YACHTS CHANGE PLACES

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33434, 16 January 1974, Page 3

YACHTS CHANGE PLACES

A brief spell of ideal sailing yesterday — following winds and slight seas — made a startling difference to positions of the yachts in the Wales Auckland to Lyttelton ocean race.

With everything in her favour, the 45ft Wellington: flyer. Whispers II (G. Stagg IJ surged ahead of most of the’ fleet, and in the 24 hours to; last evening’s radio link! moved from third position in the fleet, a mile behind the One-Tonner Pathfinder (I. Titchener), to second place,: 17 miles ahead of Pathfinder.,

The leading yacht in the] one-sided line honours battle is still Buccaneer (T. E. Clark,l Auckland), and she will cross the finish line in Lyttelton] this morning. The 73-footer was spotted by an R.N.Z.A.F.! Orion aircraft yesterday | morning, well out to sea off Honeycomb Rock, near Cape Palliser, and bowling along at 12 knots. Buccaneer did not answer the radio link again last evening, but the morning’s sighting gives good grounds for putting the big, black sloop about 50 miles ahead of Whispers 11, or a little less than half-way between Cape Campbell and the Kaikoura Peninsula.

A southerly change last night will have brought to an end the eased-sheet sailing of yesterday, but Buccaneer is expected to cross the line by midday. In spite of the big jump forward by Whispers 11, the One-Tonners still have a firm

on the overall handicap positions, the leader being Pathfinder with a “corrected distance covered” of 573 miles. Then follow WaiAniwa and Escapade with Whispers II fourth. The last of the One-Tonners in the fleet. Skinflint, is next followed by the top Half-Tonner Mokoia (T. Fyfe, Auckland). The leading Lyttelton yacht both in actual and handicap positions is the Half-Tonner Diablo (D. S. Hart), which is lying seventh on over-all handicap. Leading handicap positions for each of the five divisions! are.— 1.0. R.—A: Whispers 11, 5351 miles (corrected); Aroha, 502;: Buccaneer. 495; Kochab 11, 451. j 1.0. R.—8: Pathfinder, 573; Wai-i Aniwa. 567; Escapade, 550; Skin-1 flint. 534. 1.0. R.—C: Mokoia. 520; Diablo, 509; Prospector (A. K. Archer, Lyttelton), did not report. Cruising division.—Scallywag <B. D. Fitchett. Auckland), 464; Nemesis (A. Verhaaren, Auckland), 442; Sinbad (S. W. Brown, Auckland), 424. Multihull division.—Rebel II (A.. Allan, Lyttelton). 393; Legato (M. Parsons. Auckland), and Lady G (G. Copland. Lyttelton), did not report.