AQUATICS

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume IX, Issue 421, 18 August 1898, Page 12

AQUATICS

AUSTRALIA v. ENGLAND. The following letter appeared in the Yachtsman (Eng) of June 30, 1898 : — “ Sir, —I am having brought to England from Australia, in time for this season’s races, Irex, the champion boat of her class, to try conclusions with some of the English boats. This should be a most interesting test if propeJy carried out, and it has not been attempted before owing to the expense and great difficulty of shifting from place to place in England of a boat and her crew, as the boats of Sydney Harbor are sailed with a crew of about sixteen or twenty hands, and, to give her a fair chance, the crew must not be picked up from here and. there, bnt a crew that is used to the boat and her vagaries. Of this crew I have five thoroughly experienced hands here in England, and would like to meet any Australians who have have had any experience of boat-sailing, and would care to spare the time, to join the racing crew. The dimensions of the boat are : —Length, 22ft; beam, 9ft; depth, 2ft 6in. She is a centre-board, open boat, having a fin of 7ft drop, and a length overall, from end of bowsprit to end of boom, of about 60ft. She is a thorough representative of the fastest boat in Australia, and her meeting with any boat in England will be watched with interest from the other side of the world. Will any of your readers help me in this arduous undertaking by putting me on to the proper places to visit round England where there might be races I could enter for? I know one drawback is that such boats with live ballast crews are not the type of boat in Great Britain; yet, at a pinch, she is also a redoubtable sailer with a small sail and about six or seven hands. But the greater interest would be to see her compete at her proper handicap in races governed by length and sail area. The sailing season is so short here, and the distance from one centre to another necessitates a lot of risk to the boat and gear aud a mountain of trouble to the crew. Yet, with all, if any club would have races in which I could sail I would be happy to overcome them for the interest of sport and my love of sailing. I would like to make my arrangements for the season so as to have the opportunity of competing in a few races where they will fit in, and, as 1 am utterly unacquainted with the dates of regattas or the places best snitable to sail her at, any information your readers will give will be gratefully received. —I remain, sir, yours truly, Mabk Foy. Commodore Sydney Flying Squadron. 42 Charterhouse Square, London, E.C.”