RUFFLED WATERS WILL FAVOUR N.Z. YACHTSMEN

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30562, 3 October 1964, Page 11

RUFFLED WATERS WILL FAVOUR N.Z. YACHTSMEN

VEW ZEALAND is represented in two out of the five yacht racing events at the forthcoming Olympic Games. In these two events, the one and two man light weight racing classes, the chances of victory are more than possible. For it is in these two classes that New Zealand yachtsmen predominently sail; the whole emphasis is on small boat racing and the standard is very high. Olympic yachting is different to any other form of yacht racing. The same course is sailed for four consecutive days (depending upon the wind direction), and there is a three-day rest before the last three races are sailed off. The best six performances count towards a gold medal. This system of dropping the worst performance is almost a psychological nightmare because at any one stage in the series a false position can be apparent in relation

to the actual overall position.

It is not the other competitors which will provide the stiffest opposition to the New Zealand representatives. The key factor In any yachting contest is the weather.

The open sea conditions at Sugami Bay will be reminiscent of Melbourne, 1956, when P. G. Mander and J. U. Cropp, the New Zealand winners, R. L. Tasker (Australia) and J. Blackall (United Kingdom) revelled in the brisk conditions that predominated. Sugami Bay is likely to offer the normal boisterous conditions in which a New Zealander feels at home rather than the placid unruffled calm of a European lake. Australasian yachtsmen, therefore, could well dominate proceedings. In the Flying Dutchman class New Zealand is represented by H. O. L. Pedersen and E. L. Wells. This crew

is competent, capable and consistent Of these, consistency is the best virtue, for to be well placed in seven consecutive races requires skill and scientific sailing of a high order. In the Olympic trials Pedersen and Wells had no difficulty in eclipsing L M. Pryde and J. Hansen, whose performances on the European circuit in 1963 would have rated them as the second or third best in the world. In the Finn class, the appearance of the 1956 twoman gold medallist, P. G. Mander, will not give the other competitors much confidence. The advantages that Mander will have in taming his Finn will be unique, so that regardless of weather conditions he must already be one of the favourites. The opposition might not be as strong as overseas reports indicate. In heavy weather Mander's greatest rival could be A. Nelis, of Belgium, the legendary Elvstrom’s sailing partner, but his performances this European summer have not been startling.