OCEAN YACHT RACE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20819, 11 March 1931, Page 12

OCEAN YACHT RACE.

CONTEST NOW PROBABLE.

OIMARA AWAITS DECISION.

THREE LIKELY STARTERS. MAY SAIL ON SATURDAY. No finality has been reached in the negotiations for the ocean yacht race across tho Tasman Sea from Auckland to Australia. The owner and skipper of tho Melbourne yacht Oimara, who is virtually the challenger, stated last evening, howover, that the raco was practically a certainty.

Tho competitors in tho field may be the Norwegian yacht Teddy and an Auck-land-owned keeler, the identity of which cannot bo disclosed until arrangements have taken a more definite shape. In the event of this boat starting, she will be navigated by Lieutenant-Commander Juler, of the Oimara, who will also sail her back to New Zealand. The Teddy's Orew. The owner of the Teddy, Mr. E. Tambs, is very keen to start and is very confident of success. His only difficulty is arranging tho necessary backing and in providing for his wifo and child, who would have to travel to Australia by steamer. 110 hopes to be able to announce his ability to bo a competitor definitely to-day. His crew will comprise two other Norwegians, providing tho immigration laws of tho Commonwealth are not likely to cause any complications. If that seems likely, ho will take New Zealanders, but in any caso there will be no difficulty in getting a crew, as several capable yachtsmen are keen to make the trip. Discussing the prospects of the race last evening, Mr. Bennell said ho was now so confident that it would eventuate that he was preparod to wait until Saturday for tho start, which would ho timed for about tho middle of the afternoon in order that yachtsmen and the public could see tho boats off. Tho race would be handicapped by the Melbourne Australia to New Zealand Yacht Race Committee, which would be framing tho handicaps from the details supplied from Auckland while tho boats were under way, giving the event the ridded zest of being sailed under sealed handicaps, So far as he was concerned, the destination was to be Melbourne. Question of a Trophy. As matters stood at the moment, Mr. Bennoll said, tho boats were competing for tho honour and glory of tho race. There was no trophy or prize at stake, although it was impossible to say what the enthusiasts of Melbourne would ar* range once they learned that tha yachts wero on their way. In Wellington, Mr. Bennell said, he had been told that the lato Sir Joseph Ward had once presented a trophy for a similar race ncross the Tasman. The trophy, he understood, was never awarded and if it could bo traced now and the heirs wero willing, it would make a fine prize for the winning crew. A Melbourne enthusiast had presented a trophy for competition, but hard and fast conditions wero laid down for that, and the Melbourne committee was not likely to relent in any way. The trophy was presented solely for competition by auxiliary cruisers and tho courso was definitely fixed from Melbourne to Nelson. It was possiblo that that trophy might be awarded to the Oiinara on her return for having completed the trip, although Mr. Bennell doubted it, as the boat had not covered the exact course. The Spirit of the Sea. Mr. Bennell's main object in fostering deep-sea cruising races of this nature is to keep alive the spirit of the sea engendered in the old sailing days. The crossing of ocean expanses, he states, breeds a much higher standard of seamanship than inshore cruising and harbour racing, and while there were crews which could sail their boat across these great spaces there need be no fear of tho loss of the British sea traditions.