OCEAN RACES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3030, 10 April 1912, Page 64

OCEAN RACES.

DUNEDIN TO OAMARU. The third annual rao&j lot yachts and motor boat* held uii;;or to* Muploes of the Ofcago Yacht and Motor Boat Club in conjunction with the Oamaru ftagatin. Oommitteo took place on Friday under condi-

tions that were tho reverse of favourable. I A nasty choppy >oa prevailed, and all the j competitors had an unpleasant voyage. | I here were record entries for both races, tho best known boats of both desoriptior-s competing. These races were instituted , primarily for tho purpose of testing the ' capabilities of members in handling their craft in ocean waters, and the hearty response on each occasion when the races have been held affords sufficient [.roof <>f the popularity of the undertaking. It may bo remembered that tho first time the rare was held was at New Year, 1910, on which occasion tbo yachts '■farted from the Heads in a hurricane, which compelled tho abandonment of the fixture. A second attemnt ' was made to decide the race at Easter, 1910, with better results, and the contest is now looked ijkim as a popular Easter ! fixture, which is keenly anticipated by tho' residents of the White City. j On Friday tho competitors were faced. by a stiff north-east wind and a ohoppy i confused sea. which made sailing- difficult, ©specially for the smaller craft. Of tho sailing boats tho lorangi wa.s the only one , to reach Oamuru before dark. She !ett j her moorings at Port Chalmers at 4.50 . a.in . and as then- was a fresh north-east i wind, she proceeded, with two reefs in her mainsail. She arrived at. the Head.'! at 6.JL8 —15 minutes after tho advertised time or jtarting ; After going a f«w yards outside the Heads she passed the j Revenge, with t.lio Anonyma in close at- J tendance. The lorangi found the sea fairly ohoppy, with a falling win-i, and

after slio had proceeded a few miles one of her reefs was shaken out. Sho stood on the starboard tack for five miles, and then put about and stood on the port tack for 18 miles. As rhe wind wa.s still falling away the remaining reef was shaken out, and a largo jib was hoisted. She arrived at (Jape Wanbrow shortly after 4 o'clock, and a short tack took her inside the breakwater about 4.45. Unfortunately Lot i the lorangi and the Revenge were disqualified for starting before time. It appears that, when these boats sot. fo the Heads they proceeded to sea without delay instead of waiting for the signal to start. The Matua, which had a handicap of 3hr 3min, arrived at Oamaru at 7.46 p.m. and secured first prize, and the Roma, which had a handicap of 3hr 15 min, and which reached her destination at 9.27 p.m., was placed second. The Revenge completed her voyage at 10.3 p.m., but for tho reason mentioned above was not placed. The Anonyma. whose handicap was 3hr 20min, and which reached Oamaru at 11.55 p.m., was placed third. The Ripple was still unaccounted for at midnight. The Thelma and Myra did not complete the journey, but returned to Dunedi.ii. MOTOR BOAT RACE. Tho first motor boat was timed to leave the Spit at 8 a.m., but tho weather prospects deterred a number of the crews from taking part in tho race. Owing to a slight mishap the Mavis was half an hour late in starting. Seven boats completed tho journey, but a number of others returned to the harbour after making a start. Tho Valmai, which had a handicap of 54min, and the Allemya (sciateh) were the first to round Ca]>o Wanbrow, tho latter l>eing very close to the former. Both were cutting the course very fine and they ran close to several dangerous spots. The finish was quite exciting to the assembled spectators, tho Valmai winning by only 12£sec. sh« arrived at Oamaru at 4.24 p.m. The Tongaroa, with a handicap of vmin, arrived two minutes later. Tho Mamari (64min) and the Kilsyth (63minl arrived at 4.46 p.m. with only 10 seconds between them. These boats were followed shortly afterwards by the Query, while tho Mavis brought up the rear, arriving juston 6 o'clock. The Imp, the limit boat, started at 8 a.m., but nothing was seen of her by the other competitors. It is thought, however, that, she ran somewhere for shelter -probably into Waikouaiti Bay.