messing about in boats

Press, Volume C, Issue 29469, 22 March 1961, Page 13

messing about in boats

A young skipper who has been consistently within an ace of taking honours from i Canterbury’s top Finn helms- : man is about due for a class championship win. He is Bill Beere, owner of Elfin, I which has been regularly close behind the formidable i monotype trio Peter Mander, Allan Ballintine and Des Bryson in many events this season. Mander has a theory that It does not require a heavy sk.pper to manage the one-

sailed, 14ft 10m Finns. He < considers skill is the answer, 1 even in a blow, and would s have none of the junior Finn . —the four-metre OK dinghy 1 developed in Europe and i taking hold in Australia. ; Mander and Ballintine are i both big men. I The lightly-built Bryson - and the boyish (he is aged i 211 Beere lend support for t the theory for both have t been turning in some fine J performances in recent 1 weeks. i

FINN SKIPPERS’ FORM

In some Auckland circles Mander is considered New Zealand’s top yachtsman by far, but last Saturday in a vicious sou’wester it was Beere who came in 20 minutes ahead in a handicap race, and on Sunday in near calm conditions Bryson managed to scuttle across the finish line a length and a half in front. Both races were open handicap but when it comes to championship work Mander still manages to pull his best form out of the hat in a masterly fashion, although he has to work to beat Ballintine. The form of these men will be watched with interest to see how they fare against top Auckland skippers Ralph Roberta and H. Pedersen at the national Finn contest on Lyttelton at Easter. Building Beere, who is a keep-fit addict, will be kept busy during the coming winter. Mere. Holland is about to start on the hull of a 12ft Junior Cherub yacht which Beere intends to finish during the off-season. The yacht, which is for under--20-year-olds. will be sailed by Beere’s younger brothers —Tim. aged 14, and Warwick, aged 12. Tim is a fourthformer at West High School and Warwick attends the Sumner primary school. Beere has previously built seven-foot row boat.

A for’ard hand not seen much of this season is Peter Lawrence, of the Christchurch Yacht Club (above), but his appearances are generally marked by workmanlike crewing. Last Saturday, when he was seen out after a spell, was no exception, and with some good skippering by Frank Simpson and excellent wire-hanging to windward by Lawrence the dinghy Sari was making a solid impression on a high-class R fleet until it was retired with bent gear and was later broken on the slip when landed full of water. Mud Tip Alan Burgess, of Pleasant Point, was not the only yachtsman whose mast struck the bottom last Saturday. Similar misfortune was encountered by the Waimakariri skipper Keith Toureil who capsized off the Canterbury clubhouse near Erskine Point in rough weather, but whereas Burgess’s Finn pole snapped Tourell’s R Class

mast remained in one piece. After Toureil and his crew, Allan Bray, had come ashore, and unrigged their boat Tempest, mud was found at toe topside of the 18ft spar, which gives an indication of the depth of water 80-100 yards off Erskine Point in low tide conditions.