Will the real Davy Jones stand up?

Press, 23 February 1980, Page 20

Will the real Davy Jones stand up?

By

JOHN COFFEY

Any historian of international Finn class yachting could be excused for believing that some competitors not only had extensive careers but also changed their nationalities and appearances. Officials of the 1980 World Finn Gold Cup being hpld at Takapuna were probably happy that they would not have to differentiate between' two

helmsmen who became known throughout the sailing world as ■ the “real” John Bertrand and the “plastic” John Bertrand. John Bertrand, of Australia, was considered to be “real” because he was first on the scene. He was the runner-up to • Joery Bruder, of Brazil, in the 1972 cup series in Italy and trailed home only Chris Law (Britain) and Jonty Farmer (New Zealand) at Brisbane in 1976. He went on to claim the bronze medal for Australia at the Olympic regatta in Canada. /. Since then another John Bertrand, an American, has more than made his mark on the Finn class. Entering the class as a double world Laser champion, the “plastic” Bertrand won the Finn Gold Cup in Mexico in 1978 and was second to his countryman; Cam Lewis, in English waters last year. This time only one John Bertrand, citizen of the United- ■ States, is competing, but the. Australian Bertrand family is not missing but Th® ’‘real”

John’s brother, Lex Bertrand, is among the starters,.

When the public address system calls for Paul Page, of New Zealand, two fellows instinctively make their way to the secretary’s caravan. The computer handling the results will identify them by their middle initials of “D” and “K”. To the other yachties they are “big” Paul Page

and “small” Paul Page; one has the physique of a basketball player, the other would be at home in the Sumo wrestling arena. One of the Australians is John Ferguson, from Sydney. But he is not the John Ferguson who was a reserve at the 1976 games. It seems that John Ferguson, of Sydney, is now at the helm of the boat previously owned by John Ferguson, of Brisbane. In addition, four .sets of brothers, Tom and Richard Dodson, Bruce and Graham Deegan, John and Martin Douglas (all New Zealand) and Chris and Tim Law (Britain) will be racing. So will Harry Dodson, a cousin of Tom and Richard. The late increase in the New Zealand contingent added more family combinations. Freerk Kempkers, a Christchurch dental surgeon, will now be joined by his nephew, Peter. Bryan Wiig, from Napier, and his cousin, Gary Wiig, are in the fleet. They have achieved suer cess ' in other sports, for Gary Wiig has represented Hawke’s Bay at rugby and

Bryan,. . a five handicap player, has had the heady experience of holing-in-one at golf.