Squall damages five yachts

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32567, 29 March 1971, Page 1

Squall damages five yachts

Southerly winds, gusting up to 60 miles an hour, bufietted the Christchurch district on Saturday afternoon. Five yachts were damaged, four power poles were snapped off and minor power cuts were caused in Christchurch.

The temperature fell 20 degrees in 30 minutes during the brief storm, brought about by an active cold front moving up the east coast of the South Island. The storm went through Oamaru at 1220 pm., Timaru at 1.15 p.m, and hit Christchurch about 3 p.m. Serious damage was caused to at least five boats of the Chatteris Bay Yacht Club. The five craft were among about 14 on the water awaiting the beginning of the race for the H. C Smart Cup. A rescue boat manned by Mr R. Wilson and Mr R. Coultas spent an hour and a half retrieving capsized boats and picking up their crews. A wind meter at the club-

house recorded a steady wind speed of 45 miles an hour with gusts of up to 60 miles an hour. The race for the H. C. Smart Cup was not sailed.

Masts broken

A Finn class boat, skippered by Mr E. Cave had its mast broken and two Paper Tiger class yachts sailed by Mr G. Battersby and Mr F. Ackland suffered broken masts and lost rudders. Waves between five and six feet high swamped two Flying Fifteens as they were being towed back to the clubhouse and one of them, Kestrel, owned by the club’s vice-commodore (Mr R. J. Winters), was holed as it was being put on the slipway. Six boats in the rigging area were also blown over and some of them were badly damaged. At Doyleston, four power poles were blown over by the wind, but consumers were supplied with power from an alternative source.

Power cuts

There were several isolated power cuts in Christchurch resulting mainly from twisted wires or interference from trees and branches, but in most cases only a few consumers were affected and power was quickly restored. There were no reports of damage in Canterbury forests.

The light north-westerly wind which blew in Christchurch before the storm, changed suddenly to the south and the temperature of 75 degrees recorded at Harewood at 2.55 p.m. dropped to 55 degrees in half an hour. The average force of the wind between 3 p.m. and 4 pjn. was 40 miles an hour. By 4 p.m., however, the average wind speed was down to 28 miles an hour with gusts of up to 45 miles an hour. Two hours later winds of 10 miles an hour only were recorded. The storm continued up the east coast, reaching Kaikoura at 5.10 p.m. and Wellington at 7.15 pjn.