Peter Lester awaits outcome of protest

Press, 20 February 1980, Page 42

Peter Lester awaits outcome of protest

From

JOHN COFFEY,

in

Auckland

If Peter Lester, one of this country’s finest monotype yachtsmen, had not divided his early sporting and working life between the waters and wharves of Lyttelton he might well have fashioned a successful career as an advocate in the law courts.

Lester has yet to learn whether he has won his highly complicated case that the Peter Stuyvesant Pacific Cup and New Zealand Finn class championships, which were sailed at Takapuna last week, should be declared null and void.

Last evening a fourth official committee, the appeals body of the New Zealand Yachting Federation, was brought in to try and solve the wrangle. No decision has yet been made. The Pacific and national series were also to be part of the New Zealand Olympic trial for the selection of the Finn skipper to travel to the Games regatta in Russia. But they were severely disrupted by strong winds and rough seas and the future of the trial will not be known until the appeals committee has made its decision.

Originally scheduled to finish last Friday the officials belatedly extended the Pacific contest to Sunday so that the minimum require-

ment of four races could be sailed John Bortrand (United States) narrowly headed off Tom Dodson (New Zealand) for first place with Richard Dodson (New Zealand) third.

Soon after returning to shore on Sunday afternoon Lester was studying his rule book and filling in a protest form. The matter was discussed by the protest committee and held over for 24 hours because there had been some confusion whether Sunday’s event was the resail of the abandoned first heat or the delayed seventh race.

Support for Lester’s claim that the series should not have been continued after the stipulated finishing date was given by the Netherlands’ coach, Mr Bernard Derros, who recalled a similarly successful protest during a European 470 class championship in Portugal. Lester duly relodged his protest on Monday, questioning the validity of the ruling panel. He argued that the . committee Was incorrectly constituted and its members perhaps reluctantly agreed that it was not the proper body to have handled the situation and it resigned as a unit.

Lester also contended that his chances of Olympic selection had been materially prejudiced by running races

in conditions which would not normally have allowed a start in international competition.

The problem was passed on to the New Zealand Finn Association Council, which consulted visiting officials from the International Finn association.

That jury, with representatives from Spain, Yugoslavia, Canada and New Zealand advised the national council to approach the appeals committee of the New Zealand Yachting Federation. There the matter rests.

Naturally Lester’s actions were not too popular among the helmsmen who had made a fine start towards seeking Olympic nomination. Yesterday’s uncertainty would not have been a welcome present for Richard Dodson on his twenty-first birthday. ]-■ But it would be a very insular thinking competitor dr administrator who has not by now questioned the wisdom of attempting to hold an Olympic trial in conjunction with a major international event.

A top contender for both could conceivably have been left in the invidious position of having to choose between covering the challenges of his games rivals or throwing such caution aside in a bid to win the world title.