YACHTING.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17756, 28 January 1926, Page 9

YACHTING.

NEWS AND NOTES.

In the two trial races for Jellicoe hoats on Saturday last, Betty conclusivelv proved her superiority over the other contestants, and also assured for herself the position of official Canterbury representative for Sanders Cup honours in the tests to be held in Dunedin, commencing on February 19. :: In the first race with a stiff northeaster she proved faster all round, on the beat, run and lead, and also showed that her spead was no whit lessened in the Lyttelton seas. In the second race she did equally as well in the lighter breeze, and left no doubt in the spectators’ minds as to which was the best boat. Therefore, it is with no shock that we hear that the Canterbury Yachting Association has chosen Mr G. Andrews's little boat to compete in Dunedin. The choice of the skipper is equally fortunate, for the years of practical experience in almost every type of boat have given in Mr G. Andrews the clever and quickthinking skipper so necessary in these onc-design races, where every boat is practically identical with its neighbour, and victory goes to the smartest crew. The remainder of the crew will be selected by the helmsman and submitted to the association for approval.

An interesting point in connection with the first race on Saturday is to be noted in the placings. The first three boats, Betty, Secret and Usher, are all amateur built, having been constructed by their respective owners, and this should prove an incentive to those who consider building a boat of the type, competition from professional circles being apparently less successful than in other branches of sport.

The prospects of Canterbury laying its hands on the coveted Sanders Cup, which have never been bright, this year seem a little rosier, but it is not to be denied that the other competitors will on the whole prove hard nuts to crack. First and foremost comes the difficulty of defeating the holder, lona, on her own grounds. lona proved herself a very fast and dangerous rival in Auckland last year, where she raised the cup from the northern province. Another item is the unknown quantity, Avalon, coming from Auckland. Avalon has succeeded in beating both Queen March and Rona, the two Auckland cracks, both of which have represented their province, and should thus give a good account of herself at Dunedin. A competitor not to be sneezed at is Southland's warrior craft, Murikihu, which has always performed well, and was last year's runner-up. No definite word has come from Southland, but as Murikiku is their only boat of the tvpe her inclusion is certain. The next in order of merit may be taken to be the Wellington yacht Peggy- Peggy has a good record to her credit from the Wellington trials, but as competition in that province is not of a very high standard, the last year’s representative, Wellesley, having given rather a poor showing in Auckland, Peggy seems to have no very bright prospects. However, she is another unknown quantity and may yet prove a surprise. XXX Ihe last rival, from Hawke's Bay, will almost assuredly be the old-stager, Konini, which, being Hawke's Bay’s only craft, has represented that province for some years. Konini holds the Ross Cup, for fourteen footers, having won that in Auckland last year, but her Sanders Cup performances last year did not live up to her early indications.

\ Undoubtedly we have in Betty a capable challenger, but we must not under-estimate the strength of the opposition. However, Canterbury’s chances may be considered to be considerably brighter than at any previous period in the histon’ of the contests.

To get away from the Sanders Cup and all its difficulties, now that the trials are concluded, the usual racing programme will be filled in at Redcliffs, -starting on Saturday next with races for A, B and junior members’ yachts. These will be the first sailed for any of the above classes, an earlier for A and B class boats being scattered by a south-west gale. C Class have had three races, and the other classes will have to hurrv to make up their leeway. The course for next Saturday will be the usual Heath-cote-A von one.