N.Z. yachts retain place

Press, 21 December 1981, Page 32

N.Z. yachts retain place

NZPA staff correspondent Sydney

New Zealand remained in fifth position after the second race of the Southern Cross Cup series raced in wildly varying conditions on Saturday. However, two of the team, the Christchurch 11.6-metre Davidson design Southern Raider, skippered by Frank Dickson, and the Auckland 12,1-metre Farr design The Roperunner (Geoff Thorpe) turned in better performances, finishing fifth and seventh respectively on handicap over the 30-nautical-mile course.

The larger Ngaruru (Brian Millar), a 14-metre sloop, was fifth across the line but on handicap ended up twenty first of the 33-yacht fleet.

The race resulted in a host

of protests, including that of Ngaruru against the handicap winner, New South Wales one-tonner Smuggler. Ngaruru has protested that the N.S.W. yacht sailed on a collision course and forced a passage. If it goes in favour of the Wellington yacht it could alter the team placings. On provisional points Victoria (Challenge, Black Magic, Seaulater) still leads with 158 points. The defending cup holders, New South Wales, which had a first in the Ed Duboisdesigned Smuggler, a third by Szechwan and an eighteenth by the tiny ha|f-tonner Beach Inspector, top-scored on Saturday with 80 points, bringing them up from fourth to second with 155 points after two races. In third place "is Great

Britain (Yeoman XXIII, Mayhem, Wee Willie Winkie) with 154 followed by the Australian national team (Apollo V, Hitchhiker, Ragamuffin) which slumped to fourth with 149 points. New Zealand, in fifth place, has 124 points and is followed by Hong Kong, 102, West Australia 89, and Papua New Guinea, Queensland and Tasmania all in eighth spot with 54 points. The third race of the series, a 180-mile off-shore race, starts at midday today and is expected to finish late tomorrow or early Wednesday. The final race of the series is the 630-nautical mile Sydney to Hobart race starting on Boxing Day. Saturday’s race was an hour late in starting because of variations in wind direc-

tion, but finally got away in a light north-easter. But afternoon thunderstorms played havoc with the wind from then on and brought spectacular effects with sunshine, rain, hail and thunder and sunshine again through the course of the race.

The wind went right round the compass, switching from the north-east to the southeast, south-west, south, east and back to north-east again. Team manager Mr Ross Telford said the 180-mile-race should suit the New Zealand boats and help Southern Raider and The Roperunner do even better than they did on Saturday.

“Ngaruru will also have the chance to perform well if the winds get up a bit,” he said.