BUSY SEASON FOR BRANDT

Press, 19 November 1977, Page 12

BUSY SEASON FOR BRANDT

Bv

JOHN COFFEY

Derek Brandt, a member of Canterbury’s most successful Javelin class yachting crew last summer, will have his first major assignment in what promises to be a very hectic season when he sails in the provincial Sanders Cup trails at Lyttelton next week-end. Once again, Brandt will be the for’ard hand in Joshua, with John Fisher at the helm. Together they won the cup trials 12 months ago and went on to claim the South Island championship. Not surprisingly, Fisher and Brandt are among the favoured crews for the trials, which will be decided over six heats on November 26 and 27 and December 3. The successful combination will represent Canterbury in the Sanders Cup at Napier from February 4. Also ahead of Fisher and Brandt are the defence of their c ~- ith Island title at Tim in the New Year, and me New Zealand championship series at Lyttelton next Easter. But Brandt has also

scheduled some international competition on his programme. The South Pacific contest is to be held in Melbourne in January, and Brandt has been enlisted as the for’ard hand for the wellperformed Auckland skipper, Bob Vernon. Last season Vernon — assisted by his brother, Peter — took thier un-usually-named craft Worzel Gummidge to over-all victory in the Sanders Cup and second placing behind the Olympians. Mark Paterson and Brett Bennett (Auckland), in the national championship. However, two other crews are expected to provide stern opposition to Fisher and Brandt in the trials. Peter Milliken now has Brent Cowan as his for’ard hand in Marmalade, while Andrew Conway has made a promising start in a new Spencer design. Dave Elder, who, with Ross May, dominated southern Javelin class racing for so long, has yet to complete his new boat and has a prior commitment to sail in the national Noelex class series at Nelson. He

will be back in Javelins in time for the New Zealand title contest in his home waters and should have his yacht well tuned before Easter. The regular appearances of Graham Battersby and Julian Bowron in Golliwog so early this season should stand them in good stead for the trials, while the J.C. class graduates from Charteris Bay, Ricky Chapman and Shaun Fitzgerald, couid enter the reckoning if conditions are light. One combination sure to attract interest is that of Chris White and John Roundtree. The latter is a former Leander Trophy holder in the R class and his experience should suit him well in his new capacity as White’s for’ard hand. Invitations have been extended to the Javelin squadrons in Picton and Timaru to send representatives to the trials, allowing crews from those areas the chance to sail competitively at the venue for the New Zealand championship. It is expected that the fleet will number at least 10 boats.