YACHTING CHAMPIONSHIP

Evening Star, Issue 21631, 29 January 1934, Page 2

YACHTING CHAMPIONSHIP

TROPHY PRESENTED In connection with the, Z class. New Zealand yachting championship, which, was wdn by Lyttelton oh' Saturday morning,, local and visiting yachtsmen attended a social at , the Utago . Yacht and Motor Boat Associations .headquarters on Saturday evening.- Yho vicepresident of the association (Mr J. Email); presided, and also present’were the mayor (Rev. 10. T.' Cox), the' de-puty-mayor (Cr J. J. Marlow), Messrs 11. S. Black and J. C. H. Somerville. ■ Presenting ihe cup for the Z class championship to the Lyttelton crew, the Mayor-said that, the youthful yachtsmen were to be highly congratulated oh their success. The winning crew had proved its superior''ability by scoring m three races on end. Mr Cox referred to the sportsmanship which marked the races, and stated that such contests produced tile best qualities of the competitors. He eulogised the sport of yachting, not only for its competitive element but for its development of a deep love of the sea and boats, so necessary m the people of an island community and of the Empire. The Deputy -mayor expressed his appreciation of the spirit in which the contest had been run. From the hills, beautiful sights had been seen during the racing. Congratulating the winning crew, Mr Marlow said that the conditions generally were adverse,, and Lyttelton had put up a great performance. The -true philosophy in all sports was that the effort to win counted, not the prize; and .the other competitors were to be congratulated-also on their showings, Each crew had done its best. Mr W. 0. Martin (Otago’s representative on the New Zealand Yachting Council) said that the - council- was gratified that the first interport contest under its control had been so successful They bad seen a great-exhibi-tion by the Lyttelton crew; which was the first winner , of the handsome cup presented by the Port, Nicholson Motaf Boat Club. Jt was fitting that the winning crew, should, be . given some memento of its performance,; and . the suggestion that miniatures of the cup should be presented to the crew would be shortly, discussed by the council. The Otago' Association was also to be con'-, ghitnlated on the able manner an which it had conducted the championship.

Mr Magnus Smith, Lyttelton's, delegate, replied.' The chib, was'naturally delighted to win, he said, and it hoped that at the next contest at Lyttelton a return of hospitality would be made to Otago, and ns warm a welcome would be given t'b the visiting crows. The winning skipper (Robert Henry) also expressed his personal pleasure at being the first winner. Proposing the health of “The New Zealand-Yachting Council,” Mr Alexander Burt, whose services as secretary for the contest had been previously eulogised by the chairman, said that dominion yahctsmen had had a fight successfully to form the council. He was sure that the council was proud of the way the Otago Association had carried out the contest, which was the greatest of its kind ever held in New Zealand. It was unfortunate that Auckland had not been a competitor, and he hoped that the breach would soon be bridged. It behoved all yachtsmen to endeavour to bring Auckland back into the fold. It was his duty to look after the records of the contest, and he could assure them that the timekeepers, judges, and other officials had carried out their duties with the utmost efficiency. Replying, Mr W. O. Martin described the constitution of the council. He regretted that Auckland was at present outside tlie council, but he explained that Auckland’s request for voting power equal to the comparative enrolments of boats on the registers of the various provinces could not be acceptable to southern yachtsmen. The council was now the owner of the Sanders Cup, but, should a change be made from.the 14ft one-design mass, the cup would have to be handed back to the donors under the deed of gift. Mr Martin referred to the agitation for a new type of boat for interprovincial competition, and stated that Otago Was recommending the adoption of an 18ft semi-cruiser type. Mr G. R. Curtis (chairman of the council) had hoped to arrive from Christchurch to see the concluding races for the Z class championship, nut the contest had finished earlier than ho had anticipated. The toast of “ The Mayor and City Council ” was proposed by Mr T. Anderson .

An announcement that Sirs Black and he would present the first miniatures of the cup to the winning crew was made by Sir It. S. Black in the course of his reply. The offer was announced amidst applause. Mr Marlow also replied and gave some interesting facts with respect to Dunedin’s record of municipal government to the visitors. In proposing the toast of “ The Crews and Delegates,” Mr A. Challis spoke of the great assistance which the Otago Harbour Board had given the officials controlling the contest. The toast was responded to by Mr Magnus Smith. Mr J. C. H. Somerville proposed the toast of “ The Broadcasting Board,” and spoke of the excellent publicity which nad been given the championship races by the local YA station. In reply, Mr Ninnis thanked the proposer for his complimentary references to the work of the broadcasting officers, and then gave an interesting talk on his experiences in Antarctic exploration. During the evening Messrs A. Lungley and Pringle contributed vocal solos and Mr E. Andrews played several xylophone solos, all of which were received with enthusiasm. The pianoforte accompaniments were played by Mr T. J. Kirk-Burnnnnd. SPECIAL RACE. LYTTELTON AGAIN THE WINNERS On Saturday afternoon a handicap race for trophies presented by the Otago Yacht and Motor Boat Association was held over a seven-mile triangular course before a largo attendance of spectators. The wind was light and flukey, and the race was sailed at such a slow pace that the judges decided to

conclude the race at the end of the second round. Lyttelton, the scratch crew, won by about live minutes from Porirua, the only other boat to finish. The limit crew was Port Chalmers, which had a handicap of 12miu on Lyttelton, but, even in the flukey wind, the latter crew demonstrated its superiority and won easily. The starters were Port Chalmers (Runa), Invercargill (Colleen), Kaiapoi (Wai Runa), Otago (Pupuki), Christchurch (Wet(J), Porirua (Noleen), and Lyttelton (Rascal). Lyttelton and Porirua were the only boats to finish, the remainder either retiring or being towed homo.