R Class Champion

Press, Volume C, Issue 29524, 27 May 1961, Page 5

R Class Champion

r pHE Canterbury R class champion for 1961 will be named this evening at a ceremony in TS. Cornwell, Redcliffs. He will be Petetl Mander. of the Christchurch Yacht Club, who—although having sailed in the class for only half of the last season —scored more points over a series of top-class races than any other skipper. Crewing with Mander in the racing dinghy Salaam in the championship races was his youngest brother, David. At the beginning of the last summer five R class championship events were named for the championship series—a race at the Waimakariri regatta in November: the Cyrus Williams dinghy race on the Estuary later in the same ijnonth; the national Leander trophy contest in Auckland in January: and the Pegasus Crest and Irene Stacey trophy races at Lyttelton in March. The Mander brothers took part in the first three only: after the Leander races (in which they came second after a capsize had robbed them of a win), Peter put away Salaam and took out his Olympic Finn for the first time in the season. [By Easter be was sailing

well enough in this monotype to be able to win the New Zealand Finn title and beat the 1960 New Zealand representative at the Rome Games. Ralph Roberts, of Auckland.) In the local races Mander was second to his younger brother, Graham (Frenzy) in the Waimakarlri event and to the veteran Cliff Papps i Freeway) in the Cyrus Williams The latter event is generally regarded as the most important R class championship race of the season.

Second Place Tying for second place it the squadron championship were Graham Mander • whose regular crew was the Stewarts Gully yachtsman. Andy Holland), and Brian Treleaven. who sailed the dinghy Fresco with Melvin Seiwood. Treleaven was the most.often seen and most consistent skipper in the squadron during the season, Salaam topped the championship list with 20 points: Frenzy and Fresco scored 18 points each; and the Cooke brothers. Gavin and Colin, from the Waimakariri, were fourth with 15 points in their yacht. Gazelle (since sold'. Vision (Tony Shields and Bruce Marriott) was the champion the previous season; this summer it could manage only fifth place, all points being gained in a very' fine win the Pegasus Crest race which was sailed in the type of heavy weather and atrocious conditions which these two men revel in. Equal in fifth place with Vision was Papps and Bart McKnight.