messing about in boats

Press, Volume C, Issue 29480, 5 April 1961, Page 13

messing about in boats

Sparta Of the five Auckland Olympic Finn yachts which came south for the national title contest on Lyttelton at Easter week-end only four went home. The fifth is now an Estuary boat. It is Tom Speed's four-year-old Personality which has been acquired by Bret de Thier. of the Mount Pleasant Boat Club.

De Thier will be over-age for P-class by next season but he will not sail Finn in competition immediately. On Saturday he will be out as usual with Sparkey in the Estuary Pennant event, which will be his last junior championship race. This season de Thier was Canterbury’s Tanner Cup representative and came home with the Gisborne Trophy for being runner-up in the New Zealand Tauranga Class contest. He has renamed his Finn Sparta. Spouts Speed finished ninth in a contest fleet of 16. In Saturday’s nor'-wester he said he did not know what hit him

when he was capsized with 12 other boats. Graham Obers (Milford Cruising Chib) said he had seen a small water spout turn; Personality over and BUI Beere (Christchurch Yacht Club) said that a spout had also hit him. Fizzer Of the several off-beat incidents which occurred at the new Zealand Finn contest last week-end, the one that appealed to many was the start of one race that was delayed a few seconds. The shotgun failed to fire when the trigger was depressed; but that was easily explained —there was no cartridge in the breech. Ready Another kitty cat has been completed. It is the 12ft catamaran built during the summer by John Stemmer, of Redcliffs. Stemmer considers

the season is too late to bother about launching it and will wait until next season before racing it Lolita is the name he favours for it