Inter-Dominion Races

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31857, 9 December 1968, Page 7

Inter-Dominion Races

Two Canterbury yachts and eight others from Auckland will represent New Zealand in the first inter-Dominion Javei lin class championships at Sydney over the ChristmasNew Year period. This will be the first time i Canterbury Javelin crews have sailed in competition i outside New Zealand. The boats will be skippered by P. G. Beaumont and A. F. Burgess: their respective crews are S. Tiller and B. R. Maririott

The trip is partly sponsored by Air New Zealand and Guthre/s Travels, Ltd, land the Canterbury Yachting : Association has also given a i generous grant The javelin is a New Zea-land-designed 14-footer with a minimum hull weight of 1551 b and normally carries 155 sq. ft of sail. As one yachting magazine said: “ft is almost certainly the fastest restricted class 14-footer in the world.” The class is raced almost solely in Australia and New Zealand although there are similar types of boats in Britain. Canterbury has a fleet of approximately 25 and the class has been in competition in New Zealand for seven

years. The average cost of a; Javelin is $5OO. A series of trials were held in the North and South Islands, with two races in Lyt-I tieton Harbour and three at Picton. About a dozen boats competed in the South Island i trials and the two Canterbury - crews that won selection emerged with the most points. ;

| Beaumont has won the South.r Island championship and t Burgess is one of the pro-|i | vinces most experienced i y yachtsmen. 11 The course they will encounter at Sydney is of stan i ( dard design, triangular in! 0 shape with windward and leeward tacks. Sydney Harbouri is renowned for its ideal | yachting conditions and the. 1

middle harbour is in a particularly beautiful location. It is understood that about 40 yachts will cross the starting line in each race. The crews will compete for the Air New Zealand Trophy, over a series of six races. The photograph show Javelin class yachts race in Lyttelton.