Close yachting rivalry

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32219, 11 February 1970, Page 11

Close yachting rivalry

rpWO yachtsmen who were • the runners-up in their respective classes in the 1968-69 South Island championships, M. E. Seiwood (Dibrucol, International Moth) and S. Wilson (Mirage, Zephyr), have earned favouritsm for this season’s series which will be sailed on Saturday and Sunday. Seiwood, the commodore of the Waimakariri club, has been in outstanding form during the season, becoming the first Canterbury holder of the national title

when he won two of the five races at Pigeon Bay and adding the provincial championship to his list of successes late last month.

However, the strong opposition he received from G. Wilson (Flurry), A. M. Holland (Riot) and O. Brown (Heraclitus) during the Lyttelton regetta should continue at Akaroa at the week-end. The conditions might well dictate from which quarter Seiwood will be most extended.

Brown, a most consistent place-getter in previous

South Island and New Zealand series, would undoubtedly extend Seiwood in fresh conditions while Wilson, the holder of the island title, has shown a preference for lighter airs. The second place-getter in the Canterbury series after his win in the first of the three races, Holland, has the experience of two previous victories in island championships to assist his challenge. However, Seiwood has impressed as the most proficient all-rounder in the class and a win by any other yachtsman in the fleet, expected to number about 20 with few, if any, entries from outside the province, would be unexpected.

H. Hobbs (Westerly) upset Wilson in the Zephyr class championship race at the Lyttelton regatta late last month but the margin was only 13sec and came after Wilson had gained line honours in the handicap race during the regatta. Apart from Hobbs, a previous holder of the title, Wilson can expect strong opposition from P. Currie (Easterly), who finished third behind G. Beaumont (Chinook) and Wilson last season when sailing Typhoon.

Wilson and Currie have been successful in trophy races sailed at Charteris Bay during the season. Wilson beat his rival in the L. Turner Cup but the placings were reversed when Currie won the Hunter Anderson Cup, a handicap event sailed in December. Wilson also gained third place in the Charteris Bay Cup, an event that he won in 1968-69. The four races of Saturday and Sunday are expected to attract about a dozen Zephyrs, with the fleet again comprising a complete Canterbury entry.