Southern Raider in Timaru race fleet

Press, 12 November 1981, Page 36

Southern Raider in Timaru race fleet

Southern Raider will compete in its first off-shore event since winning the Southern, Cross Cup trials when it leaves Lyttelton this evening in the Banks Peninsula Cruising Club’s annual race to Timaru. The race will provide Southern Raider’s skipper, Frank Dickson, and crew with another opportunity to iron out the gear problems which troubled the new yacht during the cup trials in Wellington. In spite of those mishaps, Southern Raider achieved a handicap victory in the offshore trial to gain top position in the New Zealand team to compete in Australian waters next month. If the present northerly conditions continue to prevail after the race gets under way, the record time of about 20hr seems likely to be

threatened. Among Southern Raider’s opposition are some of the best performed yachts in the Banks Peninsula club. Granny Apple (Brian Wall and Rick Healing) gained handicap honours and success in the 1.0. R. section of the corresponding event last summer, when Freedom Machine (Gavin and Colin Cooke) was the first yacht to reach Timaru. Making a start for the season ib Chantal (Don Dalton), which took part in the last Auckland-to-Suva race. The other Banks Peninsula entries are Aparangi (Rod Johnstone and David Gallagher), Crusade (Alan and Warwick Archer), Diable (Gary Ward), and Apiti (Fergus Campbell), while the Timaru trimaran, Trio, is to be raced back to its home port.