SANDERS CUP CONTEST.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18020, 20 February 1922, Page 6

SANDERS CUP CONTEST.

VICTORIOUS CREW RETURNS.

SCULLING ALLEGATION.

EXPLANATION BY JUDGE.

The owners and crew of the victorious Desert Gold, Messrs. J. and T. Patrick, F. Cloke, J. Lee, V. Lidgard, and W. Caundle, returned to Auckland by the , express on Saturday ' morning, bringing the Sanders Cup with them. Tho boat , itself, which is coming up by goods train, should arrive to-morrow. A public . function in connection with the handing ( over of the trophy will be held by the . Auckland Yacht and Motor-boat Associa- ( tion next week. Mr. E. J. Kelly, of Auckland, one of , the three judges of the event, arrived yesterday morning. Discussing the allegations, made by the Southland competitors, that the .crew of Desert Gold had been guilty of sculling, he described the ( incident in detail. Desert Gold, he explained, had a clear lead of a length from Heather round the first mark, with ; i Murihiku a length further back. The i ; wind was from the north-east, and quite ' fresh at the outset. Beating to the first i , turning mark, Desert Gold was three lengths clear of Murihiku, with Heather j five lengths behind. Running up- ' harbour Desert Gold again improved her position, and nearing the mark at An- , derson's Bay had a lead of a dozen j lengths, with Murihiku second and , Heathor third. Nearing this mark they j ran out of the wind, Heather taking second place. Coming of the mark all three stopped, Desert Gold and i, Heather being very close together. As , Heather appeared liable to drift.on the j mark and thus incur disqualification, j the skipper gave two pulls on the tiller, causing her to close on Desert Gold. . The skipper of the latter boat used his tiller in a similar way to clear Heather. No further use was made of the helm in any of the boats. , The three judges noticed the incident, said Mr. Kelly, and it was discussed there and then. By no stretch of the imagin- , ation could it be called sculling, lnis | was tho unanimous opinion of the three judges, formed on the spot. When told of the decision Murihiku's skipper accepted it, declaring himself satisfied. It could be accepted that the cup was won fairly. Those who knew Mr. Patrick j would be quite satisfied that he would not , employ any such device as irresponsible spectators suggested. The fact that from a position equally unfavourable to all Detet Gold drew slowly ahead of her rivals led to an impression that the rudder was used in an illegal manner, but Mr. Kelly gives an explanation of her improved showing. In the race before the last she did not appear to be shaping too well on the wind, compared with the other boats. Mr Kelly, who in addition to be:ng a judge was manager for the Auckland contestants, talked the matter over with the crew that evening. It was decided | to see if any alteration could be made in the balance of the boat. Next morning an alteration was made to the centre-board, bringing it 2Jin further forward In the race that afternoon, on the first beat to windward it was evident that the alteration had been a great success as Desert Gold was then shaping so much better than any of the other contestants. She beat Heather to windward. Writing to a fnend in Auckland, a Dunedin resident comments on the deciding heat: "It was a good race, and I am glad that'! was able to see it. Desert Gold was well handled, and I think her crew know mor e about sailing than some of the critics credit them with. They certainly did well in Otago Harbour. A competitor in the firs* three heats of the contest, the Governor-Generals Iron Duke, was brought to Auckland by the sloop Veronica, arriving last nightShe was taken by rail from Dunedin to Lyttelton. and there placed on the Veronica. Iron Duke%ill be a competitor next Saturday, racing under the Victoria Cruising Club for the Bums Cup.