No Fear Now Olympic Yachts Will Get Lost

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30561, 2 October 1964, Page 15

No Fear Now Olympic Yachts Will Get Lost

(Special Correspondent N.Z.P.A.)

TOKYO, October 1.

A compass screwed in the stern of the New Zealand Flying Dutchman class yacht, Pandora, is giving the two-man crew, H. O. L. Pedersen and E. Wells, a new sense of security.

Until it arrived with the yachting manager, Mr D. St. Clair Brown, over the week-end, they were running the danger of sailing on for ever, as was the fate of the character the class is named after. At times the industrial ■mog comes down so heavily on the Olympic course, which is a mile from the shore, that the land becomes completely blotted out. But with the com-

pass aboard the crew can now sail on confident that they will not become lost. Quick inspection of the other craft in the Olympic fleet today showed that to date the New Zealanders are the only ones to have taken this precaution. Frogman Suits However, there was no need for the compass today. The weather was brilliantly fine and clear. The yachting course is 40 miles south of Tokyo, at Enoshima, and the yachtsmen live in their own I Olympic village. As at the main venues in

’Tokyo, the living quarters for the yachtsmen leave nothing to be desired, apart from a lack of facilities for drying wet clothing. For this reason, the New Zealanders are now equipping themselves with “frogman” type rubber suits; an idea borrowed from the yachtsmen of other nations. Since their arrival at Enoshima, the New Zealanders have earned the reputation of being the hardest-working group to have arrived so far. Each day they have been out on the water, morning and afternoon, and frequently have been the only ones to venture out in the conditions. Pedersen Unfit Today, all but Pedersen were sailing. He has a slight throat infection and was advised by the village doctor to stay ashore for the day. He has been receiving injections and is confident he will be fit again by the week-end. Most of the action was in the Finn boats, P. G. Mander, his reserve, B. de Thier, and R. H. Roberts, the reserve for the Flying Dutchman, all having Finns on the water. Mander brought his own Finn to Toyko, but in the actual competition will be using a fibre-glass model supplied by the host country. All of the entrants in the class are supplied with identical boats and gear. One thing that could prove a cause of worry in the fibreglass boats is the number of stainless steel plates used to secure the toe-straps. As yet it has not been decided whether the plates will be allowed to be padded. Will Wear Shoes Mander, one of several gold medallists from previous Games competing this time, usually sails in bare feet, but says if necessary he will wear shoes for the racing. The yachting section of the Games begins on Monday week, with each of the classes decided on a seven-match series over 10 days.