken in the class i from the very first time he came here, j This question will also bo referred to i the clubs, as the following notice of motion was given by Mr. Wilkinson:— "That a letter be sent to each affiliated club askinjr their opinion on the question of renaming the 14-foot one-design class ' the Jellicoe Class,' in view of the great interest taken in this class by his Excellency." i.