NATIONAL LASER TITLE Consistency pays for Treleaven

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33776, 24 February 1975, Page 3

NATIONAL LASER TITLE Consistency pays for Treleaven

(By

JOHN COFFEY

Bryan Treleaven, one of the leading centreboard yachtsmen in Canterbury for more than a decade, had his first national victory when the Laser class championship was completed at Lyttelton yesterday.

A second placing in the final heat was sufficient to give Treleaven an over - all margin of 7.7 points from Murray Bocock (Auckland), with Bill Thomson (Auckland) another point further back. It has been in the Finn class that Treleaven has gained most prominence in the past. The Olympic Games reserve in 1972, he has also represented New Zealand in France, Austria, and Australia, and is a member of the nine-man squad chosen to sail at the world Finn Gold Cup in Brisbane next January.

Treleaven should become quite familiar with Queensland yachting conditions in the next 12 months, because he has now also qualified to lead a 10-man team to the inter-Dominion Laser contest, which will be held at Brisbane in late April. After his win had been confirmed — and official placings were not completed until six protests had been heard — Treleaven said that he would concentrate on Laser sailing until the interDominion. He will then turn his attention towards preparing for the Finn Gold Cup and the national Olympic Games Finn trials next season.

OTHERS UNLUCKY Although Treleaven’s con-, sistency, even in lighter airs that do not favour his style, made his success popular and deserved, he would have had a more minor ranking had it not been for the misfortune suffered by Barry Thom (Auckland) and Bocock. Thom won three races — all that he completed. He broke his mast and withdrew from the second heat, was leading when the time limit expired before the end of the third event, and was disqualified after taking line honours in the fourth race. He was over the line at the A technicality also cost Bocock dearly. He protested against his disqualification from the second heat — incurred because he did not report to officials before the starting gun was fired — but was not reinstated. Had Bocock been able to claim the second placing that he gained, his aggregate points would have been reduced to 22.4 and Treleaven’s pushed up to 23.4. Instead, Treleaven’s counting performances of fifth, second, third, and second totalled 21.7 points; Bocock conceded 29.4 (third, fifth, fourth, and third), Thomson 30.4 (fifth, third, second, sixth), John Moyes (Auckland) 32.7 and Milton Pope (Nelson) 34. NATIONAL SQUAD The others in the New Zealand squad are Pat Costello (Auckland), 39 points; the luckless Thom, 53; lan Treleaven (Auckland) — a brother of the new titleholder — 64.7; Wally Stringer (Otago), 70; and Graham Baumber (Wellington),; 71.7. Peter Lester (Canterbury);

would have been comfortaby among the top 10 had he also not run foul of officialdom on two occa-i sions. He was disqualified I from Thursday’s opening i race for causing interference to Bryan Treleaven, and, with Thom, started prematurely in the heat on Saturday morning. The penalties dropped Lester to eighteenth over-all. The troubles experienced by Thom and Lester brought other skippers into serious contention. Pope, who has 1 the experience of many 1 seasons of Finn and Flying Dutchman sailing, was promoted to rst in the fourth; event, and a seventh on urday afternoon kept him in . the leading group. b Bryan Treleaven was sec-: ond and then third on Satur-I day, Bocock fifth and fourth, h Moyes third and fifth, and;, Thomson eighth and secondLAST RACE But Treleaven soon made'i it obvious that he would not l let victory slip away with-J out a fight in the last race.: I He held a narrow advantage!'

over Thom until they rounded the top mark for a second time, with Bocock quite a distance away third. Thomson (seventh) and Pope (ninth) were well back from the pace at the wing buoy. It was not to be all plain sailing in the light-to-moder-ate easterly breeze. Thom scurried past Treleaven to be a minute ahead at the start of the final leg, and Bocock also slipped through. Pope, especially, and Thomson were improving. Thom gained some compensation for his earlier mishaps, and Treleaven caught and just beat Bocock for the runner-up position. Pope was fourth, in front of Lester and Thomson. Any thoughts of celebrations that Treleaven might have had were pushed aside while the protest committee deliberated; an hour or two later it was announced that Bocock’s disqualification would stand. Treleaven’s long wait for top placing in a major national series had ended. Results: Race four: M. A. Pope (Neb son) 1, B. E. Treleaven (Canter*

bury) 2, J. Moyes (Auckland) 3, P. Costello (Auckland) 4, M. Bocock (Auckland) 5, I. G. Treleaven (Auckland) 6, F. Kempkers (Canterbury) 7, W. G. Thomson (Auckland) 8. R. M. Ingham (Auckland) 9, M. Thom (Auckland) - 10.

Race five: B. Thom (Auckland) 1, Thomson 2, B. Treleaven 3, Bocock 4, Moyes 5, P. Lester (Canterbury) 6, Pope 7, I. Treleaven 8, G. Baumber (Wellington) 9, A. Geddes (Canterbury) 10.

Race six: B. Thom 1, B. Treleaven 2, Bocock 3, Pope 4, Lester 5, Thomson 6, Costello 7, Moyes 8, W. Stringer (Otago) 9, M. Thom 10.

Final points: B. Treleaven, 21,7, 1; Bocock, 29.4, 2; Thomson, 30.4. 3; Moyes, 32.7, 4; Pope, 34, 5; Costello, 39, 6; Thom, 53, 7; I. Treleaven, 64.7, 8; Stringer, 70, 9; Baumber, 71.7, 10.