NEW YEAR'S DAY AT LYTTELTON.

Press, Volume LIX, Issue 11163, 2 January 1902, Page 2

NEW YEAR'S DAY AT LYTTELTON.

: - v SHE HEGASTA.. r. * (by jjrtffc SPECIAL REPORTER.) •'" C&risteirarcbi (was-acfesot*. yesterday; The fervf, stragglers to seen about the ' streets serad-' only tot accentuate,: their emptiness." \ wiole'population of the Cathedral, City eeemed Whatfe been ' taraasf«rred bodily to l#ytteHon,;'wliioh,^ds. , «Jw&ys on NW" Year's Day, Tras~;en feW j THa jmaia attraction -tras, of course, J '^he^ i annual Lyfctelton Begatfo,. bat thousands made; the ,tri|> to the -porirtown more for" tfts '«afce of iixi outing and a btf itih of the (fresh ®ea freeze than to ,wat*ch. the traces ia the haifbotar. '-,-•- . For the.Begatta tie weather tras very disa^jpoioting; for tto rfmoal hoHday- ; maker, free from tie yachtsman's anxiety for & good sjwtayng breeze," It- -was all tiat could 4» beared. ' Morning broke with, dnll gray *ky, ' but as lifo eun climibedj higher tbfs clouds da«persed, and tlhe festive scencr-'in the Jhgtzfyntr "was bathed in genial mm?Mce~ throughout ttte ££tentoos. * But thai «bhftppy' - whistled for., a .breeze in raixc What vind tilere was in- t2ie forenoon (barely strong enough to xnffie tlte pia&d waters of the batfconr. - Flags and streamers fiaspped Jaogmdly against their etafe, and the racing- yachts, ,-vrftii every stitch, of canrras ! sc* to lore a fereeze, lay" "idle as a.painted ship," or drifted dowly irrith the tide." At times tras to be seen curious spectacle of a boat dxiftiog backwanfe in the race,' tawdbte either to make headway or to keep 3ier ground 'against the current. » A change of windia the (diet* jaoon "brougHb a -etionger breeds, ,bufc Oot ■before th« eaaling races irh&b interest .they 'possessed for the bulk of 4lre spectatore. ' The latter found the rowing contests far more escTting, «nd certainly these furnished some splendid finishes. Then there were rac«s to claim the. attention of those , «4to niatiaged to, get a stgfixb 01. thenJl and the' ©mnerous sideshows 3md, perhaps, more eager And entbuskstic .patrons tifcia all tie regatta «ontests put tojg&hef. - To be -candid, .the regatta itself, veil-managed though .It was, and' admlra&ly"carried through, as a source of amusement for the arerage spectator, proved Kri&er taane. ' For this, of course, the dbsexxe of \rind vtsa Jargdy to b>fui«, for »t is diScuit "to arouse mock enthuauin over drifting lESfctdwe.' ( - Lyttelton, moreover, lacks the aatoral ad-

1 vantage which" inakesi <srato» pleTan ideal harbour for aquatio. sport f sal the hundreds of wh»te-wmged yachts Bksm over the blue trfttoe of the Waatemata «j Itegatte Day lead to tlw saene, » certain pieturesqueESee which- was lately j absent irom yesterday's ajuafcie carmvai. i lyttelton's is a regatta in . immature. Everything except the attendance, is on a: restricted scale. The yachts are small, and in numbers comparatively few; tire area over which they race is limited.; ana the ssurte applies to the Towing events, itt which the pair-oars,, the prevailing type of boat here, race over courses which necessitate a double turn. These are disadvantages, and it is to the credit of the promoters that, in spite of them, they have made fl» annual one of the most popular functions of the year- - The 'compactness, — as it may ba termed—of the regatta, has this advantage: that from almost any point atoog the fore-, shore t> spectator* can obtain an unimpecU j ed view of whet is going on, and instead of ! the confinement of a flagship mooned in midstream, they may see as much as they want of the regatta while promenading round the wharves. This in itself is certainly a con- j sideratkm, ' •■ The haitbont made a pretty picture yesterday, especially in the afternoon, when the crowd was largest, the sunshine btigh&eet, the interest at its height." Every vessel in port -wore a holiday dress of gaily-ooloured bunting, from the huge Warwera down to the homely, Harbour Board dredge. Even the poor hulk selected as , a -victim for the submarine explosion had its littfo string of Bags fluttering from the stumpy jtrry-ma&t— an ironical touch that wae quite pathetic in its way, like the salutation of the gladiators of old as"«they-entered the arena-: "We, about to -die, salute thee, Ctesar!" The huge crowd gave an impressive setting to the picture. The people arrived from town in thousands every hour- I —a gay, good-hu-moured crowd which quickly- forgot -the crushing and the stifling'suffocation of the ■railway journey in the varied amusements which" liyttelton provided for its benefit. It patronised the merry-goMround and the sailing races, the giantesses, the lightning photographer, the excuision steamers—- j everything, with cheerful impartiality. But most of all it revelled m the submarine explosion prepared by Optoin Falconer and his torpedo corps. This was beyond adoubt the event of the .day. -' Here was excitement and sensation enough to thrill the most languid nerves, the Trfile it gratified in full measure the element of destructivenese which'lurks in human nature. | Tb)q imlJk "was -moored some distance bo-, yond Ishe moles, in full view of the vast crowd, which thronged the' dnner tbarbour. , She looked a poor,. forsaken object as she' | lay there patiently awaiting annihilation; l very different from the trim Ocean Bird she once had been, ' But there was little pity wasted, on the poor old derelict, and the hour of her destruction was awaited with i impatience by aIL Suddenly, as the naval , cutter, drew away from her «ido, the hulk burst into a mass of flames,.and" the black smoke, poured in dense volumes through hat decks. For nearly half an hour the burned fiercely, • As three o'clock approached all eyes were centred on the blazing hoik, and.the rest of the regatta was for the "time simply extinct 1 , "so far as the spectators were concerned. The' mine laitt beneath the hulk was connected by cable with an electric battery on * the eastern breakwater, and was fixed 'by the touching of a -button. ' Even Captain Falconer grew nervous, in the fear that «ome hitch should occur, and the mine fail to explode. But his anxiety proved; to be groundless. The work had been well {bone, and when, , at three - Laurenson pressed the button, a tremendous explosion announced . the success of the captain and hie men. I(r waas an impressive' sight. There was a loud roar, and the. hulk disappeared in , a "huge ' cohrmn- of '■water and'smoke thrown high into the air. The poor old ' Ocean -■ Bird;- waa ' literal-" .Iγ blowo' 160",;' inatiobwood, - , her - splinters the" witter for hundreds of feet around the scene of the explosion. When ; the smoke, cleared "away.,she &ad Vanished, ' and 'only these drifting? splinters remained to show-that the vessel had ever existed. It was.an imwessiye s lesson in the science , of -sutnnarine warfare/, and as a spectacle ■ it had a thriHing , esffecfc. - The crowd showed their in , rouhd after/'ronndof clieere, and "Captain•Fattsfiiear, a happy man once> n»se>'w*» overwhelmed with lations upon : tibe, brilliant success: which ' Ibad attended \the "ptrforniffiace. ,, " After line explosion ifc -waa perhaps. , but natural tha|< t people shouMlose interest in the much l«ss .^dtmg'wfeafta/;.A.i < ttoy I rate fttsJb homewards sefc in very soon*, and , kept those -cheerfutilavee of du|y,,*he j»ywa»y ofSei&ls. hard at r.worfc; fill-nightfall' ~-<• r -I'J'