SPORTING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XIII, Issue 4487, 31 March 1876, Page 1 (Supplement)

SPORTING.

Yachttkg in the' Old Country continues to ; be a favourite pastime "with the " upper ten." I A review of the performances, taken from an I English journal, during the past season of the leading victorious yachts of the fleet ' will no doubt be read with interest. 474! yachts started for the prizes in 1875 as i against 39G in 1574. The number of races i j sailed was 410 as against 530 in 1874. The | | money won, including the value of challenge ; cups, &c., which pass from hand to hand, ' was £11,605, making an average of £24 for every starting 3'acht, £47 for every winning yacht, and £28 for every race sailed. It is by no means an easy task to decide which vessel has had the most successful season, the amounts won by-Corinne, Plorinda, Vol-au-Vent, and Cythera being so nearly alike. The largest amount of prizemoney has, however, been won by the Corinne, and she heads the list with £545, and medals value £30. She started seventeen times, and won nine first prizes, coming in first five times. "Among her prizes is Her Majesty's Cup (the first Queen's Cup won by her), which she won at the Royal Cinque Ports Regatta at Dover, coming in first yacht out of twenty starters, among which were nearly all the fastest vessels afloat. On the oth August she soiled a very fast race at the Royal Yacht Squadron Regatta, in which the Olga came in oinins. oOsecs. ahead of her, and Egeria SGsecs. after her, thus winning with only one second to spare. Next to the Corinne comes the Florinda, which in 1874 headed the list. Her winnings last season amount to £515, and £40 worth of medals, so that in reality she has only £20 less than the Corinne for her share of the year's prize-money. This amount she won by eight first prizes with fourteen starts, and she has well maintained her former reputation as being the fastest of her rig, and the most honest sailing yacht in all kinds of weather afloat. During the three seasons she has raced she has started in forty-eight races, has won thirty-four times, and has credited her owner with over £2000, being an average of about £42 every time she started. The first time she raced was on the 31st of May at .the Royal London Yacht Club's Yawls' Match, when she was beaten by the Corisande, which came in lmin. 49sees. abead of her, with a strong breeze blowing. This excellent performance was not again repeated by the Corisande, and the Plorinda's defeat on this occasion was probably owing to her new sails not being thoroughly stretched. The next time the Florinda raced was at the Yawls' Match of the Royal Thames, when, after a very severe race, she came in ssecs, ahead of the Corisande. At Dover she won the yawls' prizes two days in succession, on each occasion meeting among others the Corisande, Lnifra, and the new Latona, coming in absolutely first one day, and far ahead of everything of her rig on the other, both days in light winds. At Havre she again came in first vessal, beating Vol-au-Vent, Kriemhilda, Corinne and nine others. At the R. W.Y.C. at Plymouth she wa3 the only yacht in her class which completed her course, as there was scarcely any wind all day. At Torquay, however, she was beaten both days by the but turned the tables on the latter vessel by coming in nearly two and a-half minutes ahead of her at the regatta of the Royal Dart Yacht Club. The new Vol-au- j •5. r s a yery successful season, and with fourteen tries she has won six prizes, five farst and one second, with a total of £520. She was not ready in time to compete in the' Thames matches, and jnade her first appear-; ance at Dover, where, however, she was not' successful. Her first win was at Havre, where, on the first day of • the regatta,- she 'took second prize, being beaten' by Kriem-' Hilda for first prize by 4i3eea. Next day 1 she had a very easy win, coining in first' vessel, and along way ahea&of Kriemhilda and! r the other cutters, but the on thia

■was not of a very satisfactorynaturel 'At Cowes • • she won-the jQueen-SrCup,. but withihe Arrow,. • the onlyvesselpfher rig "to compete with," and at Southampton tlie Cnckod beat her in a strong breeze of wind; -But her-grand-coup was winning M. Loubat's prize of £200 at Southsea, and to this piece of good luck she owes.the honor, of heading the list of. putters. At Torquay she'lost a prize ,of £100, owing to the absurd arrangement of "the time allowance. Her season has-been a good bnt somewhat lucky one, and although she has won most money in her class, many by no means think her the fastest of her rig. The Scotch cutter Cythera has not won so much money as Vol-au-Vent by £5, but as she only started eleven times, and won eight prizes, seven first and one second, her performance must be considered the best. She did not come further south than Kingston, and as she thus missed a large part of the best of the season, her success. is the more wonderful. It is to be regretted that she did not meet the Vol-au-Vent during the season, but from the short work she made of the Cuckoo and the other cutters she sailed against, the result need not be a matter for doubt. _ She was fortunate enough to win double prizes on. the Clyde' and Kingstown, and as it' will be remembered that she did this also last year at Liverpool, she has thus_ presented her owner with three sets of twins.' At Liverpool on the second day she had bad luck by getting becalmed towards the end of the race and after having been over three-quarters of: an hour ahead of the Neptune, to which she'; had to allow 21min. losec., she lost first prize, having to he satisfied with second. In the Channel race, from the Mersey to Barrow,! the Neptune again saved her time on Cythera, and at the Barrow Kegatta the Neva beat her. The only other race she failed to take a prize in was the match from the Barrow to the Clyde. She did not turn up at Belfast Lough, but won both prizes at the Royal Irish. The Neva, which the previous year was at tlie head of the cutter list, has not done quite so well, but has added £495 to. her gross winnings, by six first and five second prizes for twenty starts, so that her season has been very satisfactory. In her first two races she came in absolutely first, vessel; on the first occasion in very light; weather, and the next time in a very strong; breeze. In the latter race casualties were the order of the day, and nearly every yacht' carried away'. Her good fortune seemed to; desert her for some time during the middle o 1 : the season, and her journey to Ireland wa'snot a profitable one. After going back to the Clyde from Kingstown she came round the south in time to compete for M. Loubat's prize at Southsea, in which race, however, she was unsuccessful. At Weymouth she won double prizes, and at Torquay she got a prize, which, with a reasonable time allowance would have been taken by Vol-au-Vent. In her own class proper she is quite unequalled,and she is always close enough to the larger vessels to cause them considerable anxiety. Probably her best race was at Barrow, when in a nasty sea she led the whole fleet, including Cythera, Latona, &c., and of course secured first prize. With her old sailing master, and nearly the same crew as was in her in 1574, it is unnecessary to say that she was always carefully and judiciously sailed. Battlk-axe.