Swuzzlebubble wins

Press, 19 November 1977, Page 60

Swuzzlebubble wins

NZPA Sydney New Zealand yachts continue to dominate the Australian Half Ton championships off Sydney Heads. The New Zealanders — Swuzzlebubble and Gunboat Rangiriri — finished first and third in yesterday’s second race of the series, over 22 nautical miles in blustery, rain-squall conditions. Swuzzlebubble, skippered by lan Gibbs, beat the Sydney entry Liquidator into second place, and Gunboat Rangiriri, with Peter Wilcox at the helm, was a close third. Swuzzlebubble took line honours from Gunboat Rangiriri in Thursday’s opening race. Liquidator, skippered by Mike Fletcher, leads the Australian section. The

second Australian boat across the line yesterday was “Twenty-two Sixty-nine,” skippered b-- Melbourne’s Olympic bronze medallist, John Bertrand. Protests against the first three placegetters in Thursday’s first heat were upheld on Thursday night. However, the protest committee only issued a warning to the three yachts, Swuzzlebubble, Gunboat Rangiriri, and Liquidator. The race committee had protested the three yachts for not having their anchors securely fastened during the race-one of the safety regulations of offshore racing. The New Zealand centreboard defence of the Southern Cross Cup has received the green light from Sydney late, the NZPA reports from Auckland. The Cruising Yacht Club

of Australia telephoned the Royal Akarana Yacht Club Commodore, Mr R. Jones, on Thursday night to inform him that the Farr designs Swuzzlebubble, Smir-Noff-Agen and Jenny H had been accepted as Sydney-Hobart entries. The Australian Yachting Federation confirmed this in a cable to the Yachting Federation’s president, Mr H. L. Julian, yesterday. The C.Y.C. decision followed a full meeting of the club committee on Thursday night. It came just in time to obviate the need for a trip to Sydney yesterday by Mr Jones and designer Bruce Farr, who planned direct talks with the C.Y.C. in a bid to solve the centreboard dispute which was threatening the New Zealand defence of the Southern. Cross Cup.