YACHTING WORLD

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIII, Issue 20896, 27 November 1937, Page 16

YACHTING WORLD

ITEMS OF INTEREST Timaru Club Notes The Cornwell Cun The 1938 contest for the Cornwell Cup will be held at Plimmerton. The first race is set down for decision on January 3. First Exciting Race Last Saturday’s unofficial race was the first real event this season, and with the southerly breeze rather boisterous and gusty the race provided plenty of thrills and the crews had to look lively and use their weight. Wee May lived up to her reputation of past seasons and crossed the finishing line a good ten minutes ahead of Curlew. The day was not without its mishaps, however, two of the entrants suffering damage to their bowsprits. Yvonne was sailing along at a good pace, everything under control, when a heavy gust filling the jib, caused a tobin bronze turnbuckle on the bobstay to part. With no bobstay to take the strain of the sail, the bowsprit broke, the mast swung back and two unfortunates who were hanging onto the backstays fell backwards into the water. The accident to the other boat, Alice was not so serious. She fouled the bell buoy while trying to round it and her bowsprit was pushed back into the boat. It is proposed to hold the official opening next Saturday by when, it is hoped, the staging and slipway will be completed. “Sailmaker’s Whipping” A novel whipping which will last the life of the rope, and takes no longer to make than the common whipping is described below.

Unlay the rope for an inch or two and pass a bight of the twine, a few inches long, round the strand C, the ends passing between A and B, Fig. 1. Lay the rope up again and pass the end marked (2) round the rope in the usual manner, leaving the bight and the end (1) clear (Fig. 2). When sufficient whipping has been put on, pass the bight over C above he whipping so that it follows round with he lay of the rope, and pull it tight by means of the end (1). Take (1) up to the top between A and B. Take (2) between C and B or C and A, as most convenient, and reefknot (1) and (2) together. Trim off the strands and the reef-knot will be completely hidden. Colleen Changes Hands A distinct acquisition to the sport in Dunedin is the champion 14ft X class Canterbury boat Colleen, which has been purchased by Mr H. Latimer. Colleen represented Canterbury in the Sanders Cup contest at Lyttleton last season, and put up an excellent performance, gaining one first and four seconds in five races. She was the only boat seriously to challenge the Lavina and, in fact, on a points system, was only one point behind the winning boat at the conclusion of the series. Colleen is of the orthodox Rona build, and is about seven years old. She and the Avenger were the only two true Rona. boats in the Sanders Cup series last season. Colleen will compete against Eileen and Lynette in the Otago Yacht and Motorboat Association's Sanders Cup trial races this season. Colleen, it will be remembered, competed with success in the Timaru regatta last Christmas, skippered by W. Tissiman.

Bleaching Sails— Nothing looks better than to see sails billowing white and clean, but unfortunately it is difficult to keep them in this pleasing state, when they have to be constantly carried by a not-so-clean Harbour Board dinghy. Here is described a simple method of bleaching sails.

Mix together 21b of soda, lib of chlorinated lime and 5 quarts of water. Let the mixture stand for from 24 to 48 hours, stirring occasionally. Lay the sail out, wet it with water (salt water will do) and apply the bleach with a scrubbing brush. Leave for an hour or so and then thoroughly rinse the sail in either fresh or salt water, and dry in the sun. The treatment is not injurious if the dressing is well washed out.

Twelve Square Metre Sharpie A sailing boat which is becoming increasingly popular the world over is the Twelve Square Metre Sharpie. The yacht was designed by Herr Kroger, and was first seen among thirty-seven competitors in a competition held by the Deutscher Segler Verband (Germany) in 1931, in which it gained a comfortable victory. From then on the craft became rapidly popular until to-day, the class has become a restricted design throughout the interested countries and is called “The International Twelve Square Metre Sharpie.” The long, narrow, fine-bowed, V-type hull, of 19 feet 8 inches overall, has a maximum beam of 4 feet 8 inches, which enables it to travel along with very little water resistance, thus producing an exceptionally speedy boat. The popularity of the sharpie is due mainly to the characteristics of speed and “thrills” combined, and it is these that a sporting yachtsman seeks. In the construction of the craft, safety has been considered carefully, with the result that the sharpie of to-day has well decked top-sides, thus allowing the craft to heel to 30 degrees or less with the water level before shipping water. The sail plan is of the latest jawed gunter design, reaching some 22 feet from the water level, and a maximum of sail propulsion is obtained. The construction and rigging of the sharpie is simple and inexpensive. Although originally designed for sheltered waters, they have proved themselves unexpectedly able boats, even

In the short, steep seas of a tidal estuary, and in this respect have surprised some of their early critics. Nevertheless, they are seen- to best advantage in comparatively still waters, with light to moderate breezes; and under these conditions wonderful sailing speeds may be attained. In England and on the Continent teams racing is very popular in this class and it is interesting to know that in one club in Norway, there are 121 sharpies on Its register and that World Championships are conducted there. The Crown Prince of Norway held the honour of being the champion skipper in those regions. There are already nearly seventy of these boats in Australian waters and it should not be long before the popularity they enjoy spreads across the Tasman to New Zealand. Enthusiasm Is enhanced in all sharpie contests by the fact that the boats are of one class restricted design, as in the Sanders and Cornwell Cup; and, consequently, all races which are competed are won by superior tactics and capabilities of both crew and skipper.