KEELERS RACE WEIL

Evening Post, Volume CXXVII, Issue 59, 11 March 1939, Page 23

KEELERS RACE WEIL

KEEN HANDICAPPING IN R.P.N.Y.C. CONTESTS

The Turnbull and Bothamley Cujiite for A and B class keel yachts respectively and handicap centreboard races held over from December were raced over the Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club course on Saturday in a light southerly which provided good racing. Argo from scratch won the Turnbull Cup by one minute sixteen seconds from Atalanta, also on scratch, and Astral, with three minutes allowance. Astral and Atalanta dead-heated for second place.

From an excellent start the fleet went round Jerningham in a bunch, Atalanta pulling away from the field on the run to Korokoro, Astral, Kotiri, and Argo close on her heels, and Raukawa and Miro further back. All except the last-named had set spinnakers and made a fine sight with every stitch drawing. Kotiri looked especially well with her modern yawl rig, which at this stage supported 1400 square feet of canvas. Nearing the bottom buoy Atalanta created a diversion by losing her spinnaker from the end of the boom.. This large extra streamed from the top of the mast in a much more spectacular but rather less efficient' manner than when conventionally set, providing exercise, physical and vocal, for her crew, and amusement for the other ships. Finally she had to be rounded up before control was re-established.

The order round Korokoro was unchanged, but in the beat to weather Argo show,ed to advantage and was in the lead at Somes Island, and this she maintained to the finishing line, despite spinnaker trouble after she rounded the Pinnacles, she having run a mile or so before her crew got her kite drawing. The finishing order was unchanged when handicaps were adjusted.

Handicapping has been notably good this year. Leonora, on a limit 28min mark, secured the . Bothamley Cup from Isca by llsec when times were adjusted, the vPhole fleet's handicap times being within-five minutes, though Maranui, the scratch boat and first home, was last on corrected times."!

Innocence repeated her previous week's performance by being the first ceritrebbarder, home in the light conditions prevailing. Advance was second across the line, with the two Ronas, Vanguard and Jean, to the van. Innocence led all the way, though a back knock at Fraser Rock and a

.soft patch on the second run to Coroniandel gave Advance a chance to make up time, .which gave her first place on handicap. Jean was second and Vanguard third.

Members wer^ pleased to see Alan Johnston in Belveacre for the Idle Along handicap, and though sometimes his sailing is patchy, he made no mistake on Saturday, weathering Manon, who had till then led, on the beat to Frazer Rock by the simple process of pointing higher. Belvedere was home a comfortable two minutes ahead of the second boat, with Elaine third, an order which was unchanged on handicap. Manon* with a very full mainsail, made by Alf, Harvey for Paremata conditions, Has been going remarkably well.

Yachtsmen racing have been getting justifiably. short-tempered .with cruising men who are thoughtless enough to interferere with races .by sailing too close to competing yachts. The offender is invariably someone who should know better, and seldom if ever can ignorance be the excuse. A yacht creates an enormous disturbance in the wind flow, as the simplest graphs will show, and while to keep an opponent under one's lee is, of course, legitimate in racing, it is inexcusable for a non-competitor to sail to' weather of a racing" yacht in. a manner which may prejudice the latter's chances.

Wylo was an offender on two occasions during the Sanders Cup trials, and on Saturday Wairere interfered with two keelers, Miro and Argo, which were competing for the Turnbull Cup. This once champion yacht, which could probably still lead the field today, camped on Miro's tail on the run to Korokoro, costing her fifth place to Raukawa, and on the beat to the top buoy she sailed to weather of Argo. causing her to underlay the mark and necessitating another short board.

Perfect weather on Sunday enticed the whole fleet out, the usual number of cruising incidents being recorded. Ken Sellars's excursion up the Hutt River in Arawa took longer than he anticipated, and it was two hours before they got off the mud.

gained second place off" 8| minutef and Riptide (Miss N. Rogers) third.