MOTOR BOATS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 45, 16 November 1907, Page 9

MOTOR BOATS.

(Bγ Cakburetioh.)

Tho Port Nicholson Motor Boat Club wore oxnoptionally lucky in being favoured with" •imuli a. beautiful" , afternoon'for their opening ii'uii and their initial raco of tho season last Saturday. ■ "This race, considering- that a iimmber of,launches aro "hot: yet. roady, attracted a very good, field of nine starters, fSn-o of which dropped out in the first round ■on account of the paco; and the other seven all crossed tho finishing line without a mishap or stoppage of any kind during the race. The surprise. of tho afternoon was tho speed shown by tho Swan, and the finish between that boat and tho Vida created quito a lot ■af excitement among tho spectators on the ■uihnrf, who;/.numbered fully a hundred or iiiKive. The;launches could not havo created $ ilitore favourable impression in the minds (0,? ithe goneral public if they had laid themsdlves out to, and uioro than ono onlooker ..Vjout away perfectly satisfied that for onco tijiioy had seen motor launches that.wero cuivyiaty satisfactory, and which started when ■intended, without any-trouble; The raco being a sealed; handicap, the public were at a great disadvantage at the finish in knowing which had won, but in futuro races I be\\s\v.a tho -Club will start tho boats on the '•'Mfewk Foy"- system, giving them their llKMidicap the start, and whichever gets lHimo first- is the winner. In last Saturday's ii;»co the finish for second place would hayo beqn very,'-exciting under those conditions, as iflhero weroi'.dnly seconds between the next £iv,c .boats to finish after the Puriri.

'FlUo work of installing the engine in Mr. .Snflkson's boat -was • finished on Tuesday |i ( -?(t;, and she is to come off the slip this aftennoon, and will uniJergo her trial run.. I would not advise any-of the-launches to be trying their'speed'■'With "her until flusy have soon her under weigh, as, unless I am very iLWich mistaken, .she, will just, about hold her (Oivmi with any.in'the harbour "at present. ;

•The Puriri! was "the only launch that yenliured out,"of■.the boat.harbour on Monday in fiwe oftho torrents of rain, and , tho gale tticA .was After .running up Evans Bftv, where there, was a big sea running, she ]i(tfjnijncd to her moorings', where her crow did j£ull jiisticertp- Jh,q hamper'thatwas provided i-iqr -tho picnic to the' island. jtfife£\re-. Jamieson and Co. wero nnableto jg-tty-ftilie Ruihi'tiined up in time to tako part jp\ $xe ra.ee..last Saturday, but things are jtte(t about ship shapo in the engine room n'<i\i>y and she .will bo out ".'for "a -.trial this , ajff^raioon."' .. ... -...:."•,'.. , . ' : :'. '■-■-

In view-of' the 'bad accident - that tools Ailace on an-oil launch it, Rotorua last Sunday, launch men would do well -'to-remember, .ordinary flour is one : of , -, the best extriugu&Aiers of benzino flames, and a small %,<\r box of flour should_bq.carried on every WiVrtfii, although'," of. course, explosions . will always take: place.jf people ,gd looking for a leak in a benzine pipe of sornewhero else with a naked light.. .. •.-.:.

Mr. .T. J. Boyd's-launch Excelsior was a picture of neatness- last Saturday,. having been newly. , painted from keel to deck.house. Sho would; have, been much, closer up'in tho raco if she had-not had .such a largo.party aboard, but iTio ■ <loubt her owner thought that as it was such a .lovely afternoon it would bo a shame not to have a full complement. . She is without a doubt the prettiest looking launch in tho harbour, and the way sho. is. kept-.reflects great credit, on her owner." ;:;..,:„'...:" ..';'.'.•.;-.-\ ;: . ■. '['■'■

A new foVni of race is to take place at the opening of"• the.', boating,,season in Sydney, this afternoon, which" will bo known as tho "scouting contest." The conditions are that a number of flags will, bo placed on the course, the boat picking them up in tho quickest time to win. . '

Tho Sydney Motor Boat Club has found , it necessary to pass, the : following rule; "That every boat befgro being placed on. the register of the liavo tho exhaust sulnciently"silcrice'd in-.the opinion of the committee; such committee "shall, have the power to grant permits for 1 a specified time" (on tho application of tho owner of the boat) exempting such- boat -from this rule:"

Permits will probably only be granted to boats exempting them from this rule when they are taking part in championship races or important-trials. '■ ' ■ '

Wellington has nothing to complain of in this direction , , but in Sydney the noise caused by one- or two fast .launches is similiar ,to several maxim guns being fired at close quarters.

Tho American yachting journal, "The'R'udder," commenting .on.the paucity of entries in some events, says .that it is.only a waste of time to send out entry forms'and expecttho entry list to fill up —personal solicitation in addition to this is absolutely necessary. Tho various secretaries of tho M.B.C. of Now South Wales have also discovered this, and on occasion havo found it very hard work to decent entry,for this or that race. This is not as it'should be—owners should tako sufficient interest' in the sport provided; not need chasing in this way. Tho Balmain Regatta raco. provides a case in point. ./.Owing to tho number of entries not being largo enough, the event has been eliminated from the programme.

As mentioned in last week's notes, Wei- , lington people will havo a chance of seeing tho crack.. racing -launch Invincible hero very .shortivjiyand-then the captains of the ferry steamers will get rather a rude shock to see her run circles round thein at a speed of over 21 knots.. She will bo able to slip across to Day's Bay in a triflo umser twenty minutes.-; ■■■.The invincible,is at prey sent in Auckland, and, :according..'to.report's, she will have some' fast boats to compete against. ;-'Grey Witch is reported to have shown a--speed of over twenty knots recently, and, with other fast racing lavmchcs ( that are- building, tho races should bo very oxciting. ■ : . , Tho Port. Nicholson Yacht Club have put a launch race on'their programme! for next Saturday,, the 23rd, which is twice, round No. 2 course,^;distance about .eight miles'. Now that'' there are- a good number of launches here,"it is to be hoped.tho entries will be large,: as .with, a:"good field the race is suro to Do! exciting. :..■'.