THE SCULLING CHAMPIONSHIP.

Auckland Star, Volume XVIII, Issue 278, 25 November 1887, Page 5

THE SCULLING CHAMPIONSHIP.

BEACH V. HANLAN

MATCH ON THE NEPEAN TO-

MORIiOW

NOTES AND ANTICIPATIONS

[beoter's telegram.]

Sydney, November 19. Referring to the Boach-Hanlan match, the " Sydney Morning Herald" gives the following:—At an informal gathering, held in Beach's sitting-room the other evening, conversation turned upon the race, flan lan, who was present in the champion's cosy quarters, expressed the opinion that the contest ought to prove the most exciting of its kind ever seen in or out of the colonies. Said he, "It will be a fair and honest struggle, and I hope the best man will win." These sentiments -were heartily endorsed by all present, including Messrs Kemp, Perkins, Brett, and T. B. Smith. Beach also coincided with what had been said by his rival, and stated that he thought " it would be a downright hard battle for supremacy." If all'goes well, and the scullers are as fit for the contest as they are at present, the race should be a grand one. and exciting in the extreme. It will be a contest between two of the greatest rowing men of the century, and the struggle will bo more than ordinarly interesting, owing to the fact, that the competitors are straining every nerve and preparing every muscle for the great race. Hanlan says he never trained for a race in which the movements of the scullers were so accurately and successfully chronicled by the Press as they have been on this occasion. On being questioned with regard to his chances of winning, Beach said quietly :— "I feel more confident that I can win the race than 1 did about any race in my life." The champion also stated that ho believed he could row over the Nepean course as fast, or faster, than Hanlan. He expresses the opinion that he can row the championship course in 21 minutes. Beach, who has won laurels on the Parramatta and on the bosom of Old Father Thames, thinks the Nepean course is the finest he has ever seen, and Hanlan, the Toronto sculler, who is no mean authority upon such matters, considers that "the Nepean championship course is the finest and fairest in the world;" and yet very few of the residents in this colony have regarded it as much. The Nepean is tideless or nearly so, and as a rule its waters are clear and calm, in fact in this latter respect it closely resembles a landlocked lake. The course itself is a magnificent one. From the starting point it runs in a north-easterly direction, about two miles and a half of the entire distance. The exact length of the course is three miles and a quarter, being perfectly straight when there is plenty of water in the river. No better place could be found in any part of the world on which to row a race in wager boats. At the starting point the Nepean is about 300 yards wide, but lower down, towards the railway bridge, it is more than 350 yards in width.