YACHTING.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 164, 13 July 1928, Page 12

YACHTING.

RASCALS ON PORT TACK.

PROPOSED ALTERATION TO RACING RULES. WINTER WORK OX THE BOAT. OLD SEA TERMS VANISH. (By SPEEDWELL.)

All racing skippers have at one time or another experienced trouble with the boat on port tack when in the hands of a skipper who is not as close an observer of the racing rules as he should be. That the luffing rule is hard at times is understood and recognised in all yachting circles. A proposal recently made through the yachting Press of England by a Dutch yachtsman, Mr. Van Kempen, to amend this rule, has roused considerably controversy, opinions being expressed for and against. The yachting editor of "The Field" waxes wroth against the proposal which relates to luffing a boat which is about to pass ahead and to windward of another. The proposal is that the French rule be adopted. As most of our racing men know the Y.R.A. luffing rule throws the whole onus of keeping clear on to the overtaking boat. The rule reads as follows: — Overtaking, Luffing, and Bearing Away Rule.—A yacht overtaking any other shall keep out of the way of the overtaken yacht; and a yacht may luff as she pleases to prevent another yacht passing to windward, but must never bear away out of her course to hinder the other passing to leeward—the lee side to be considered that on which the leading yacht of the two carries her main boom. The overtaking vessel, if to leeward, must not luff until she has drawn clear ahead of the vacht she has overtaken.

This rule allows the leeward boat to luff up head to wind if she chooses, but a late ruling of the Y.K.A. says that she loses this rijht to luff after the overtaking boat has passed so far ahead that the leeward boat would strike her (the weather boat) abaft the shrouds. After this position has been reached the weather boat must be allowed to pass. This rule is a good one and should not be altered as it would lead to confusion all round, but Mr. Van Kempen thinks it is hard and suggests the French interpretation of this rule is better. It reads: "You may luff your opponent until your sails are just about to shake, or "just shaking, but you may not luff-right head to wind." This is the rule in France and is considered in that countrv as the fairest interpretation of the luffing rule. In England and in New Zealand we interpret the words "luff as she pleases" when referring to a boat on starboard "tack, more literally and allow a boat to luff right. Another proposal made by the Dutch yachtsman relates to that fundamental racing rule which reads: "A yacht which is closehauled on the port tack shall keep out of the way of a yacht which is closehauled 011 the starboard tack." The proposal is to add these words: "If a yacht on the port tack can pass free before the yacht on the starboard tack, the last yacht must not luff to try to force a collision."

As most of our racing men know, the Y.K.A. luffing rule throws the whole onus of keeping clear on the boat on the port tack and allows a boat on starboard to luff as she plca&es (even right head to wind) to prevent a boat 011 port from passing her. That this rule is sometimes abused has been proved several times in the writer's experience when racing on the Waitemata. This hardship has been expressed in other yachting centres, but Mr. Van Ka 111 pen's effort to change it has met with little support. The "Field" is very strong 011 the point, and cites the case of two big. racing yachts meeting and the possible result. *It says: "We are shocked at this proposal. We condemn it in every way and on all grounds. The existing rule is perfectly clear and known to everybody: 'The yacht on the port tack must keep out of the wav.' Everybody can understand this old rule and that is all that is lequired. Mr. \an Ki/:tpen seems to entirely forget that the onus is Upon the boat on the port. The onus is upon her to (what he calls) 'pass free.' If the yacht on the starboard luffs for any reason, and she may luff for a dozen reasons, the commonest one being to take advantage of a puff of wind, why should anybody assume that she is luffing 'to force a collision ?' Nobody wishes to force collisions. We all desire to avoid them. The effect of Mr. Van Kampen's proposal would be disastrous. It is an invitation to the rascal on the port tack to cut it fine, it is an invitation to him to look at the man 011 the starboard and to say to himself: 'If he holds his course I can just cross him and pass free.' The man on the port decides to risk it. As he gets near the starboard tack vessel the latter has a sudden hot luffing puff' and her lee rail is buried, a big sea is running, and she is two deck planks awash in an instant. A great vessel over 100 tons displacement, she luffs to the roar of the breeze. Twenty men ,* he weather deck, a mast 130 ft m height, she is going twelve knots and increasing speed in the flame of the breeze which whips the white crests into foam. The powerful skipper on the wheel, however strong and skilful, is powerless to meet his vessel quick enough to avoid collision. Like every British skipper, the one desire of his heart is to avoid an accident at sea and preserve the safety of his master and his men, the lives of all on board and the ship he loves, but it is too late. The other great vessel on the port tack, which to use Mr. Van Kampen's words. Can pass free before the yacht on the starboard tack,' has found (too late) that she cannot cross, and the most terrible collision at sea it the direct result of the risk she has taken! Survivors, according to Mr. Van Kampen, might be tempted to argue that the yacht on the starboard tack 'luffed to try to force a collision.'"

There is not a thousand to one chance . e ru^es being changed or modified in the way suggested. In this country since the "Y.R.A. was founded in the year 1875 the yacht on the port tack has been bound in all cases to keep out of the way of the vessel- on the starboard. In the case we have pictured there is not the smallest danger if the rule is observed. As the two ~reat vessels on opposite tacks approach one another the man at the wheel of the yacht on the port takes no risk. He doe's not say to himself "if she holds her course I can cross her." On the contrary, he does either one of two things: He either •ays "Hard up, Bill, I'm going under her stern," or "Ready about, Lee O!" The arguments against alteration of this rule are certainly strong. The most convincing is that it might tend to undermine and destroy one of the first principles of yacht racing, namely, that is all cases under the luffing rule the

yacht on port tack must keep unconditionally out of the way of the boat on starboard. Any amendment to this rule would tike a long time before it could become known to all sailing committees, and we should have decisions given and reversed simply because they did not understand the new rule. So it is better not to alter the rule even if it gives some skippers power to take a mean advantage of an opponent at times.

WINTER WORK ON THE BOAT. While other forms of sport usually claim the attention of the younger members of a boat's crew in the winter, the owner frequently has the opportunity of doing odd jobs to his ship on fine winter days, which all tend to save time when the spring rush to fit out commences in earnest.

It will be taken for granted that the under-water body was scrubbed down when the craft was hauled out.* If this was omitted,-it should be the first job to be tackled, as the longer it is left the harder it is to use a stiff brush and lots of water to take off all barnacles, slime or other marine growth. Topsides should "be washed and then well rubbed down with a pumice brick. The pumice brick will cut down rough places quicker than anything else, especially if you keep the planking wet by sousing the brick with water frequently. "Speedwell" has always used this method in preference to the old-fashioned sandpaper. It is possible to buy a certain kind of glass paper which is waterproof. This is better than dry, as you do away with the dust. Everyone who has attempted to use sandpaper to get old copper paint off knows to their sorrow what a messy job it is. If the bottom is thick with paint it is a good plan to burn it off. It is better to get a tradesman to do this work, but if it must be done by the crew, get a good burner and a strong putty knife or an old file flattened out at the end. Too sharp instruments are liable to cut into the planking. When the lamp is really hot it is surprising what Jittle force is

needed to peel off the paint. After burning oIT, whether done professionally or not, there is plenty of work to be done with sandpaper. Then a coat of thin paint should be put on. Mix up half red and half white lead thinned with equal parts of raw linseed oil a,nd turps. Put this on thinly, and brush it out well. It is quite a mistake to think that any old way is good enough to put under-coats of paint on. You cannot get a really good finishing coat unless a certain amount of care has been used when putting on the first coats. Spars and rigging arc best stotffcd away in the clubhouse or private shed or taken home and put under the house if sheds are not available. Stow sails in a dry place, and hang them up where a current of air can get to them, if possible. The same applies to cushions and bedding. If the mast is left in the boat, rub it down with plenty of tallow, thinned out with a little white lead. This protects the wood, and is easily removed in the spring. There are many other things requiring attention which vary with individual boats, such as cleaning below the flooring boards, painting iron ballast, scraping and painting the centreboard, etc. If a motor boat, it is wise to look over the motor and the electrical equipment. Don't leave the batteries aboard all winter. They deteriorate unless you run the engine a little every week or two. It is better to take the batteries to a service station. Tliey will store them free, only charging a few shillings for recharging as required. You can straighten the propeller blades if they require it. If a blade is badlv bent, the propeller should be removed and a practical man given the job of truning it up. Nothing sets up vibration more effectively than a bent blade Plaster the bright parts of the engine with vaseline, thick oil or cup grease liberally and pour an eggcupful of engine oil through the spark plug openings or the priming cups on to the cylinder heads, and turn the engine over by hand a few times. If you do remove the propeller, grease the end of the shaft and then wrap a piece of oiled sail cloth or canvas round it. Do not cover the engine over with canvas unless partly exposed to the weather as a covering will cause the iron to sweat and rust up. If you cover the boat over with an old sail—which is hard to get nowadays—or an old tarpaulin, first run a light ridge pole fore and aft about a foot or so above th« deck This can be lashed to the bitts forard and supported aft by a piece of cross timber like a boom crutch. Leave an opening in the covcr at both ends for ventilation. Also leave the ports and skylight of the boat open for the same purpose.

The wise skipper plans his refitting work out well ahead and sees to it that he has all the necessary materials oij hand when fitting out starts In earnest. Keep the work going with a swing but don't try to be too "bossy." Get right into it yourself and do more than your bit and the crew will su r ely do their part, with the result that you will have the boat "shipshape and Bristol fashion"' in good time for the coming season.

OLD SEA TERMS VANISH.

Dr. Sydney Jones of the Cunarder Aquitania, senior medical officer of the company's fleet, said recently that the language of the sea is fast disappearing. On passenger boats the crew now use landlubbers' language. "The crews 110 longer talk of going aft or forward," he said, "but say they are going to the front or to the back of the ship. RigLt and left are used instead of starboard and port. I hear members of the crew frequently say 'I am going upstairs' or 'downstairs' instead of 'above' cr l.elow.'

"No one says, 'I am going on deck.' They say 'outside' or 'inside.' I heard a lady passenger ask her steward if he had seen her husband, and he replied, 'Yes. mum, he's just gone up on the roof.'"

DON'TS FOR RACING SKIPPERS.

A list of "don'ts for racing skippers" which appeared recently in an American yachting journal applies with equal force on the Waitemata. "Speedwell" can speak from experience that there are many skippers who fail to read the course, starting tfme, or other necessary instructions carefully prepared and printed in the "Star" on the preceding day, and come alongside or hail the judge's boat with a perfect bombardment of questions which the' often worried officials do their best to answer, but it would not be necessary if instructions were noted beforehand. Evidently the racing men of U.S.A. are just as bad as our boys. The advice is:—

Don't ferget your programme and then come alongside yelling for instructions when some ether class is starting. Don't hang * round the finish line after rou finish. Don't expect \o use the committee boat as a parking spacc fcr your tender or non-working gucs.'s—ktv'e 'em home. Don't let your power tender hang around the committee boat waiting for

you at the finish with her engine making a racket—she can just as well pick yon up a hundred yards farther away. Don't try to sob out all your wrong* in the ear of some committeeman when you finish with a protest flag up. Put it in writing. In other words—don't bother the officials. OUTBOARD HITS UP 38 MILES PER HOUR. There seems to be no limit to the speed attainable by an outboard-driven boat. A few weeks ago we gave particulars of the world's record up to that date of 34.4 miles per hour, duly certified by the racing officials in charge of this branch of the sport in the United States. The last mail brings word of an increase of four miles on this record, th« astonishing speed of 38.4 miles having been reached. Thus a new world's record was made at Balboa, California, on June 4, when a boat driven by an Evinrude 16 h.p. averaged 38.436 miles per hour for six runs of one mile each. The trials were made under the auspices of the Southern California Outboard Motor Association, so the speed is authentic. It will not be long before the 40 miles mark is reached.

COMING EVENTS.

July 23—Point Chevalier Sailing Club's Prize Night. August C—Koyal New Zealand Yacht Squadron's Prize Night. Ausust S—Manukau Cruising Club's Annual Meeting. August 9—Ponsonby Cruising Club's Prize Nipht. August 11—Manukau Yacht Club's Prize Night. August lo—Devonport Yacht Club's Prize XiZhr. September 4 —Tamaki Yacht Club's Prise Night.