YACHTING.

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 49, 27 February 1931, Page 14

YACHTING.

OIMARA SAILS FOR AUCKLAND HINTS ON OCEAN SAILING. AVALON SOLD TO OTAGO. HANDICAPS FOR PONSONBY REGATTA. (By W. A. WILKINSON.) The Melbourne vawl-rigged yacht Oimara, which made the passage from Eden, New South Wales, to Wellington in the smart time of 11 days, has sailed for Auckland and may be expected early next week. Oimara is owned by Mr. F. J. Bennell, who has given up the idea of a race across the Tasman this year. He is coming to have a look at the Waitemata and will be very welcome. The crew of the Oimara consists of Mr. Bennell and his son, Mr. John Bennell, Lieut.-Commander W. C. Juler, Mr. A. B. Monks, radio operator, and Capt. H. J. Symonds. Oimara is an auxiliary ketch of 91 tons, being 43ft overall, 10ft Gin beam, and sft 9in draught. She was built at Launceston, Tasmania, ten years ago. Below deck she is very comfortable, and has full head room througliout. . Mr. Bennell competed in a race last year from Melbourne to Launceston, which he won. This gave him the idea of a race across the Tasman. He received a friendlv challenge from Mr. NOl man Wallace, a Sydney yachtsman, who later 011 found that he could not compete. Mi". F J. Stacey, of Christchurch, then accepted the challenge, but he was unable to find a suitable boat. In the meantime Mr. Bennell spent a considerable sum in preparing tlie yacht for the voyage. Later, he understood that Air. McLean, owner of the Wellington vacht Restless (built and owned by the Tercel brothers, of Auckland), was ready to race from Wellington to Melbourne, but evidently there was some derstanding, Mr. McLean, disclaiming anv intention to race. Mr. Bennell was not. nut out by this news and stated Ins intention of having a look at New Zealand before returning home. Captain . Symonds, who is sailingmaster of the yacht, has had a lot of experience in small craft. In 19231 he brought out from Southampton to Melbourne the 19-ton schooner Seaweed to engage in the fishing . industry. The voyage took six months and 24 days. The entire ship's company consisted of Capt. Symonds, Bis wife and one man.

Navigation of Small Craft. Speaking of liis experiences Captain Symonds gave some very useful J""." 3 on tie navigation of small craft. While the art is easy to ail old sea dog like the captain, he made it plain just how many chances of error have to be watched for and allowed for, most ot them onlv known from experience. Above all the navigator must be a practical man. Much had been done by amateurs, conceded Captain Symonds, but the professional sailor would do the same job free of any of the anxieties and worries that beset the amateur. Navigation is much harder in small craft as the ' liveliness of the boat makes the man taking the observation lose the horizon frequently, and the small freeboard also allows the sea to wet between him and the horizon. He may spend half an hour on a rough day before he is certain that he ,has his observation correctly. Slight errors in the chronometer have to be allowed for, as well as compass errors, and the "set" of the sea, besides the betterknown ocean currents. . Sets and Currents. There are some thirty stars by which the mariner may tell his way if the | sight during the day is not satisfactory, but it is chiefly in the allowances for sets and currents when running by "dead reckoning" that the professional seaman beats the amateur, and even then he may make wrong deductions, though the old skipper will find himself more nearly where he thought he was after running by dead reckoning for a day or so than a young one without his knowledge of the sea. Sometimes the set of the sea is quite contrary to what would be expected with the wind's which have prevailed and nothing can tell the skipper of this except a seaman's sixth sense. Here again the professional sailor has the advantage of some security in his sights. He may be a little out, but it is very little in his dead reckoning, but in subsequent observations he can cheek faults witli a ,degree of certainty not in the grasps of, the amateur. In the voyage of,the Seaweed Captain Symonds was nev<sr iinore than two miles out in the routes', he had mapped out before on the Oimara's trip from Sydney -to -New Zealand his landfall was so exact that Cape Farewell lay dead a'lieadi to the perplexity of some of his ,;crfe^,' : 'who.coxild not reconcile the ccrarses Steered at times with what they iinaginedfet.o be the boat's position, simply because they. were unaware of the allowances very nearly correctly made for currents and sets. Seasons to be Watched. , * A lot of hard weather/may be dodged on a long trip such as the Seaweed's if the seasons are considered. She left. Europe in May, passing the West Indies before the hurricane season, and missed the hurricanes also in the ■ Pacific. Though it is recognised among nautical authorities that the little vessel of 20 tons is the safest afloat; as shown by the way in which some of the fishing fleet come through the gales in the North Sea., it is unlikely,, in Captain Symonds' opinion,.that any sailing vessel would ' come off victor in" a hurricane. Coming across the Tasman the. Oimara struck moderate weather, with fresh north-easterly and southerly breezes. A seaman's idea of a "fresh" breeze differs from that of a landsman's, who might imagine it was a gale, but the weather was such for the most part that all hands were able to sleep on deck, though the Oimara was certainly lively. The engine was a great help in occasional calms. The weather, if the same winds are experienced, should be more favourable on the return trip. On such trips boats do not carry as much sail as if racing, the object being comfort rather than record- times.

An Empty Ocean Coining across to Wellington the Oimara sighted no vessels, until she met ( the Ulimaroa jiiHt outside Cook Strait, Some huge sharks were seen four days out from the Australian coast. One was a monster with 2ft of. fm showing above the water. Captain Symonds guessed the fin to be three feet across at the base, but the whole bulk of the JlsJi could not be ecfiii. A few flying fish came aboard, I about half-way across the Taenian, and i t%y irnda excellent eating, and baria- 1 mm were might by trolling, 1j ft isi fntpreftUng to nolo that the Sea- i vmuJ wrrled f»s* monfchw' provisions and ; wfyW, 'Him Oiwwm i« pi'ovlaioned for Mm mmihit) uM an h#jr way to Wei-.

lington carried 100 gallons of water, the second 50 of which was broached on arrival. "They must have a different method of measuring ships now than they had in the old days," said Captain Symonds, "because the vessels then gistered as of 20 tons carried a crew of eight. We are nine and a half tons registered tonnage, and when we are stockM up with 'three months' provisions we have to sleep with them until we have-eaten some of them. How they managed to crowd eight men into a 20-tonner, provisioned for a long voyage, I do not know." Avalon Stays in the South. Mr. F. G. Cloke has sold Avalon to Mr. J. Hunter, of Port Chalmers, and | the crew returned yesterday morning without their ship. Her new owner has always taken a great interest in the Sanders Cup contests, and was part owner of lona when she was successful in winning the cup at Auckland in 1925. No doubt he will keep the little ship up to the present high standard of finish, and she should be seen carrying the big O on her mainsail at the contest in Wellington next season, as it is evident that Eileen has gone back. It is a sign of the times to learn that Avalon, with two suits of sails, changed hands well under £100. This will leave us without a boat foi 1 ohe next contest, but already one has becm mooted by an old opponent of Avalon. Record of 1931 Contest. The following shows the position of each boat in the recent contest in Me six races. Boat Ist 2nd 3rd 4th sth 6th Betty 1 1 5—2 1 Colleen .... 4 2 1 1 4 Rona .3 3 2 2 1 a Avalon .... 2 —• 3 — 3 •> Eileen 5 4 4 3 5 4 On a points basis of 3-2-1, the figures of merit work out, Betty 11 'points. Colleen 10, Rona 10, Avalon 4, Eileen 1. Avalon an Unlucky Boat. When the writer expressed the opinion in this column three weeks before tho contest that if the junior skipper as well as crew were sent, Avalon would only get third place, it was with the knowledge of previous keen contests and, unfortunately, proved only too right, as Avalon was actually fourth in order of merit. It is the first time in the history of the contests that the Auckland boat has not won a single race. The opinion was reprinted in the southern papers, brother scribes agreeing that the best man was necessary as skipper to give their boat a fair chance. An age limit of 30 for the skipper and 25 for the crew would be a good move. To confine the age to 21 makes it tc-o near the Cornwall Cup limit and any youth over this limit (19) would merely have two seasons before he would be lost to both classes. Avalon has certainly been an unlucky boat when it comes to Sanders, Sup contests. One has only to recall her performances at Akcrn" in 1929, Auckland 1930, and the last contest to prove this. Twice she capsized, twice she fouled another boat and was disqualified, twice she fouled a mark, and three times she was leading easily when the time limit expired. This is no reflection on any skipper, for each time she was sailed by a different man. . This may happen to any boat, perhaps it- will be said, but it' did not happen, except for a general capsize at Akaroa. Let us hope that in Mr. Hunter's hands that her luck will change for the better.

FONSONBY REGATTA. ENTRIES, HANDICAPS AND COURSES. The regatta promoted annually by the Ponsonby Cruising Club will be held tomorrow afternoon off St. Mary's Bay. The entries are good, and keen contests are certain. Mr. E. .T. Kelly's motor yacht Linda will act as flagship for the officials. The officers of the day are as follow: — Starter, Mr. T. Quinn; assistant starter, Mr. W. .Toynt; judge, Mr. H. Kirklinm : timekeeper. Mr. E. J. Kelly; recorder, Mr. H. A. Arthur. The racing details are:— C and E Classes, to start at 2.30 p.m.— Course: From starting line botween launch Linda and mark, thence round Bastion (port hand), white light (starboard hand). Bastion (starboard ' lianfl), finishing at starting line. Queenie. scr: Spewlwell, 2£m ; Scout, 4m ; Maybelle, 8m ; Eulalie, 13m. H and I Classes, to start at 2.38 p.m.— Course: From .starting line thence round Resolution (port), white light (starboard), Resolution (starboard), finishing at starting line. Starloch. Starlight, scr; Spray, 3m; Omatere, 4sm : Why Not, 9m.

L and N Classes, to start at 2.40 p.m.-*— Course: .Same as for classes H and I. Valerie, Marie.. scr : Otira, GJm : Woirere, Doreen, 7m: Mowai, !)m: Matnriki. 10m; Malua, Isobel. 11m; Wairangi, 13m.

V Class, to start at 2.54 p.m.—Course: From starting line thence round Rona bno.v (port), Watchman (port), outer black buoy in Shoal Bnv (starboard), thence round mark off tide deflector (starboard), tw'ce round, finishing at starting line. Surnrise, scr: Avro, Wild Wave. 5m ; Sea Cn-st, Romance, 8m; Doris. Belle, 9m; Ngaire, 10m : Leveret. 12m ; Rita, 14m.

M and S Classes, to start at 3.2 run — Course: Same as for V class. Mararea, Maner.e. Memutu, scr: Sceptre, Om; Dungaree, 10m: Kittiwakc, 12m; Rangitiki, 14m; Ben Bolt. 15m; Swiftsure, 17m.

T, X and Y Classes, to start at 3.10 p.m. Course: Same as that for class V. Lois, scr; Fay, 2Jm; Sybila. Alert. 3m; Rangi, 6m; Jupiter (not handicapped), Sea D<iwn, 8m; Sea Pixie, 10m; Romance, 11m; Rita T.. 20m.

Z Class, to start at 3.18 p.m.—Course: Same as that for class V. but once round only. Tio. scr: Kitty. Jm : Trevic, 2m; Mee Too, 3m; Delphine, Oi, 4m; Tere, Ripple, Swastika, sm. -

The Ngaio is not handicapped, nending production of certificate from Ta'kaptina Boating Club of eligibility to compete in Z class.

The following fairway marks are to bo observed:—Sandspit beacon. Bean Rock lighthouse, and Brown's Island beacon. Boats are required to beep outside the boat harbour wall. ' ), ON THE MANTJKAU. MANUKAU CRUISING CLUB. The Manukau Cruising Club will hold races to-morrow afternoon starting off the main wharf. In the motor boat race, all competitors must be ■ steered by a lady member. Events for-model yachts will be held In the basin. The ,16ft championship for the McGahan Cup starts at 2.30, the club championship for the Denison Cup starts at 3 p.m. The motor boats will, start off their handicaps, the limit boat at 3.30 p.m., over their usualcourse, No. 1. The usual model yacht race will be held about 4 p.m. The club will hold its annual picnic on Sunday, when the boats will leave the main wharf at 9 a.m. The following boats are eligible for the Champion Cup race:—Sylvia, Aoma, Drone, Myra, Sea Horse, Lois, Sea Gnome, Shirley, Daphne, Nyria, Rahiri 11., Sea' Toller, Wild Wave, Janet, Almlra. The following are eligible for the McGahan Cup, 16ft championship :—-Lois, Sea Gnome, Nyria, Rahiri 11., Wild Wave, Almira, Sea Toller, Janet, Shirley. Following are the entries and handicaps for the motor boats, to be steered by lady members:—Miss Manukau, scr; Surprise, 9m; Karma, 22m; Rainbow, 26m; Miss Millie, 28m; Regal, 30m; Cremorne, 31m; Mermaid, Almora, 32m; Lucinda, 39m; Grace, 47m. The officers of the day will be: —Starter, Mr. .T. Keegan; assistant starter, Mr. R. Bowden ; timekeepers, Messrs. T. E. Smith and J. C. Sibbin.

MANTJKAU YACHT CLUB. Tho Manuknu Yncht Club will hold the annual llsliing (rip to the Heads on Sunday, when vice-presidents and donors of trophies will be the guests 0 f t j le e i u vi. Club boats will leave Onehunga wharf at f> a.m. sharp. A meeting of the bovs Interested in the 12ft 61n class will he held at, the clubhouse on Thursday nevt. Haven for yachts anrl motor boats will be hold on Saturday, March 8.

NORTHCOTE A'ND BIRKENHEAD REGATTA. Entries for the Nortlicote and Birkenhead regatta, which takes place on March 7 are to close on Monday, and will be received between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. at the Northcote Borough Chambers, or may be left prior to o p.m. at John Burns and Co., Ltd. Fair play men are to be carried in the H, I, L and N classes. To allow the M class to compete in the race of the Royals on March 7, the start : ing time for the regatta race has been I deferred till 3.30 p.m.