AQUATICS.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 144, 19 June 1926, Page 25

AQUATICS.

(By SPEEDWELL.)

The fact that Sir Thomas Lipton will challenge next year for the America Cup seems to be generally recognised, according to the latest English papers. The announcement is also made that . the Earl of Dunraven, who 'had already made two attempts on his own account to win the famous cup, was to co-operate with Sir Thomas in his fifth attempt to recapture the cup for Britain. Unfortunately the news of tlie Earl of Dunraven's death was cabled on Wednesday, so the benefit of his long experience as a yachtsman and one who had taken part in the contests for the cup, will be lost. Lord Dunraven, as he was then styled, first challenged for the cup in 1593" with Valkyrie I. Tlie American defender Vigilant won the three races by such narrow margins that Lord Dunraven challenged again in 1805. ,This time he took over Valkyrie 111. and the hopes of Britishers ran high on the good showing she made in her trials. The American boat was Defender, and she won the first race. At the start of the second race an excursion steamer interfered with the manoeuvres of the two yachts as they crossed the starting line and the yachts fouled each other, Defender's topmast stay being carried 'away. Both boats continued the race and Valkyrie 111. won by 47 seconds. Immediatedy after the race, Mr. Iselin, who represented the syndicate of New York

Yacht Club members which owned Defender, protested that Defender was fouled by Valkyrie. Lord Dunraven answered that Defender was to blame for lulliing, and be also complained that the excursion steamer had ruined his start. The New York Yacht Club did not order a re-sail, but awarded the race to Defender. Lord Dunraven was angry at this decision and in the third race he withdrew Valkyrie just after the start. He also accused the owners of Defender of having added ballast after the official measurement. This charge aroused a storm of indignation and an inquiry was held, resulting in the charge being dismissed. One of the explanations made to account for the load waterline marks being submerged when the Defender was lying at anchor was that the crew of the Defender crowded to one side out of curiosity to see Lord Dunraven and his yacht pass by. The incident did much to stop furthei" challenges for the cup and some amusing incidents were connected with it. The London Stock Exchange cabled the New York Stock Exchange that they hoped, when war was declared, excursion steamers would not get in the way of the British Fleet. The New York Exchange replied that in the interests of a fair fight they hoped our warships would be better than our yachts. The controversy continued in both the yachting and regular Press for some time, the New York Club taking the extreme step of removing the name f Lord Dunraven from honorary membership. The whole story was long afterwards rather amusingly told by Lord Dunraven in a book published under the title of "Past Times and Pastimes." When Sir Thomas Lipton entered the field in 1899, with his first Shamrock, a happier chapter in the history of the America Cup was opened, and the gallant Irish baronet is now as popular with American yachtsmen as he is at home, his decision to send over Shamrock V. being hailed with delight. Mr. C. W. Sundstrum, Commodore of the Otago Yacht and Motor Boat Club, who is well-known to Auckland yachtsmen through his keen intetrest in the Sanders Cup contests, has recently returned from a visit to Australia, and has given the following impressions of the clubs of Sydney and Melbourne. He says: "Every courtesy is extended by Australian boating men to visitors from New Zealand, and they spare no pains to entertain and show one around. I was made a member of the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron, the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club (Sydney), the Royal Brighton Yacht Club, the Royal St. Kilda Yacht Club and the St. Kilda Dinghy Club (Melbourne). I was also the guest of the Motor Yacht Club of New South Wales. The members of the latter club were greatly interested in boating in New Zealand, especially in the contests for the Sanders Cup. Mr. Sundstrum says there are three different classes of inter-State racing in Australia—the 12ft class, the 14ft class and 21ft class. The 14ft class racing was controlled by the dinghy clubs of the various centres. The only restriction placed on this class is that the boats must be 14-footers. There is no limit on the sail area, and no limit on the size of the crew. One boat carried as much as 410 square feet of canvas. The boats are of the open type, but have canvas stretched over the bows and around the sides to keep out the water when racing under a big spread of sail. Any dinghy club is allowed to send three boats to an interState championship contest, and the best boat out of the three is eventually

selected to represent a State. The 21----foot class was started in Sydney, but of late years the class has become less popular, as the cost of building and the general upkeep of the boats has been almost prohibitive, or, in other words, the class is too expensive for a working man. There seemed to be a general system of arriving at a decision after three races have been sailed in any contest by the allocation of points. The . boat having the most points is declared ~ the winner. Three points are allotted "* for first place, two for second and one s point for third place. When I was in Melbourne the St. Kilda Dinghy Club •, held what is known as an invitation . race. The skippers of some of the \ ] largest yachts sailed in this race. The ' , 14-foot boats usually carry a crew of > five. The boats are somewhat different ] to the New Zealand 14ft class, being ] much sharper on the bottom than our j craft. The Royal St. Kilda Yacht Club ] is now building a new clubhouse at a j cost of £8000. It is situated right on the j waterfront at Melbourne's well-known r| pleasure resort, and will be a hand- * some structure when completed. The j Royal Brighton Yacht Club also has a f very fine clubhouse on the waterfront, , and is also extending the premisea. The Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club has premises in Sydney. The club is about f to erect a large building of its own, j which will be on a very elaborate scale. I The Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron has t its clubhouse at Neutral Bay. The s house is set in beautiful grounds, and ( the outlook across the harbour from the i house and grounds is one that is not t easily forgotten. I had the opportunity c of seeing a six-metre yacht, the most in- s teresting part of which was her Marconi 1 mast. This was made of small pieces of t wood, and cost £175, being stayed with T aeroplane wire, which is lighter than j the side stays carried on our 14-footers. , The mast was fixed in such a manner j that it could be rotated from belowaccording to which tack the boat was sailing on in order to get the sails j setting to the right angle. The yacht I and motor boat clubs in Sydney and < Melbourne are separate bodies. The < Motor Yacht Club of New South Wales * has a very fine clubhouse at Rose < Bay. The members entertain visitor- at i a dinner every Tuesday evening, and I ( received a hearty welcome." 1 Speaking of a starting system, Mr. : Sundstrum says: "I also studied the i starting system in vogue.in Sydney and, Melbourne. The system is quite dif* i ferent to that used by the New Zealand ', clubs. One of the Melbourne boating ! clubs starts its races with the toll of a bell, which can be heard two miles to leeward. Another system of starting , races is by a flag which is swung gradually in a circle resembling the hands of a clock revolving round a dial. When the flag reaches the perpendicular it is swept'downwards which is the signal for the race to start," Mn Sundstrum was greatly impressed with these methods of starting. He will explain the systems in full to his club with the object of introducing them in connection with yacht racing next season in Dunedin. The Manukau Yacht and Motor Boat Club is the* second oldest yacht club, I ranking, next to the Squadron, or Auckland Yacht Club, as it was first named. The report and balance-sheet 'submitted to members at the thirty-fourth annual meeting held last Monday showed, the club to be in a flourishing condition. A fitting tribute to the good work done in- the past by Messrs. A. McLeod, A. Jeffs and W. Catley, three of the original members, was paid by the Commodore, Mr. N. E. Wilson and tha president, Mr. M. 'BE. Wynyard, and they were elected life members. The clubhouse, which was burned down a few months ago, has been rebuilt, and reflects credit on the members who have put in a lot of work renovating the interior. In this connection the thanks of the club were expressed to the ; trustees, Messrs. J. Park, A. McLeod and T. Partington, for the way in which ' they had looked after the interests of ' the club. Another member who received 1 the thanks of members was Mr. W. : Vaughan, who acts as starter and time- ; keeper for all club events. A number : of historical pictures were destroyed in ! the fire, but members are doing their best 1 to replace them. An interesting picture ' of the start for the cup im 1893, show- ' ing lolanthe, Daisy, Moa, Edna, Eileen, : Myrtle and Mona was presented by Mr. - W. Catley, who won the race with * lolanthe. The date for the annual prize i I night smoker, which is usually well at- • tended by yachtsmen from this side, was *■ fixed as Saturday, August 7. A sugl gestion that the Manukau Cruising Club r be written to asking if they would agree i to set up a committee of two members f to meet a similar number from the ; yacht club to discuss dates_. and all i matters of mutual interest, with a view - to working 'in harmony during the - coming season, was well received and 1 adopted unanimously. The club is to r he congratulated on taking this step, * and "Speedwell" is sure the cruising 3 club will take up the matter in a true i sporting spirit. 3 The annual meeting of the Manukau - Cruising Club will be held in the - Friendly Societies' Hall on Thursday, 3 June 24. The report shows that eight r harbour races and three cruising races were held during the season, also a f race for the challenge cup, which was t) won by Maidie. The Fearon challenge . cup was won by Mystery, the handi--3 cap cup by Lone Star, and the Ormrod . Cup by Salome. I The Takapuna Boating Club is again f to be congratulated on the success of c' their efforts to pay off the debt remainf ing on their clubhouse. The Spanish s fiesta enabled £450 to be paid off, and i loss than £000 now rerr,ains. An effort - will be made to extinguish this altogether 1 at the Winter Show, where a large space 1 has been taken and the side shows and b other draws of the recent Spanish fiesta 1 will be on exhibition. No doubt friends i of the club on this side of the water 3 will take the opportunity of showing f tbej*r sympathy with the efforts of Come modore O. Moller and his willing band i of helpers to hand over the big building i free of debt by the commencement of next • sailing season. Another club which is 8 making every effort to raise funds for I a clubhouse is the Akarana, which has t also taken space at the show. A very 3 successful drive was held last evening on T the Civic Square, the Jellicoe class boat Avalon being the centre of attraction, t assisted by the Ponsonby Boys' Band. . A meeting of the Auckland Yacht and j. Motor Boat Association was held c on last Tuesday week, when the , account in connection with the c recent Sanders Cup contest were passed, k The expenses, including fares, hotel fees, , freight, etc., totalled £126 11/. The dona- . tions from clubs and sale of picture . tickets came short of this sum, but t several -clubs have so far contributed f nothing to the fund.