AQUATICS.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIV, Issue 30, 4 February 1913, Page 8

AQUATICS.

ROWING. It frequently happens when inquhiee are made among those interested as to why some prominent oarsman Jβ not taking his usual interest in the affaire of his club, that one ie, met by evasive answers which tell a plain story to anyone who -hae had experience of rowingclub life and ite little worries. Good sportsmen are always loyal, and they hate to be questioned upon matters that cannot be talked about without showing that all has not been smooth sailing. It is well, however, to look.such matters squarely in the face sometimes.

When a man has been training keenly, and has been wrapped up in hid efforts to get into condition and to acquire the best form of which he is capable, he is inclined to be irritable and to say things has-tily which in his calmer moments he would not dream of saying. A very valuable part of the training which one receives in a rowing club is to learn to give and take, and not to .brood over any little occurrence that may cause annoyance at the time. It is in helping his fellows to acquire "the rowing manner" -that the club captain proves ■hiii:eelf 'worthy of the responsible post that he holds. We all admire tact when we see it applied, but there are no text books to teach a fellow how to learn to be -tactful.

One hesitates to make a suggestion upon such a subject, but if everyone were to try to understand -the other fellow'e point of view it would help wonderfully. Don't get a grbuch because some decision by the captain or the selection commi-ttec does not fit in entirely with your opinion. Be fxir, and try to understand just how they looked at the matter. If you can't see eye -to eye with' them, iwhy quarrel about it? Don't make a personal matter out of some decision that is believed to be in the best interests of the shed as a whole. It is the club that matters, not the individual. We are amateur oarsmen, and we tow for the love of the game — so play the game. If, by chance, because of a misun-dereta-nding, or because you were out of sorts a-t the time, you acted hastily, then take the first opportunity to make it right. It is up to any decent fellow to do this, and a sportsman can do no lees. These comments have been made only because it is believed that our fellows are all eportsmen at heart, but h-ttle worries will crop up occasionally and it ie then that the real test comes. Finally, brother, when you ccc a fellow trying to do the right thing, make it eat?y for him and meet him at least halfway. We all have our little weaknesses. The Rowing Association's gala at Shelly Beach on Saturday afternoon ■turned out to be a conspicuous success. The comparatively few men who had entered, but did not turn up to take ■their eeate with their chosen crewe, deserved all that was coming to them. In this case all that wae coming to them was to realise on Saturday evening what a splendid afternoon they had missed. You will frequently find fellows who fool»hly fall in in thie way. Because i-t wae windy on Saturday morning they jumped to the conclusion that it would be -too rough for rowing. A moment's thought that the was southerly, and therefore right off-shore, would have let tiiem know that the conditions were more favourable for a calm course at Shelly Beach than any o>ther conditions (with the exception of a general calm) could be. The -various clubs vere represented as follows: West End, 15 crewe; Auckland and Waitemata, 10 crews each; North Shore, n-ine crews; and St. George's, eight crews. There was eurprieinglv lit-tle double-banking by means of substitutes, and -thp fifty two competing crewe comDrifipd at ihe least two hundred individual oaremen.

The rawing wae remarkably good, taking all things into consideration—'the lack of opportunity to acquire combination, the lack of any special preparation on the part of a crew to take part in the races, and the lack of any by-law or regulation to prevent the races being quite open to all comers. Theee were not picked athletes chosen from the youth and beauty of the boatshede; they were the rank and file of the men who compose the Towing clube ac they exist and do good work in the morninge (sometimes), in the eveninge, and at other times of leisure. And the men who hustled thinge along and got the whole carnival over in good time were the men who control ■the sport, each according to the requirements of his office and the dictates of hie conscience.

At one stage it looked as if there were all the possibilities of confusion when one or two of the crews interchanged places with other crews in a different heat. With the successive batches from the different clubs coming along at intervals of five minutes there was not much time for the judges to note down exactly the names of the actual winners, and there was not much chance of getting a fall and a-ccurate record of the competing crews in each heat. It was here, however, that club officials came to the rescue, and full lists of the crews, as they actually rowed, were able to be compiled through the courtesy of these thoughtful sportsmen. The kindness was greatly appreciated. The judges, being veterans at the game, picked out their winners as fast as they came along, but some of the crews had to be pretty spry to return close past the judges' stand to report who they were, and then to get out of the way of the next lot coming up.

There was only one mishap of this kind, a St. George boat in a strenuous dash at the finish of the third heat running down an Auckland boat that was returning in the fairway ; nstead of being right on the outside. The Auckland bow got a jar in the ribs that did not improve his rowing for the rest of the day, and the St. George's boat was cracked along the wash-streak. Other mishaps, about three during the afternoon, were not due to collision, but were the usual kind of misadventure through something giving way in the boat.

When it is remembered that there were 22 separate heats rowed off during the afternoon, the number of close finishes that were recorded was astonishing. In only six races did the winning crew get home with more than a length to the geod; in a couple of instances there were wins by the bare length; and in the rest of the races the margin that brought victory was less than a length—in some cases only a.matter of inches. The final was a worthy finish to a series of creditable races, and every crew -which took part in it put. up a showing of which the.club it represented could feel proud. No one grudged Waitemata the bracelets which Mrs. Clark had so generously presented as trophies for the day, and the cheers with which the gala terminated were the genuine and hearty cheers of thorough-going sportsmen.

The following summary shows the measure of success gained by the clubs in the different events at the three regattas:—

Maiden Double Sculls.—Whangarei, two firsts; Waitemata, one first and two

seconds; Ngaruawahia, one second; and Shore, two thirds. Light Maidens. —West End, three firsts; Waitemata and Whangarei, each \ one second and one third; Ngaruawahia, j a second; and North Shore, a third. ! Heavy Maidens.—North Shore, three j firsts; St. George's, two seconds and a third; Wesrt End, one second and two 1 thirds. Light Juniors.—Shore, one first and two seconds; West End, one first and one second; Hamilton, one first. Youths' Four. —• Whangarei, three firsts; North Shore, three seconds; Waitemata, St. George's, and West End, a third each. Heavy Juniors. —Mercer, one first and a second; Whangarei, a first; North Shore, a second. Senior Four. —Ngaruawahia, first; Waitemata, second. In another way the club records can be shown thus:—Whangarei, nine firsts, six seconds, £44; North Shore, four firsts, six seconds, £31; West End, four firsts, two seconds, £22; Ngaruawahia, a first and three seconds, £12; Mercer, two firsts and a second, £10; Waitemata, two firsts (handicap single sculls) and six seconds, £9; Hamilton, one first, £7; .St. George's, one first and two seconds, £0. X T orth Shore Rowing Club members will be well catered for during the next three weeks. The committee has mapped out a programme embracing pair-oar and four-oar rowing for each Saturday afternoon. This coming Saturday there will be races in pair-oar boats for trophies presented by four business men of Devonport. These races will be graded in two classes, A and B, and will be the more valuable in consequence. On the following Saturday, 15th February, there will be an "At Home" at the Shore boathouse, / and trial fours will be rowed for trophies presented by the captain (Mr. Butler Bennett). These trophies are silver cups which were specially selected by the captain while he was on a visit to the Continent last year. Each cup has the club's monogram in blue enamel inlaid in the side. Caps, presented by an honorary member "of the club, will be given as trophies to the runners-up in the captain's fours.

On the third Saturday of the series, there will be "upside down" trial fours for non-regatfa ni«n. trophies having been presented by some of the sporting n;«'n connected with the club. Entries for all events will close at the club house on Thursday at 8 p.m. The committee of the club ■is deeply grateful to the officials of the West End and Waitemata Clubs for sportsmanlike assistance in lending boats to Shore crews in the club final and in the A.R.A. final at the gala last Saturday. The Shore had rather a bad run t f mishaps in the gala races, and the kindness of the two clubs referred to was the more keenly appreciated.

YACHTING AND MOTOR BOATS. • The finish between the Viking anil lorangi in Saturday's Squadron race for the Blomfi-eld Cup was one of the closet e>er witnessed on t' v ie Waitema-ta, and created such excitement among the Uand of enthusiasts on the wharf that the judge entirely forgot that one of his duties was to fire the gun till thirty seconds afteT the boats were over the line. Viewed from the western, corner of Queen Street wharf, the first competitor to appear was the Ilex out in the stream, and. it looked ac if she were romping in on her own. But half a minute later, out from behind the Railway wharf, appeared the lorangi, and apparently hanging on her counter and to leeward was the Viking. The comparative calm created by the wharves —it was blowing fresh from the S.S.W.— it was thought would favour the lighter and more modern boat, and the lorangi's victory was proclaimed. She maintained her slight advantage until the opening between the two wharves, where both boate were favoured by strong puffe. They entered qn the shelter afforded by the main wharf, with the Viking perhaps 20ft. astern, and then the excitement commenced. It was quickly seen that the way carried by the larger yacht was telling, -while her high topsail caught puffs of wind that pawed above the lorangi. Thirty yards had not been covered 'before the Viking'e bowsprit overlapped her opponents stern. It became apparent that she would gain skwly along the whole length of Uie wharf; but was the finishing post sufficiently distant to allow her to secure first place? Exitement grew as the Viking crept up. With the line only 20yds. away, it was impossible to say what the result would be. Locked together, and leaning over to a fresh puff, tihsy crossed the line. The crewe were in doubt as to the result; and of those on the wharf only the judge, with whom lay the responsibility, was certain the Viking wars first across iby about 10ft. Afterwarde there was some speculation ais to whether this was not the first occasion on which fdie had been first to catch the eye of the judge. Inquiry showe, however, that the Viking has been first over the line on at teast two other occasions. When she wae cutter-riggad •and racing in the Auckland Yacht Crab •before the days of the Roy&l New Zealand Yacht Squadron, eihe was over first ahead of the Volunteer, which on every other occasion, although she could not generally concede the smaller boat her time allowance, used to secure first place after an invaria-bly exciting contest.

The following interesting account of the race is supplied mc by a member of thp crew of one of the leading yachts:

The Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadran second general handicap sailed on Saturday over the squadron course was quite the most interesting race that has been held on the harbour for many a long day. This is, perhaps, the more remarkable in view of the fact that neither the Ariki, the Thehna, or th* Waione started. Never since the days of the Viking and the Volunteer, when the former 'boat was cutter rigged, has there >been such interest taken in a Squadron race. The boats got away well together, and crowded on all sail down to the Squadron Buoy. Only three or four minutes separated the lorangi, the Viking, the Hex, and the Rawene, and all jibed in that order. On the run down to the Reef Buoy the Rawene was the only one of the leaders to set a spinnaker, and a sad misfortune was the result of the experiment. The Week head of the spinnaker parted, tearing a great piece out of the sail, and a guy and a boom carried clean away. At the Reef Buoy, the Viking got round just ahead of the lorangi, but unfortunately lost sight of the fact that it was necessary to keep the channel side of all fairway marks, and stood over to the Takapuna shore. Had this mistake not been made, there is little doubt that the Viking would have maintained her advantageous position and led all the way round. On the slog back to the Squadron Buoy the Ilex held her own well with the lorangi, and the boata were bunched in the harbour when they came to lay for the mark boat at the Queen Street wharf.

Ilex carried away her jib halliard, and while repairs were being made tie lorangi forged ahead. All the boats jibed smartly, and the lorangi led down the harbour again. When the lighthouse was reached, it was found that the mark-"boat had broken adrift, and it was necessary to chase after the boat to, round it. On the run down to the Reef Buoy again, the Viking just got past the lorangi, but on the slog up to the mark-boat, which had been replaced by Mr. Saunders' launch, the lorangi drew a little ahead and seemed to sail a lot better the second time round. The boats held well into the southern shore on the -way up, and there was a most exciting race between the lorangi and Viking for first place. They kept close hauled to the Southern Cross, and from there sheets were eased off sufficiently .to enable the Viking to set her jib top-sail. With the extra canvas and the little easier course, the big fcaat managed to outstrip her smalle? rival, and cutting her way through the heavy tide rip off the Railway wharf, sailed" through the lorangi's lee, and just managed to get over the line with her boweprit ahead. On time, the Ngatira, with 27 minutes, and the Kotero with 32 minutes, were first and second, but the interest of the race wae with the leading division. Some really good sailing was got off on Saturday "by the yachts competing in the annual' championships held by the Victoria Cruising Club. The times for the commencement of the races were strictly observed, and as a result the programme was put through with dispatch. The 22-footers were the first away, all the boats for which entrance money had been paid making a start. The first to cross the line was Ngaira, but the Hilda was close up, and the Dulcie and Venus were not far away. The Waimia was H minutes late, the Puawanga 3 minutes, the Mowai 3J minutes, and the Winnie 94 minutes." The Xgaira maintained her early lead and won after a capital race with 1 minute 53 seconds to spare from the Hilda. The finishing times for the race were: N<gaira 4h. 55m. Bs., Hilda 4h. 57m. Is., Venus sh. lm. 215., Arcadia sh. 3m. 425., Mowai sh. 7m. 495., Dulcie sh. Sm. 355., Puwanga sh. llm. 58s. Winnie and Waima did not finish.

In the 26-foot championship, the only starters were the Calypso, Esma, and Sadie. Midway between Point Resolution and North Head, Sadie, the last year's winner, suffered a mishap to her ■rear. The Calypso, 4.57 m. 515., won from the Esma, sh. 4m. 20s. The four starters in the 16-foot class were the Septre, Atangsita, Mistral, and Mascot. Thf Minerva did not start. Septre won with comparative easp from Atangiata. The finishing times were as follows: Poptre sh. 4m. 595.. Atangiata sh. sm. 593., Mistral sh. 17m. 31s, Mascot sh. 24m. 495.

The l3t class handicap for a trophy presented by Mr. Meredith resulted in a win for Mr. J./Colson's Edith, "Mr. G. Avery's Rangatira 2nd, and Mr. Jesson's Pandora 3rd. Finishing times: Rangatira 4h. 54m. 305., Colma 4h. 555. 10s., Mahaki sh. 2m. 45., Viola sh. 4m. 335., Edith sh. 6m. 155., Pandora sh. 7m. 495., Valdora sh. 9m. 445. In this race the Zealandia had the misfortune to break her gaff and retired from the race.

Messrs. J. and S. Macky left Auckland by the Huddart-Parker steamer Victoria last night for Sydney, en route to Melbourne. While in. Auckland both spent a good deal of time on board the Ilex. Extensive cruising was engaged in in December, and in the early part of January. They were on boaTd the yacht when she won the first-class yacht race at the regatta, and were out for the second harbour championships of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron on Saturday.

Sir Thomas Lipton reached London on 31st December after his recent trip to America. He told the "Chronicle" correspondent that he expected to hear definitely from the New York Yacht Club within three weeks a-s to whether they would accept a challenge for the America Cup in the fall of 1914. In the meantime Sir Thomas is going to be busy, he says, in developing plans for a big international yacht race for boats of the thirty-three-meter class at San Francisco in 1915. Boats from three nations have already been entered for this race, and Sir Thomas expects that it will be a great international contest. Before ne sailed from New York Sir Thomas Lipton said it had 'been the wish of his life to win the America Cup. "It looks now as if there would be such alteration in the racing rules as will permit mc to build a yacht that can come over here and compete on a fair basis with, your best yachts. If Ido have the chance to come after the Cup, you may be sure I'll bring the best yacht that we can build on the other side."

From time to time complaint •has been raised against rowers and launch owners who do not show proper caTe in approaching the shore where 'bathers are congregated. Accidents have occurred on many occasions, and have been narrowly avoided on many more. It should not be a difficult matter to bring a launch along carefully, and if the cox in a row-boat is reasonably careful nothing should go amiss. If the offenders do not take proper precautions in future it will be necessary for someone to take drastic steps to ensure the safety of bathers, and others who frequent the foreshore. It is three weeks since there has been a racing fixture got off by the North Shore Yacht Club,, but next Saturday the second cruising race of the season is to be held. The course for the event will be round Weiheke.

News was received by telegraph yesterday, that the 35-footer launch Silens, built at Auckland iby Harvey and Lang, had arrived at Monjjanui., *The launch which is fitted with a 14h.ip. Silent Rotor engine, left Auckland at 4 p.m. on Saturday last for Monganui, and reached her destination at 1.50 p.m. on Sunday after a non-stop run. The engine worked smoothly throughout the trip. A special meeting of the Manakau Yacht and Motor Boat Club was held last night in the Club House, Onehunga. The president Mr. Chas. Bag-ley, presided over a good attendance. In referring to the business of the evening, manrely, the paying off of £40 of debentures. }Jr. Bagley said that he must I congratulate the club of its splendid position, and more particularly the committee who had done such good , work. Some twelve months ago a new clubhouse was erected at a cost of about £500, £300 of which was raised voluntarily, and about 2(0 taken v.<p in £1 debentures, the greater part by club members and their friends. The "'balloting for the 40 debentures then took place and several of the successful drawers handed theirs !back again for the benefit of the cluib. It is hoped that the clu-b will be in a position to redeem another portion of the debentures within a few months. Several further prizes i were donated for racing during the season. '