YACHTING.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 74, 28 March 1929, Page 15

YACHTING.

THE EASTER CRUISE.

RACE TO CORQMANDP.t.

14 BOATS START TO-NIGHT,

THE T At" RANG A "FOOTERS

(By SPEEDWELL.)

Although weather conditions ar e not very favourable at present, a fresh north east breeze making it hard work setting off to the boats on the southern side of the harbour, as well as beinrr a head wind to Kawau, Waiheke or Coromanrlel, the usual resorts of the pleasure fleet, at this time of the season the glass is falling steadily, although not a bad weather one, and the" wind may jro 'ight, round to the south-west on rriclay, bringing fine weather with it. Easter is a bit early this year and it w often ushered in with a breeze from the sea. Last Easter the w r eather was ideal with rather light winds. It is often found that once you "et clear of the harbour that the north-easter is not heavy and often turns to the north and blows steadily and true, so that a passage can be made in comfort to Coroinandel or to Kawau, though th» latter takes longer. A long beat to windward out through the Tiri passage in a steady northerly, or down inside waiheke, through the Coromandel passage (the passage between Champerlin's Island and Rotoroa) is a source of pleasure to a real yachtsman. In moderate weather and on a fair-sized keel yacht it only requires one man besides the skipper, and even he can be left alone for long spells if he once makes an offing clear of Rangitoto beacon or Browns Island beacon. Speedwell has often sailed yachts through to Te Kouma or Bon Accord in a steady sea breeze! and only woke up the crew when it was time to get the sails down and the anchor over. It is m well to remember that on Easter eye there are many more craft bound out of harbour than usual, and all should carry the necessary lights and keep a sharp lookout. Almost everyone who owns a yacht or motor boat lm been looking forward to and preparing for the Easter cruise. From the owner • it* whose sturdy crew "rough it* and sleep under an awning rigged oyer the mainsail, when furled for the night, and whose choice of extra gear is limited for want of space to the bar© necessities of food, clothing and a blanket, to the big motor boat or yacht, with every comfort and convenience for owner, crew and guests, all are imbued with a true love for the sea and they count it one of their greatest pleasures to accomplish a cruise in the Hauraki Gulf. While we have literally a hundred or more safe spots where a boat can lie at anchor in safety, yet the herding instinct is strong among yachtsmen and you generally find a fleet at anchor in Mansion House Bay or Te Kouma* with smaller groups at Awaroa or Cowes or up the Wairoa River. Every year the same old places are visited, a few of the higger boats going off to the Barrier or down to Mercury Bay. Although old, it is ever new, and with a few real good friends, there is no better way of enjoying a holiday.

Race to Coromandel. | A regatta will be held on Saturday at Woolshed Bay (Tawhiti), Beeson's Island at the northern entrance to Coromandel. It has been promoted by a local sporta committee, and "Speedwell" has arranged a race for centre-board boats from Auckland to Woolshed Bay. There are 14 boats entered and the race will start to-night at 8 p.m. With 14 entries only one race has been made of it, the prizes being £5, £2, £1 and 10/. The boats will be sent away off the King's wharf, using three red lights in place of flags as starting signals, with two guns, one at 7.27 p.m., when the three red lights will be displayed from th© north-east end of the wharf, and a second gun as the starting signal, the intervening three minutes being marked bj the "dousing" of the red lights at one-minute intervals, similar to the lowering of a flag. Bed lights have b*en chosen to prevent confusion with the numerous white lights about. The finishing times will be taken by some of the Coromandel officials, who will take up a position in Mr. McNeil's 26-footer, off Woolshed Bay at the entrance to the harbour. All skippers are requested to hail both starter and at the finish and give their boat's name. This is especially necessary at the finish, as th© local sports are not familiar with our boats. As it is quite likely the race will finish during the night, two or more lights will be displayed from the judge's boat to identify same. As there are a number of small boats competing, the course will he inside Waiheke, with no restrictions as to what channel is taken out through Waiheke passage. Boats must also keep outsid,! Sandspit, Bfcan Rock and Brown's Island beacon. Two handicaps have been declared by the starter, one for east and north-east winds and the second for all other winds. The following are the entries and handicaps:—Starlight, on wind, scr, off wind, scr; Starloch, scr, scr; Awatere, ISm, 9m; Mirage, 28m, 19m; Malua, 36m, 24m; Wairere, 45m, 32m; Maratea, fiOm, 36m; Magic, 66m, 38m; Mystic, 70m, 4fim; Xgaire. 70m. 42m; Scud. 80m, 4*m; Cyclone. 90m, 54m; Sea Sleigh, 100 m. 62m; Waitui, 110 m, 70m. Mr. W. A. Wilkinson will be starter and Mr. H. McNeil judge. In response to the request of several competitors the start lias been postponed until 8 p.m. A regatta will be held off Woolshed Bay on Naturdav, when races for 22 and 26 footers, also 20ft and under will form part of the programme. A better j division would have been 20, 22 and 28 footers and all under this for the second ( race. Perhaps this will be done. The usual dinghy races and shore sports will be carried out and a pleasant day should be spent, concluding with a dance at Curomandel in the evening. A regatta will also be held on Saturday at Whitianga, Mercury Bay. It was proposed to hold a race down from Auckland, but it has been cancelled for lack r»f entries, Wairiki being the only entry. This will not affect the regatta as a number of yachts and launches come up each Easter from Tauranga to com- 4 pete while several Auckland launches 1 expect to make the run to Whitianga. That good friend of boating men, Mr. H. Chadhan, who has organised the <

regatta for several years paet, trill be ready to extend a welcome hand to ■visitors by land or water. The Whangarei Cruising Clufc for several years past, has held a cruise in company at Easier, the boats making own the coast as far as Kawau where they meet boating friends from Auckland 1 his year they are expected to do the same and as the fleet of motor boats j S ever increasing at our northern port, a good muster is expected. On Saturday, April 6, the Takapuna oa ing Club will hold their annual regatta, which will cater for practically all classes. It appears that the new class proposed by the club, is not an open boats as mentioned in this column last week. The boate are to be halfdecked. similiar to the M class of patikis. with this difference that they are to be carvel (or smooth) built, and will be 16ft overall instead of 18ft. Already sufficient promise of support has been received, we understand, to ensure the success of the new class. The idea is to provide a boat which can be built more cheaply than the present class of 14ft Jellicoc boats or the ISft M class. They ma\ take the place of the Y class which has fallen off a bit lately, and will be eligible for the S class when racing outside their own club. 0 Lipton Cup Race. The annual race for the Lipton Cup, under the direction of the Ponsonby Cruising Club, wilt be held in April. The present holders are Valeria, representing the Akarana Club, and Varuna, the Manukau Cruising Club's nominee, which ran a dead heat last year after a great race. This year the clubs and their challengers are as follows:

Akarana liacht Club, Valeria; Devonport Yacht Club, Rakoa; Manukau Cruising Club, Varuna; Point Chevalier Sailing Club, Marie; Ponsonbv Cruising Club, Mowai; Takapuna Boating Club, Venus; Victoria Cruising Club, Kokiri; Tamaki Yacht Club, Lucille. The race will be held on Saturday, April 20. The Tauranga Seven-footers. The Tauranga seven-footers are the most popular class on that harbour aiul they are also to be seen at Whangarei. They were originated by Mr. C. Highet, a Public Works engineer, who was first stationed at Whangarei and later at Tauranga. He drew the plans, made the moulds, and helped to build a number of them for local youths in both porte. Whenever Auckland yachtsmen visit Tauranga they are so taken with these midgets that they get up impromptu races and finish by subscribing a guinea or two for prizes for the boys. Thanks to the offer of Mr. G. S. Miller, as mentioned in this column last week, the Akarana Club will have several boats of this class. It is hoped by this means to encourage the youngsters in a love of boat sailing. Races will be held inside the Orakei railway embankment. Already we have three sevenfooters here and a picture was taken of them last Saturday when getting | ready to compete at the Sea {Scouts' j regatta held off the Takapuna Clubhouse, and reproduced above. The boats are flatties, the sections being flatter than the present Y class. The camber in the keel is very pronounced, both ends coming clear of the water. The cockpit is watertight with a bulkhead for'ard and aft of it, which make it impossible to sink them. With one sail they are handy and very suitable for boys up to 15 or 16. The Panmure Boating Club concluded its racing season last week and the prizes were distributed on Saturday night in the clubhouse. There was a crowded attendance, Mr. W. J. Jordan, M.P., presiding. The club cup, the chief prize of the season, which is held by the boat securing the highest number of points for the five races, resulted in a, dead heat between Mr. W. Iverson's Rival, a 16-footer, and Mr. J. R. Morgan's Caprice, a 14-footer, with 39 points each. This necessitated a sail off when Rival won by 5J minutes. The total destruction by fire of Mr. W. Sinclair's 38ft cruising launch Paloma, in the upper harbour last Saturday afternoon, and the outbreak in the trader Te Awa, on the Wade River on Monday, brings forcibly to mind the danger of escaping benzine. All motor boats should carry one or two fire extinguishers in an accessible place. Their use will often, smother an outbreak at the start, but, better still, see that there are no leaks.