Whangarei Rep. In Upton Cup Race

Northern Advocate, 6 January 1948, Page 6

Whangarei Rep. In Upton Cup Race

Whangarei will have a representative in the contest for the blue riband of New Zealand mullet-boat racing—the Upton Cup.

The Whangarei Cruising Club's nomination of the Auckland 22-footerJ Marika has been approved by the i sponsors, the Ponsonby Cruising Club, j The owner-skipper of the Whanga-] rei representative (Mr R. H. Doidge) j is an ex-resident of WTiangarei and I is now visiting the Town Basin on his j summer cruise. His crew will be Messrs R. H., D. 1 and J. Doidge, G S. Burdett and T. | Bondard. Mr J. Doidge owned the l Whangarei boat Varuna, Mr Burdett j has been an owner-skipper of several j boats and Mr Bondard is a regular j member of the Marika’s crew. j

With the combination of a good boat and a crew of experienced yachtsmen closely associated with the town, the club will be well represented. The Lipton Cup competition is open to L Class boats which race in a straight-out contest. MOST VALUABLE TROPHY The trophy which is the most valuable of any in the Southern Hemisphere, was given to the Ponsonby Cruising Club in 1922 by the doyen of English yachting, the late Sir Thomas Lipton. It is a masterpiece of the silversmith's art, carrying the crossed flags of the Royal Erin Yacht Club and the Ponsonby Cruising Club. Each competitor will carry a “fairplay” man from another crew. This discourages the practice of shifting ballast and the effects are seen in the close finishes which are usually decided in seconds. One dead heat has been recorded when a Whangarei boat. Varuna, shared the honours with the champion, Valeria. The best record in the event is held by the Valeria with six wins in 10 starts, and the present holder Komuri. owned by the Gee brothers, has been successful several times.