AQUATICS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume L, Issue 15249, 12 March 1913, Page 10

AQUATICS.

YACHT SQUADRON RACE. FLUKY WIND PREVAILS. Eight yachts competed in the Eoyal New Zealand Yacht Squadron's cruising race to Man-o'-YVar Bay on Saturday * afternoon. At the commencement of . the * race, owing to the other competing ves- a eels jockeying each other in their- en- c deavours to get through, thai Ariki • and Rawene, at tne leeward end of. the start- ■» ing line, got ft clear 'run. When the ves- c sels stretched out the two first-named ' yachts were followed by the lorangi, « Thelma, Jlex, and Marangi, in that or- > der. Passing the North Head, the Axiki « and Rawene were still first and second re- J spectively, while the Thelma had worked 1 her way past the lorangi into third place. < Lite wind was holding with -a steady 1 weight, but was occasionally drawing I slightly ahead, causing the helmsmen to work up to windward in anticipation of J a probable break-off. At the 'lighthouse the Ariki was well ahead, with the j Thelma, Rawene, and lorangi filling sec- t ond, third and fourth places respectively. Off Brown's Island the Ariki, not allowing enough for 1 the wind heading, was unable to weather the black buoy, and had to put in a short board. On going round the Thelma was just abreast of the Ariki, ami , sailed in company with the j latter vessel to the end of Motuihi. Here [ the Thelma set her jib-topsail, and began to draw away from the Afiki, which hauled well up to the wind and edged over to the Waiheke shore. Followed by 1 the lorangi and the Rawene, the Thelma < set a direct course from Motuihi to the i eastern end of Awaroa Bay. * A good * breeze prevailed till this point, was ■ reached. The Thelma now had a lead of ] about 2min on the Ariki, Bmin on the , lorangi, and Bmin on the Rawene, the i Ilex having dropped out of the race. < Passing the point, the leading vessel ran < into a calm, the ether boats coming down - on top of her. The lorangi, however, • kept well out in the channel, and' although ( not getting such a strong breeze as previously, carried an air which enabled her , to pass the Thelma and establish a good ' lead. The other boats were not so well served, being becalmed in the vicinity of ' the Thelma. Variable airs add calms now * prevailed, and it was tiring work working ] through the passage against a flood 'tide. ■, The lorangi increased her lead, and flu- 1 iehed first after being frequently be- i calmed. The Thelma reached Eraser's < Bay, and ' here was becalmed . for about, J haif-an-hour. ' During that 5 period the Rawene, brining up a light passed her, - and finished second. Shortly afterwards, ; ; taking advantage of . a breeze .from the , northward, the Thelma reached the bay. The Kotiri was the only other boat to < finish.' The Ariki anchored in the chah- . neL r ~ NOTES AND COMMENTS. . j The races held .on Saturday under the auspices of the. North Shore Yacht Club ; passed off : very - successfully.. Good en- , tries were received, and tie racing y>»s . generally keen. A good djal of interest was displayed hi the race for first-class yachts, the .competing vessels being the Ethel, Heartsease. Thistle, and . Colma. The Ethel was the first across the line, but in the . light wind . was overtaken by „ the .Heartsease: , A good contest followed between the two boats, ' the Heartsease staving off all challenges and crossing tne line first. On time allowance the Ethel won the race. ■' Following the North Shore' Yacht Club's , , races, a very enjoyable dance was held in Gordon's Hall, at Awaroa . Bay. There were' no less than 75 vessels, including competing boats and pleasure-craft, at the bay, and yacht and launch men attended in full force. On the Sunday morning a number of the yachtsmen were surprised to find that their dinghies had disappeared during the night. Visions of insecure lagjnng flashed across their minds, but a hasty glance round . the bay revealed that the dinghies had been removed and tied to the launch Waharoa (owned by the Mayor, Mr. C. 3, Parr). Some wag had evidently taken advantage of the heavy slumber of the yachtsmen after the danoe of the previous evening ' to perpetrate the *°On the Sunday morning a number of the boats, including the Waharoa, left Awaroa Bay and went fishing in the Waiheke passage. Others, including the yachts Ethel, Pandora and Arawa, stayed off Crusoe Island most of the day. Some good catches of fish wire obtained, though sharks seemed .tobe in evidence. On Sunday afternoon and evening the vessels had a very good trip up to town. Yacht and launch owners are already mapping out the courses of projected Easter cruises. . 'V'. " Discussion still continues locally among yachtsmen regarding the proposed ocean race to Australia, but principally in a jocular way. Evidently the matter is not treated in a like •' manner across the Taxman, as, judging by recent cablegrams, Mr. Walter Manes and other yachtsmen there are still quite serious about the proposition, which they consider is quite within the'bounds of possibility. This is rather surprising,. as, although backed up by such an experienced yachtsman as Mr. Marks, it is patent here that the probability of the race eventuating is nil. To be candid, there is not a boat in Sydney really suitable to race across 1200 miles of ocean—that is/ to race as distinguished from cruising under easy canvas. Just imagine the trip in Mr, Marks's own boat, the Culwalla, HI., a single-skin boat built essentially for Sydney Harbour from a Fiji design and very little larger than the locally-owned Rainbow. Even the trip in i the Rawhiti, a much bigger and stronger boat, taken under easy canvas, was such an unpleasant experience that an old hand like Mr. J. Bell, |rho sailed her over, declared that he would never take on the trip again. Consider, then, what a dif- ' ferent matter it would be if the trip had to be taken . under the forcing conditions a race would demand. Again, it could never be called a race to pit, say, the Rawhiti tender easy canvas gainst the Viking, which is already admirably rigged for an ocean cruise, and which, besides sailing faster, could go ahead in weather that would force the smaller to a sea anchor. On top of these objections there are those that have already been discussed, and from which expense stands out alone. The raising of a suitable crew might seem an important objection, but ; after all, even if Corinthians were unavailable, a professional crew could be ob- [ tained. With a professional crew, "however, expenses would be increased con- , siderably. Mr. Ernest Davis, whose name ' has been cabled as one of the supporters of the proposal, . is due to return from Sydney by the Moldavia on Friday, and yachtsmen will no doubt await the pub- ! lication of his views with interest. The following* account of the Royal New » Zealand Yacht Squadron's ocean race, pub- [ lished in a Sydney journal, wiU no doubt ► amuse . Auckland yachtsmen :• —" A hard south-wester blew, and consequently the ' most picturesque sight ever witnessed on L the Waitemata since the days of the ' Volunteer, Viking, . Thelma, and Rainbow was seen. The wind was so hard that those who were venture■a some enough to set spinnakers had 1 them blown away, only to be re-set when the wind, lulled a bit. During the race the ' various crews had plenty of work, reefing * having to be undertaken and undone." It > would be interesting to know just how the \ " venturesome" crews recovered the spini rakers after they had been blown away.