Olympic yachtmen seeking the prized Sanders Cup

Press, 3 February 1979, Page 10

Olympic yachtmen seeking the prized Sanders Cup

Many of the greatest names in New Zealand yachting have been inscribed on the Sanders Cup. It would be a major surprise if the very accomplished Auckland representatives, Mark Paterson and Murray Ross, are not added to the illustrious list after the 1979 contest which begins at Lyttelton today. Paterson and Ross have largely earned their reputations as competitors of true international quality while sailing in other classes, but they have enjoyed virtually unbroken success during their occasional flirtations with the Javelin design. The renowned partnership of Jock Bilger and Ross twice carried New Zealand’s emblem at Olympic Games regattas. However, placings of ninth at Kiel and twelfth at Kingston were disappointing when compared with their runner-up roles in the 1971 and 1975 Flying Dutchman world championships. In Javelin racing. Bilger and Ross were all but unbeatable. The 1970 national title-holders, they gained line honours in all seven heats of the South Pacific series at Lyttelton the next summer, and returned to the class in 1972-73 to make a clean sweep of the Auckland, North Island. New Zealand and South Pacific events.

Bilger and Ross went their own ways after the last Olympics. Ross has since found fame in the “ton” . classes. guiding Magic Bus to triumph in the 1976 world Quarter Ton championship and skippering Smackwater Jack to victory in last season’s New Zealand One Ton Cup trials.

Ironically, Bilger was one

of a number of extremely astute helmsmen — included among the others were the 1977 cup winner, Bob Vernon, and Craig Gilberd — who finished behind Paterson and Ross in the Auckland Sanders Cup elimination contest. The dominant figure in the 470 class since it was introduced to this country, Paterson was seemingly poised for a gold medal on the eve of the final race at Kingston in 1976. But he and his for’ard hand, Brett Bennett, missed their

By

JOHN COFFEY

golden opportunity in the last heat and slipped to fifth overall.

They, too, have dissolved their partnership. But their past achievements included a win in the 1977 national Javelin championship, when their sheer consistency and skill more than compensated, for any lack of preparation or previous experience in the class.

Paterson and Ross will be competing in Dancing Queen at Lyttelton, the craft in which Paterson and Bennett claimed their New Zealand title.

Seven other provinces

have nominated entries, and the Hawke’s Bay insignia is to be flown by the holders, Doug Mcßeath and David Zorn, who interrupted a sequence of Auckland successes when the cup was at stake in the waters off Napier. Mcßeath and Zorn should be well acquainted with Lyttelton conditions, having been third in the national championship won by Bilger and Lindsay Kennedy 12 months ago. *

Murray Gibbons and Garth Cheyne, of Welling-

ton, will have a new boat in their quest to improve on the minor positions that have been their lot in 1977 and 1978. Southland will also have a well-seasoned crew, Paul and Ken Heads, competing in another boat that was launched this summer, and the experienced Alan Todd and Jim Monson will represent Otago. Canterbury has been without a win in the Sanders Cup since it was transferred to the Javelin class in 1971. The last of many victories in the X class era was six years earlier, when Alan Burgess was the skipper. But Canterbury has a proud cup history since its debut in 1922 — the first contest had been a twoway affair, W. J. P. McCulloch (Otago) sailing Heather to beat Iron Duke, raced by the then Governor-General, Lord Jellicoe, in. 1921. George Andrews, of Canterbury, was the first triple cup winner in Betty, a boat that he built himself. Eliot Sinclair and Graham Mander were

others to triumph three times, and the honours list also includes the Olympic gold medallists, Peter Mander and Jack Cropp. The responsibility for extending Canterbury’s 1979 challenge falls on Pete Milliken and Brent Cowan, who narrowly headed off John Fisher and Derek Brandt in the trials. Milliken and Cowan, the holders of the Canterbury and South Island championships, will be seeking to improve .on their sixth at the 1978 New Zealand series. A mishap last week-end, when a north-westerly gust dashed their boat, Marmalade, against the launching ramp and wrenched a hole near the bow, interrupted the preparation of Milliken and Cowan. But they have done a considerable amount of training on the water and are determined to figure prominently in the placings. The series begins with invitation races today and tomorrow — events that are open to all Javelin crews — and the seven heats of the contest proper will be held between Monday and Friday.