Frustrating day at N.Z. yachting championship

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33775, 22 February 1975, Page 48

Frustrating day at N.Z. yachting championship

(By

JOHN COFFEY)

Competitors ran out of wind and, eventually, time during a frustrating second day of the New Zealand district Laser class yachting championship at Lyttelton yesterday.

There was a delay of 30 minutes before the morning race — won by Peter Lester, of Canterbury — was sailed in generally light southerly conditions; later, the third heat of the series began hours behind schedule and was finally abandoned when the time limit expired.

Barry Thom, the young Auckland skipper who had won the opening event on Thursday, suffered the greaest misfortune of the 49 entrants. He was quite well placed in the second race until he broke his mast — apparently not an uncommon occurrence for him this season — and had his. sail ripped. After being towed back to shore, Thom hurried over to Christchurch to have repairs carried out and was back at Lyttelton in time to resume his position in the fleet. He was leading on the last leg

when the third heat was ; called off. i Another Auckland repre- 1 sentative, Murray Bocock, ( will also have good reason to i hope for better luck over the i remainder of the contest. ' Bocock was second across ! the finishing line in the one ■ race that was completed i yesterday, only to be disqualified for not reporting to 1 officials at the start. i With Thom gaining only' the meagre starting points, Bocock none at. all, John ’ Moyes (Auckland) managing only twelfth and Lester still the accused party in an as yet unheard protest from the first heat, four of the leading contenders already have results that they would be very happy to discard. No immediate decision was made on whether the abandoned event would be re-sailed; if it is not, the series is reduced to five races, the best four performances of each helmsman to count towards aggregate points and placings. The need for Thom, Bocock and Moyes —• and Lester, if the protest committee rules against him — to fill consistently high positions is now imperative.

Winning break Lester made his winning break in the morning on the second and third legs of the triangle, improving from fourth at the top mark to head off Wally Stringer (Otago), Bocock, Pat Costello (Auckland),. Bill Thomson (Auckland) and the early leader, Bryan Treleaven (Canterbury). A margin of about Imin was Opened between Lester and Bocock on the second beat, with Costello, Thomson, Stringer and Treleaven assuming an order that was unchanged at the finish or, rather, until Bocock’s disqualification was made known. Two Canterbury yachtsmen better known for their exploits in other monotype classes, Tony Womall and Dave Campbell, were next.

Moyes, the runner-up to Thom on Thursday, was one of the slowest starters and had to make up much leeway to claim eleventh position. Freerk Kempkers (Canterbury) slipped from his fourth of the previous day to twenty-eighth. Because of a tear which had developed on his way to victory a few hours earlier, Lester used a new, unnumbered, sail in the third heat and was again in front at the buoy marking the completion of the triangle. But the very light airs were patchy and Thom and Stringer also took turns at making what pace there was. The lack of provision for shortening the course made

an abandoned race inevitable as the fleet meandered its way around the harbour. Only seven boats reached the bottom mark a second time, Thom handily ahead of Bocock, Peter Turner (Auckland), Lester and Stringer, when the 24 hour limit ran out. If the least impressive of the two results of each skipper is omitted, Lester and Thom share the over-all

* lead on the basis of one win s each. Moyes and Costello . have had a second (three 1 points conceded) each, 1 Bocock and Thomson can f call on their thirds (5.7) and! - Kempkers and Stringer have , both had a fourth (8). 1 Results:— Race two (49 started): P. Lesf ter (Canterbury) 1, P. Costello l (Auckland) 2, W. G. Thomson I (Auckland) 3, W. Stringer (Otago) 4, B. E. Treleaven (Canterbury) 1 5, A. J. Wornall (Canterbury) 6, D. J. Campbell (Canterbury) 7. < J. Davidson (WeUlngton) 8. D. Maconagthie (Auckland) 9, W. T. Oliver (Canterbury) 10. M. Bocock (Auckland) was second to finish, but disqualified for not reporting [ at the start. Race three (49 started): aban- ] doned when time limit expired.