CHAMPION REGATTA.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1705, 24 March 1913, Page 5

CHAMPION REGATTA.

■ ■ " v > ~. . , for' dominion. ; FOURS GO TO WANGANUI UNION. MAGNIFICENT ROWING. • \ ' THE OTHER RACES AND NOTES. Fours—Wanganui Union " Rowing Club. Pairs —Wanganui Union Rowing Club. Double Sculls—Akaroa Rowing Club. > Singlu Sculls—Waitemata Boating Club. A boisterous morning, ft moderately calm afternoon, and a stormy evening could scarcely be called ideal conditions for a regatta, day, but this describes the weather of Saturday, when tlio New Zealand rowing championships were decided in Wellington. ■ Tho day before had been so beautifully bright and calm, and the night following so still and dewy that a bad day seemed the most unlikely possibility. . Great was tho disgust of rowing men to -find a'-gusty northerly blowing in in the morning, heavy enough to make tho success of tho regatta at least' doubtful. The firit race was row4d under the very ■greatest difficulties, 'and all but tho shore boats had a bad buffeting. For the next raoe the wind was lighter, and the .fourth race, the Champion Fours, was rowed on good water. • Tho Petono course had to be chosen owing to the northerly wind,'and at 1.30 p.m., when there were still two rat&s left'to be decided, a southerly squall blew upi and- further racing was; abandoned for the day. The two races'postponed were the Maiden Pairs, and the Senior Fours. ' ' ' ' .

The big event of the day was won with absurd ease by Wanganui Union, who ran away with the race verymuchas they did on Lake'Forsyth in • Christchurch in exhibition year, They /were most fancied tiiis year, but the Wellington Club had collected a crew, : whicn was thougnt to have more than a good cliunce. Tile members of tiie crew were the' two ifegglun .brothers, ot tiie suec'cssiiu Jjleiilieiiii crew ot a low years ago, uaciijson, the bulky 3 ,ol iafet year's champion i*icton crew, anil ot otner champion crews, and hlancliarci, a local nuiu, Tne action ot the Wellington Club in virtually engaging tne services of these men lor tne race UUo ueen •the subject, ot some. Uiiirieuaiy comment, and th*re were lew regrets wiien tlicy did not win. In justice to the men themselves, it is but inir to say that they navo upt bten together very long, and that in order to preserve tne balance 01 tile lour, Jackson, and "Jjick" iieggiun tiaii to change seatts in;the lost ieW days. They had 110 form at all in the race, and, for such a powerful crew in such mediocre company,'- they made a sori'y showing. Senium .have such a poor lot of crews '. started in a Ciiaaupiou Four. Star Boating Club had olii made up of one young man and three members 01 the crew that won here eight years ago. They have all been out of :the sport', lor years, and the I crew was very far boloiv champion form. | Blenheim Club was represented by a crew which subsequently uas placed third in tlio i'ouths' .Fours, aim the Kawatiri cruv .were beaten by' lengths in, the Junior Clinker Fours by. a junior four from the Wanganui Union shed. This accounts for •the three': unplaosd' crews, and yet crews of such a-'class kept up fairly well with ' the'second, and tnird boats.- Wanganui Union must have been 150 yards ahead of them, and they were going easily. Christclntrcli/Union, ; plucod sscond, ro.wtd in good form', but did not get inucli pace out of their boat at any time. They ' gained •a..place .b;causß„ Wellington tired. Nothing good 'cttffbj Said of the Wellington crew's rowing. It was ragged, and rough, and they hail no length at all; : _ The Champion Sculls was an interesting race,-one of the best in the.class for many years. To begin with, the champion, Stone, of' St. George's, Auckland, never rsal!y had a chance in the race, and.he has never bten required to extend himself in his races of late years. Young Sharpe, of AVanganui Union, a boy of eighteen, made the : pace merry from . the outset, and it was Hadfield, of Waitemat'a, who chased him along. Stone simply got farther and farther behind. 1 : 'With half a mile still to go, Sharpens arms gave out, and he seemed unable to control his paddles well, although there wa.f still lot's of life in his body and leg work. Hadfield wore him down and won an excellent race in. very creditable time, taking account of the .wind and the clioppjr water.. But Sharpe was by no means disgraced, and if ', he ; specialises in the sculling game, lie should bo a champion before he is much older. He is, like all the other Sharp®?, a perfect waterman. The Champion Double Sculls t 'went to Akaroa, a crew in psrfect condiI- tion, and good scullers. They., were in a borrowed boat, having had .their own. de- ' 'stroyed by fire just recently, but I" they jumped out. into the lead, and held-the winning position all the way. ' Wanganui, a pair alleged to be practically untrained,, rowed into second place, the . Stones, of St. George, were third, and last', year's champions, . Wanganui Union, fourth. :In the Champion Pairs, Wanganui . Union made all tho opposition look very cheap, and they rowed home by themselves. Tho Akaroa men had had a' hard race, anil they were not as fresh as might liave been. They w?re in thfi-end beaten by, the Wellington jiair for second" place. In all the junior and maiden events the rowing was in the main very good',. There - nre enough good crews in sight to make a I - field in .tiie Champion Fours some time in I the future.

RESULTS OF THE RACES. MAIDEN FOURS'. Ono mile. First, .£9; second, <£2, ' Christchurch Union R.C. (A. V. Empson str., H. W. Layton 3, A. Priest 2, T. Hobbs bow) 1 Canterbury R.C. (J. Langridge str., S., Johnson 3, L. Parson 2, V. Hewer bow) 2 •Wairau R.C. (G. Adams str., F. Corder 3, N. Sheridan 2, E. W'ells bow)}.;... 3 Time, Gmin. 57sec. 1 ' Also started: Wellington R.C., Kawatiri R.C., Petono R.C., Wanganui Union R.C., Blenheim R.C'., Wanganui R.C., Picton R.C., Star B.C. The race served to''discover, how' impossible it was lo row decent form on the course, as it then was, at any rate, on tho outside positions of it. Star and Wangamui'wero tlio unlucky crews to draw the two outside places, and though they struggled gamely,"to keep the lead, they made, in the first dozen strokes, tho wind and the waves beat them back, and they failed to get a place. Nearer tho shore, Christchurch Unions, Canterbury, Wellington, 'and Wairau were having a grim struggle, but in tho last'quarter of a mile Wellington retired beaten, and Wairau rowed into third place. Union beat Canterbury hv about a length, and •' Wairau wero abqut two lengths away. AVanganui Union, a crew which showed very fair form, and Blenheim fouled early in , tho race, and paddled tho rest 'of the distano'.'. Champion Sculls, Ono milo and a half. First prize, Pearce trophy and .£8 (trophy to ba held by winner for one year). Waitemata B.C. (D. liadfiold) 1 Wanganui Union R.C. (A. Sharpe) ...... 2 ■ St. George's R.C. (C. E Stone) 3 Time,-ldmin. 4-asec. *, Tho other, starters were: Otago R.C. (J. R.Kerr), Wanganui R.C. (E. MTtonald). and Kawatiri' R.C. (P. Honigatti), and ,'thov finished far behind in that order. .The race was 'the best that has been s:eh for this,championship since the days when Webb, AVclch, and M'Grath were all going together. Young Sharpe, _ a more stripling of 18 years, dashed oif with a beautiful start, and set a lively pace. Hadfield followed him about a. length and a half behind, and Stone was half a length behind Hadfiekl. At 'a mile Hadfield had drawm almost level with Sharpe, and Stone, in spite of his desperato efforts, could not lessen the distanco separating him from the leaders. In the last half-mils, however, Sharpe tired palpably, and Hndficld, rowing strongly, passed, him and won by about a length. Stone was two lengths away, rowed out, and rowing tho worst form of tho three.

Junior Fours. ] Best and Best boats. One mil© and. a half. First prize, .012; second, £3. Petono R.C. (B. Tremain str., S; il'Farlane 3, H. Parsons 2, W. Sharon bow) 1 Wellington lt.C. (H, Hinchcliffo str., E. Cairns 3, S. Shilling 2, J. 0. Jonkuis bow) 2 Christcliurch Union R.C. (T. Bouth .str., W. L. Harrisyn 3, M. S. Gentles 2, E. A. Empson bow) 3 Time. Oniin. SOsec. Also started: Wanganui Union 8.C., Picton E.C., Star B.C. ' Wanganui Union were first to settle down, and they made a break of about nalf / a length from a splendid start. Petono chased them close up, but they were still half a length behind tho light blues when the Wanganui bow caught a crab, and stopped his boat. The light blues never went well alter the mishap, and they were overhauled in succession by Wellington and Christchurch Union. Petone won by a length, rowing l , a smart lively stroke from end to end of the race. Wellington were about three-quarters of a length ahead of Christcliurch Union, Wanganui Union were fourth, Picton fifth, and Star last.

Champion Fours. Two miles. First prize, .£3O; second,' .£lO. Wanganui Union R.C. (J. Cotterell str., E. liyinnd 3, H. Sharpe 2, I). Corby bow) 1 Christchurch Union R.C. (S. E. Moore, str., ,H. W. Dallisou 3, W. Duggan 2, F. Allen bow) ••••• 2 Wellington K.C. (C, Hegglun str., E. 'I'. Hegglun 3, A. Jackson 2, 0. Bianciiard bow) 3 Time, litem. 25 3-ssec. Also started: Star 8.C., Blenheim R.C., and Kawatiri K.C. As, a spectacle the race was a disappointment. As an exhibition of rowing form on the part, of -the winning orow it was magnificent. Wanganui Union jumped out from the start, and striking 40 to tne minute, quickly had a lead of a clear length and a half from Wellington, who were rawing a much faster but much more ragged stroke. Alter going half a mile the light blues settled down to 34, and rowed that rate for practically the whole journey, easing up to 31 at tho finish. They led Wellington by three lengths at half-way, but drew ahead rapidly from there, until they, had a lead of eight lengths. This they held comfortably. Wellington showed obvious signs of collapse in the slater stages of the race, and were beaten by four lengths for second honours by Christchurch Uliion, rowing much more resolutely, and very much better altogether. Star wore third, and Blenheim fourth, but/had these twe crews not fouled, and lost about foui : lengths early in the race, either or both • ; of them might easily have beaten Weilington. Kawatiri, a lighter crew, rowed : very stylish form, but they are not yet j in the champion class, '

j . Maiden Sculls. I One mile. First prize, .£5; second, .£l. i Christchurch Union R.C. (A. V. ErnpI son str., Hobbs bow) ... 1 ! Star B.C. (C. H. Mitchell str., H. J.' Pollock bow) : 2 1 Kawatiri R.C. (S. Blake str., Jones I 'bow) .'. ; 3 j No time was taken. I'etonc R.C. wero i the only other starters. Star and Christ- ', church Union had a splendid struggle ior " first place. Star led to within 150 yards iof the finishing post, and : then their stroke collapsed, leaving Union, who were ; sculling -splendidly, to-win by a length and a halt. , The other boats were ierjr iar back.' . ~ Youths Fours., . One mile. First ~£B, second' ,£2. Christehnrch Union R.C. (L. Hills str., ,J. D. Davis 3, W. itcrccr 2, L. 11. JJuggan bow) 1 Waiiijaniii K.C. (F. Faber str., G.'Barton 3, E.-il. Organ 2, F.Faber bdw) 2 1 Blen hcim R-.C.. (K. Wandcn sir., W.

D-j-.v- 3, D. Recs 2, K. ti'odtii bow) 3 Time, Gmin. '10 -i-asec. Also started: Petone R.C., Picton R.C., Star 8.C., Wanganui Union K.C., Kawatiri R.C. Petone set oil' at.a terrific rale, and'had a lead of-nearly a length in the first two hundred yards, 'i hey slackened pace very sooii, however, and Wnng-nmii-'overhauled t#em' vapidly, and •too'k .--tlio ••lfadJ.n'il'Jtcri.-Christcllui-cii Union can e up, and rowing perfect form wore down the heavier , Wanganui crow. The.-.southerners, won ■in the 1 ' end by rather more than a length, and Blenheim wore only"a canvas behind Wanganui. The Wanganui Union youths wero in a likely position until near the end of the race, but they stopped rowing, beaten. ' Champion Double Sculls. One mile and a half. First prize, JCI2; second, £3. \ Akaroa R.C. (Newton- str.; Westenra bow) 1 Wanganni R.C..(A. S. C. Anderson str., 13. M'Donald ■ bow) 2 St. George's; li.C. (C. E. Stone str., T.

Stone bow) 3 Time, lOoiin. lsec. Also started: Wanganui Union It.C. (A. Sharpe ami W. Findlay) and Wellington R.C. (A. Jackson sir., H. lllvinley,bow).. Akaroa iorged ahead from tile start, and led throughout, .winning by ab<mt three lengths.. Wanganni Union, rowing a very slow but long stroke, were two lengths ' ahead ■of fit. George's, and the latter, beat last year's champions by something over a length. The Wellington pair stopped rowing after going about half a mile, and abandoned the race.

Junior Clinker Fours. One. mile. First .£lO, second i£2.' Wanganui Un : on R.C. (M. Crotty str., S.. S. Dustin 3, R. Siddells 2, W. Coombes bow) 1 Kawatiri R.C. (S, Blight str., J. Matthews 3, A'. C. Hall 2, D. Straker bow) 2 Canterbury R.C. (J. Langridge str., J. Johnson 3, L. Parson 2, Hewer' boiv) 3 Time, Gmin. 21 l-sseo. Also started: W«iroa R.C., Star 8.C., Picton R.C., Wellington R.C., Christchurch Union R.C., Petone 11.C., Blenheim R.C. . Canterbury were lirst to break the line, establishing a lead of more than a length in the first'twenty strokes. Wanganui Union settled . down then and quickly overhauled Canterbury, leaving the rest of the boats, in a lino i'onr lengths behind. In the ruck Picton and Wellington fouled • and dropped back. Kawatiri very gradually, drew out from tlio rest r and overtook Canterbury .in the > last 200 yards. Wanganui Union won by two lengths, and Ivawatiri teat Canterbury by a canvas.

Champion Pairs. One mile and a half. First J212, second Wanganui Union R.C. (H. Sharps str., J. Cotterell bowl 1 Wellington R. C. ( C. Hegglun str., G. tflanchnrd bow) ...•'. 2 Akaroa R.C. (Newton str., Westenra bow) •••••■• 3 Time, Omin. 32se'c. There were no other starters. Wanganui Union led all the way and won very easily by some six lengths. Akaroa were second until 100 yards from home, but there Wellington, overhauling them rapidly, drew close alongside them, and there was a bad foul. Wellington were the first to start rowing again, and therefore gdt second place. The races postnoned owing to had weather on Saturday—the maiden pairs and tho senior fours—will be rowed this niorninn at 10 o'clock.