YACHTING.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1514, 7 March 1901, Page 45

YACHTING.

' MILLS MEMORIAL CUP. The race for the Mills Memorial Cup an Saturday afternoon resulted in an easy win for the Mantana. by 3min losec from the Eona, the latter being 3min 20sec ahead of the Waitangi. The scratch beat, Rainbow, passed the judge first, three minutes before the Waitangi, and 14min 25sec before the Maritana. Following are the positions, of the boats:—• Maritana (28min handicap), Rona, (40 min), Waitangi (lOrnin), Siren (88min), Mahina (oSmin), Rainbow (scratch), Atalanta (33min). The R.ona, Mahina, Rainbow and Waitangi got array before time, and were recalled, and thus lest between half a minute and a minute of their handicaps. Mr A. G. Johnson was timekeeper, and he was assisted by Messrs FI. A. W. McKenzie and D. Howard. The method of starting handicap races adopted is freely criticised. The system in vogue is to start all the boats together and to time them as they pass the finishing post, the result being ascertained by comparing the handicap and the time of finishing. The consequence is that there is no, means of telling what boat is the winner till the last yacht has got home and the neces - sary calculation has been made. The result of Saturday's race was not known by the crews of the different yachts till they had reached town, and interviewed the timekeeper. The proper method, it is argued, is to start the boats according to their handicaps and so deciue the race on the position of the boats passing the judge. It would then be at once clear to the officials, to the crews of the competing yachts, and —a matter of considerable importance—to. the general public. LTidei* the present system the public are discouraged from taking an interest in yachting. ARAWA SAILING CLUB. The half-rater class sailed the final heat for the Highet Challenge Cup on Saturday. The Dauntless, sailing in splendid form, soon established a lead from the Arawa. The latter heat was leaking badly, and Mr Seagar, finding it a hopeless task to catch Dauntless, gave up the race. The Dauntless thus scored her second win, and hoicls the cup until beaten. The second heat for Mr E. Seagar s Cup was won by the Luna (18mm handicap), Maroro being second. There will be a race for the first and second classes next Saturday. Mr W. G. Baker’s trophy for the former, and the Waitangi Cup for the latter. Immediately the steamer Rimutaka (new in Wellington) was launched from the yards of Messrs Denny Brothers, at Dumbarton, pieparations were made to lay the keel of the next challenger of the America Cup on the same stocks. The first step taken was to cover the whole of the stocks over with a great wooden frame building, the light being admitted through a skylight of frosted glass. There is only one cloor to the building, and that is kept closed, with a man constantly bn guard. So close is the. new yacht’s style to be kept that every workman *is sworn to secrecy. It was mentioned in an article in the “Times” of last Friday that Watson, the designer of Shamrock 11., has chosen the. Dennys’ to build the yacht on account of the wonderful testing tank which the great ship-building firm has invented. Mr Me Alpine, the second officer of the Rimutaka, had an opportunity when in England of inspecting the tank. He describes it as* a great oblong glass structure, and the model to be tried as being of hard wax. As the model is moved through the water it can be seen by looking from below exactly how the water is displaced, and the nature of the wave throAvn off. The model, being of wax, the run of the. body can be altered until the ideal displacement and wave is secured.