Two S.I. Yachting Titles Arranged

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30947, 31 December 1965, Page 11

Two S.I. Yachting Titles Arranged

Two South Island yachting championships start on Sunday, the Australian Moth class at the Waimakariri club and the 14ft Javelin class at Picton.

The Australian Moth Class has grown rapidly in the last two seasons, partly because of its simplicity, moderate cost to build and its fine sailing characteristics. While some of its members are fairly young and inexperienced or straight from the junior P class, others are experienced former R class skippers or crews. The first series was held last Christmas at Pigeon Bay and resulted in a win for the Wellington veteran, H. Wagstaff, who narrowly defeated H. Hobden and B. R. Marriott, who both sail at the Christchurch club.

Other skippers who should do well are M. Robertson (Christchurch), M. Sei wood, O. Brown, H. R. and T. Blanchard (Waimakariri), M. Suggate (Pleasant Point), and the Pigeon Bay entrants, B. Goodwin and D. Hunt.

On present form, Marriott and Hobden should fight it out but should there be any extreme conditions on the Waimakariri river they will receive stiffer opposition.

The entry for the Javelin class championships included three from Nelson, three from Picton, one from Kaikoura and eight from Christchurch. Three crews have virtually dominated the local racing. The heavy-weather experts are Wayward (H. L. England and L. Wales), the moderate conditions have seen Spindrift (W. H. Beere and P. Skelton) shine, while a lightweather flyer is Ra (N. L. Hey and D. Taylor). Given their particular conditions then one of the above three would be very hard to beat under normal racing conditions. But Queen Charlotte Sound is not very normal conditions as Canterbury yachtsmen know them, and so the hardest man to beat will be M. Amos, of Nelson.

Amos is a very experienced yachtsman who has won races both in the R class and in the Senior Cherubs and his new Javelin has been going very fast indeed. Also he knows the Sounds area very well.