Will Press Mander In

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30342, 18 January 1964, Page 11

Will Press Mander In

to see how Holland fares in company with his regular R class crew, Fitzgerald, in the unfamiliar hull. Xebec, with its nigger brown working sails; black gold and green spinnaker; and cream hull is the most colourful entry; but its teen-age crew who are sailing it in their first trials series (the boat was built only last winter) are not expected to make much impact. Norris is a former Lyttelton Cornwell Cup representative. Pinta, Xebec and Vision are all plastic hulls; Tumanako, owned by Elder, is wooden. In case of a tie, which is possible with four races, a sail-off will be held next week-end. There are those who say the Sanders Cup is dead; yet no crewed boat has been introduced with sufficient appeal to attract the best yachtsmen in New Zealand, other than the artificiallyboosted Olympic classes; and this year the Sanders Cup (a dying trophy) will

see a record 11 entries from provinces. The present holder of the cup is T. Bouzaid, of Auckland, and the contest series of seven races will be sailed off Tamaki on March 2. Auckland crews have won the Sanders Cup 15 times since 1921; Canterbury 14 times; Wellington six times; and Otago four times. None of the minor provinces has yet won. There was no contest from 1942 to 1945 inclusive. The "Sanders Memorial Cup for the Australasian Championship in 14 foot One Design Boats" commemorates Lieutenant-Com-mander W. E. Sanders, of the Royal Naval Reserve,

who was awarded the Victoria Cross for destroying a German submarine with his Q ship on April 30, 1917. Less than three months later, he was killed in an action which resulted in the posthumous award of the Distinguished Service Cross.