Clash of the flying squads

By ROBIN BAILEY

The 2003 New Zealand Herald Anniversary Regatta is going to be something special.

Many of the superyachts and classic yachts here for the America's Cup will be taking part and the big three-masted Italian training ship Amerigo Vespucci will bring a new dimension to the event.

Then there's the 80th anniversary of the M-Class, which made its first appearance in the 1923 regatta. Matarere and Mawhiti, commissioned by brothers Fred and Willie Wilson, of the New Zealand Herald founding family, gave birth to the class.

That the M has endured is a tribute to the efforts of a dedicated bunch of sailors who know that tradition is important.

So much so that they went to Sydney last January to race against a fleet of extraordinary replica 18-footers. The Aussies lost, but they will be back this year seeking revenge.

The skiffs are all faithful replicas of their famous namesakes. Yachting historian and M-Class sailor Robin Elliott, in his introduction to the programme produced for the 80th anniversary series, explains:

"The Aussie fleet will arrive with three full rigs for each boat, plus ringtails, ballooners, bumpkins, lee cloths and bowsprits the like of which will not have been seen here since the late 1940s.

"They echo an era before the intrusion of overseas influence in hull design and subsequent obsession with one-design centreboard classes.

"With the old skiffs sail area was everything, capsizes were common, the trapeze had not yet been developed and their huge sail areas were held aloft by brawn, muscle and a lot of colourful language."

The 2003 transtasman clash, which begins on Auckland's Anniversary Day on Monday, January 27, commemorates the 1939 World 18-footer Sailing Championship in which three crack Australian boats competed for the J. J. Giltinan Trophy against 18 yachts from 15 Auckland yacht clubs.

The Aussie champion Taree was sensationally disqualified in the last race to give the win to the M-Class Manu. The row that ensued was such that the prizegiving was cancelled and the Aussies took the trophy home. It was the sailing equivalent of that underarm bowling incident that never totally fades away.

That was New Zealand's first international centreboard competition and despite the disqualification drama it proved that Kiwi sailors could be more than just competitive. World War II intervened and the competition did not resume until 1948, but the Taree controversy simmered to fuel the growth of the Auckland 18-footer fleets throughout the 1940s. The Auckland 18-foot Flying Squadron was formed in 1949 dedicated to unrestricted 18-footer competition and the quest for the Giltinan Trophy. They became the glamour yachts of the Waitemata.

That competition forms the background to the event that begins this year's transtasman series. The Australian fleet is being readied for shipping this week and includes some big names. John Winning, a star performer in the modern 18s, will skipper Alruth and America's Cup and match-racing veteran Harold Cudmore (probably an honorary Australian for the series) will helm Top Weight.

The entries, skippers and clubs are:

Australia: Sydney Flying Squadron - Aberdare (Chris Haskard), Alruth (John Winning), Australia (Dave Porter), Britannia (Ian Smith), Tangalooma (Peter Le Grove) and Top Weight (Harold Cudmore). Brisbane Flying Squadron - Jenny IV (Peter Cavill), M-51 Maverick (Stew Dorman).

New Zealand: M-4 Mahina (John Gillespie, Akarana), M-5 Matana (Peter Parkinson, Richmond), M-11 Mystery (Graham Cook, Torbay), M-27 Marilyn (William Randall, Akarana), M-36 Moani (Brooke Family, Wakatere), M-37 Monalua (Keith Jones, RNZAF), M-42 Mirage (Rob Gordon, Glendowie), M-44 Marquita (Dave Bush, Tamaki), M-46 Mach One (Neil Bassett, Ponsonby), M-47 Matara (Dave Spencer, Panmure), M-49 Margaret (Simon Morley, Pakuranga), M-50 Mistress (Eric Mahoney, RNZYS).

An Australia Day shakedown race will be held on Sunday, January 26.

Race 2 of the championship will be on Wednesday, January 29, dedicated to the Wilson brothers as founders of the M-Class. Race 3 on Thursday, January 30, will commemorate Billy Rogers, crack skipper and top boatbuilder of Mercedes, Marita, Marahi, Manaia II, Marilyn, Makaere, Marauder, Moani, Monalua and Matana.

A Mark Foy race out of the Auckland Sailing Club on Friday, January 31, will be dedicated to the memory of Bernie Schmidt, winner of the Watson's Bay Trophy in Sydney in 1938.