WAIMAKARIRI EVENTS

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29799, 16 April 1962, Page 16

WAIMAKARIRI EVENTS

Three Boats Lead After Two Heats After two heats of the De La Rue Cup series had been sailed on the Waimakariri river on Saturday, three boats were in equal position first on the points table. They were R. A. Bargrove’s Olympic Finn Hi Jinx; A. B Mackenzie’s Finn Finlandia; and D. Harrison's R Class dinghy Retort. One more heat remains to be sailed on a date to be announced.

Harrison and J. B. Watson, in Retort, went to the front immediately after the start of the first heat in a moderate northerly breeze, and then built up a substantial lead. K. Tourell and I. W. Scott, in the R Class dinghy Beta, led the rest of the fleet about 300 yards astern until Tourell picked up a puff which enabled him to set out on his own and come up with Harrison. Harrison promptly worked some flukey and variable breezes to draw away once more and finish six minutes in front. Deliberate Capsize At this time of the season most yachtsmen are doing their best to avoid capsizes into the water which is now far too cold for comfort; yet one boat was deliberately capsized by its crew. This was the dinghy Fantastic, sailed by G. J. and C. J. Cooke. The latter, for'ard hand, lost the spinnaker halyard up the mast during the second round; so the brothers capsized the boat to let C. J. Cooke swim out and recover it. With spinnaker drawn once more Fantastic picked up and came over the line fifth.

A steadier wind during the sailing of the second heat kept the boats together, and nine finished within four minutes. Results were:— First Heat.—Retort (D. Harrison and J. B. Watson), scr. 12:44.35. 1; Beta (K. Tourell and I. W. Scott), 2min, 12:48.27. 2; Huckleberry (J. Tourell) 12:49.32 3. Second Heat.—Hi Jinx (R. A Bargrove), 7min, 2:53.5, 1; Miss O.K. (A. Ballintine), 9min, 2.23.23, 2; Finlandia (A. B. Mackenzie), 6min, 2:24.17, 3.