AQUATICS.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 132, 5 June 1926, Page 25

AQUATICS.

(By SPEEDWELL.)

Echoes of the Sanders Cup contest still come from the South. This time the aquatic writer of a Napier paper gives some very good reasons why Konini did not win. He also praises i and also lias ... tilt at both Avalon and i Betty, and concludes with some very j good advice to the local yachtsmen on their chances of winning future contests. The article, which has been reported in a Dunedin ( &per, with the comment, •'Some astounding revelations concerning the Hawke's Bay contestant," says— "Even the most ardent supporters of the Hawke's Bay boat, although disappointed at the result, div not in their most optimistic moments expect Konini to do much better. Avalon, although only runner-up for the Cup, was the finest boat in the contest. The 'opsides were varnished, and underneath tlv waterline she was French polished and had a surface as smooth as glass. The item of French polishing alone cost the owner £18. The boat was exceedingly light throughout, and al! the lands (i.e. the overlapping of timbers in a clinker-built boat) were thinned down to almost an eighth of an inch, the boat thus approaching as near as possible to carvel build.. The cup winner, Bevy, j was out in measurement, having two j inches less camber than the otuer competitors, and this accounted for her fine windward qualities upon whic she won her races. "It is interesting to note that both these boats are practically new. The oldest boats in the contest were Murihiku and Konini, and these boats ran fifth and sixth respectively. " A close examination of Konini reveals many points that amounted to a big handicap to the Hawke's Bay team. She was the only boat with liutts (i.e. joined planks), of which there are four. All the other boats had full-length planks. " The chain-plates are about loin aft of the mast, instead of about Bin or 9in, and the sail could not be squared away to the full advantage—the shrouds preventing the boom from going full out. " The running and standing gear was heavier than that used by the other provinces, and the extremely fine wire ropes, the four-ply manila lines, and the soft cotton mainsheet of Avalon were in striking contrast to the Hawke's Bay gear. " How could the local team win under such conditions? On arrival at the Dunedin boat harbour it was noticed that the mast was almost twice as heavy as the masts used by the other competitors, and, above all, had a warp of about 3in in it. '■ The Dunedin people very kindly lent a new mast —they also lent us two suits of sails, a roller reefing boom, and running and standing gear. The Hawke's Bay team, in fact, had to borrow almost everything except a hull.

"" The second day saw iConini at her best—running before a gale with full sail and spinnaker set, but rocking violently, the crew throwing their weight first to port and then to starboard to keep her on an even keel. '" All the boats were ' shipping it green,' and we were thus put on an even footing as far as leaks were concerned. In spite of the boat not being able to square away to the full advantage, she was the fastest boat in the contest off the wind, and a comparison of the times of rounding the different inak buoys will show that the boat invariably gained from 8s to 20s on every run, but lost an average of 2m on the beat to windward. "A beautiful start was obtained on the first and second days, and Konini was away first. On the third day she was second away, but only by Is, the forestay being level with the backstay of Avalon. " At the end of the first run on the second day, Hawke's Bay led the field and was first to reach the castle beacon by 100 yds. Even on the wind she behaved better than usual, only Avalon and Betty passing in the first seven miles. " It is not generally known that during the second round during a violent squall the tiller broke in half, and the boat ' broached to,' and very nearly capsized, but two of the crew sprang out on to the centreplate and brought her back a quarter full of water. '' A broomstick that had been lashed to a bailer in the bottom of the boat was jammed into the rudder slot. The boat was quickly bailed out and put on her course again without losing more than 20s to 255, an exceptionally speedy piece of work. " On the wind the broomstick tiller had about 6in of play, and when the helm was hard down to go about the rudder was actually only a quarter down, and the boat got "in stays" (presume the writer means "in irons"'—Speedwell) on eight occasions, and thhs Murihiku passed us after running second (Avalon after passing us capsized) for the greater part of the race. " Betty, some distance ahead, was having a bad time, and at times was out of control, and charged all over the course, and the crew were almost exhausted at the end of the race. " The sturdy Stewart Islanders sailing Murihiku stood up to the severe test all right, and the Hawke's Bay team earned the praises of the huge number of spectators for. sticking grimly to the job, and, although wet through for hours and blue with cold, were quite cheerful when they landed. " Hawke's Bay's only hope of ever gaining the coveted trophy is to have a new boat built, and at the same time profit by the mistake* made in the past.

'" The Hawke's Bay crew at all time* did their very best and battled their hardest, never for a moment losing heart, in spite of having to face far superior boats, and they are confident that with a good -boat and gear the Sanders Cup can be lifted. The question of some system of classifying speed boats for racing purposes has been given a lot of attention lately by clubs and others interested in the sport. As mentioned last week, unlimited classes are too expensive and have lost their popularity almost everywhere. Even at Miami, Florida, which is supposed to be the millionaires' playground, there are limits on all the racing classes, both the power and the size of the hull. In Australia the speed boat is fast gaining popularity, and a new class of l(5-footers, with an engine not exceeding 190 cubic inch capacity of the cylinders has taken the fancy of owners and the public alike. "Speedwell"' is of the opinion that a 16-footer in fact, anything under 21 feet over all, is of little u?e on this harbour. Admitted that these small craft are quite good on sheltered waters, like the Avon or the Wanganui River, while their comparatively low cost helps to make them more popular, but on our harbour they can only be relied on to race if the weather is fine. When dates are fixed months ahead, naturally the weather must be taken as it comes, or the public is disappointed, and a postponement puts double work on the racing oflficials No doubt a number of these small, fast craft will continue to be built each season, as now owners come into the sport, but to our way of thinking it would create more competition if a class were encouraged about 26 feet long with a 90-h.p. Curtis engine. A 26-footer would not be too big for these engines to drive at a speed of almost :'() miles, which is fast enougn ior a] runabout class. With a boat 26 feet] long and a reasonable beam, which would also require to be fixed —quite a large party could go to most of our popular resorts in quick time, and spend a day ashore, and come home again without the discomfort of the very small craft. A boat of this size could also be relied on to race at the time and date fixed. The cost would be nearly double that of ia IC-footer. but not more than some lof our medium sizp cruising launches i now cost, while the exhilaration of I travelling at something over 25 miles per hour must be felt to be appreciated. With the advent of the fair sex into our sport, the week-end cruise is not so popular, except where a beach cottage is part of the outfit, and day trips are taking their place. Very rarely during a season would the weather stop a 26-footer from going to one or other of our many sheltered bays and beaches, where the party very I often spend the greater part of the day in the water. A boat of this size and type would serve the dual purpose of a racing boat and a family day-boat. While quite aware that the

smaller boats will always be more popular and will continue to be built, whether classified or not—yet there should be room for a larger class as well. Already two local speed men, after experience of smaller boats, have decided to build 26-footers. and the time seems ripe for some measure of uniformity. The officers and committee of the Xew Zealand Power Boat Association, as the club most concerned in speed boat racing, by virtue of holding the Masport Cup and other trophies for this class, have decided that some forward movement is necessary at this stage, and with the object of giving the opportunity of all interested a chance to discuss the question, a meeting was held on Monday evening at which there was a good attendance. Mr. C. H. Palmer, commodore, presided, and said that the committee recognised the style of racing had altered in the last few years and instanced the development of the speed boit. Mr. Palmer said so far both cruisers and racers were built without regard to rules, but solely at the pleasure of the owner. He thought some rule might be devised by which one could build a boat and meet another on fairly equal terms. Considerable discussion ensued, during which most of the present classes, including the 1.31, 100, and 252 cubic inch wore mentioned, but none received definite support, and it was finally decided to set up a committee to go further into the question of what class or classes should be recommended, the committee to report to a meeting to be held a month later. The Manuk: i Yacht and Motor Boat Club will hold their annual meeting in the clubhouse on Monday, June 14. The report shows that the past season was one of the most eventful in the club's 34 years' existence and progress had been well maintained. There were 16 yachts and 14 launches on the register, and the full membership of the club stood at 170. Keen and interesting contests took place in most of the 21 races, of which 11 were for yachts and 10 for launches. In most cases the boats were started on their respective handicaps, and provided an excellent finish. The club's efforts in any worthy cause had always been appreciated, notably the equipment provided for hospital j ships during the war, and the raising of £400 for the children's playground at Jellicoe Park. The residents of Onehunga returned the compliment during the year by handsomely supporting the funds for rebuilding the clubhouse after the fire. * Unfortunately a large number of valuable pictures and old mementoes were lost, but several have been presented to replace these, one of particular interest being a photograph of the start of the cup race 33 years ago.