OTAGO REGATTA.

Evening Star, Issue 13144, 28 December 1908, Page 3

OTAGO REGATTA.

'■ . , «— =— . I The conditions at the' Otago regatta at Port Chalmers on Saturday* were extensive and peculiar, like Sam Weller's knowledge of London. As children sometimes are, the weather smiled a little and wept much. The numerous events held much that was interesting; a few held all that sporting folk want. All things considered, it can he truly said that the regatta was half success and half anything you like. Light rain in the morning hindered •niany people from visiting Port. Circumstances uhv proved towards afternoon, however, and,a good attendance of spectators watched the various events, which began " in almost ideal conditions for rowing and sailing, and ended anyhow. Late in the afternoon the wind dropped, and a number of competing yachts-were as idle as a painted ship upon a painted ocean, as Coleridge would'have said. Let us all forget the unpleasant conditions, and find pleasure in talking of the pleasant features of the regatta, which were numerous. The kindness of the New Zea- j land Shipping Company in placing their liner Papanui to the free use of the. offi- j cials and spectators was well spoken of. It' was an excellent look-out place in rain or sunshine.' Then the Regatta Committee, worked hard to keep everything going' smoothly. They were very successful. In addition to the officials who were named in our report on Saturday, mention must be made of the work of Messrs N. Dodds (chairman of committee), W. J. .Wilson (deputy chairman), and J. Galbraith, who bore much of the burden of the day away out in the channel at the starting-post for oarsmen. Messrs Stevenson and Cook were kind enough to place the old Defence steamer Ellen Ballance at the disposal of the judges of sailing and motor events. The writer of this notice must take space to thank Messrs C. G. Smith and P. Light- j bourne, the Press stewards, who were most obliging and painstaking. ' The various .events were started remarkably close to: scheduled time—a fact which speaks for' the work of the officials in charge. And many of the events held all. that sporting' folk wanted. The rowing races excelled m that respect, inasmuch as spectators need not have especial knowledge to enjoy the' points of racing, which are more difficult to follow in yachting. The outrigger races were rowed in the straight, finishing opposite the bridge of the flagship Papanui. Occasionally craft got in the. way of the competing oarsmen, a yacht on one occasion being a noticeable offender. Those in charge of the yacht may be fine yachtsmen, but they will not be heard eagerly if they claim to be fine sportsmen, j The yacht was not competing when it nosed between the striving oarsmen. The. rowing race of the day was the Senior Fours. Invercargill representatives won. They earned their win. From a fine start Basstian (Invercargill stroke) got his men going smoothly and strongly, and early in the Tace it was seen that a splendid contest Would follow. Basstian, whom the fpeople watched closely, pulled magnifi- j ccntly, and led the way. Port Chalmers, ! stroked by Lightbourne, followed, close and ever closer. Near the red buoy the Port lads were very near. At the pier head only born gamblers would have backed Invercargill as a winner. Either boat looked the winner. The crowd voiced" their interest in Basstian, who pulled magnificently. With a long pull, a strong pull, and a pull altogether the Invercargill boat seemed to leap past the winning pest, a winner by three feet. It was a fine finish. Otago were a creditable third. The winning crew were B. C. Basstian (s), J. Brown, W. J. Johnson, and D. R. Campbell. The Port boys were G. Lightbourne (s), E. Jones, J. Glengarry, and J. Collier, j The Youths' Four-oared Outrigger Race | was another fine event. Nine boats left I the starting post nicely, but soon scattered. ' Port Chalmers No. 1 (A. M 'Donald stroke, E. Nelson, J. Clark, and G. Carey) won by a fot in front of the Queen's Drive No. 2 (C. Campbell stroke, E. Perry, H. Collett, J. Colthorpe). Oamaru (third) pulled well, but with too short a stroke. In the Junior Double Sculls Race Otago No. 1, who began well, when leading by a length fouled the black buoy, broke an oar, and retired. After that the race was a kind of tame procession, Port Chalmers No. 2. (E. Athfield and A. Carey) beating Port No. 1 by a length. The steering of-the winning boat when ten lengths from' the finish was very faulty, while the rowing of the winners could be rm- j proved. The Maiden Fours was run j under less favorable conditions than the ! other events. The sea was more choppy and several craft diddled about the course. The Queen's Drive No. 1 won by half a length. The Senior Double Sculls Race was a two-boat affair, Otago Rowing Club Nos. 2 and 3 being too late in reaching the starting post. J. M'Grath and M. Priest, as Otago No. 1, took the lead quickly, and kept it, winning by two lengths in good time. Port Chalmers (J. Glengarry and J. Thomson) spurted near the finish, but could not keep the spurt alive. The Junior Fours revealed the fact that Oamaru was represented by a fine crew, who won easily by a length and a-hnlf. Otago and Port fought desperately hard for second place, which was secured by Otago by half a length. A fine race with a better finish resulted in the Maiden Pairs. North End (P. Williams and R. Fisher) deserved their win, showing gcod blade work. In the Junior Pairs Oamaru oarsmen again showed good work, winning easily by three lengths in 7min 20sec. A foot divided Otago No. 1 and Otago No. 2 for second place. The Senior Pairs Race was a splendid event, won by Invercargill (B. C. Basstian and J. Brown) by a length.and a-half in front of Otago No. 1 (J. M'Grath and J. Kerr). Following are other rowing events not previously reported : Men-o'-warsmen's Race.—Galley, 1: Cutter, 2; Pinnace, 3. All the crews werfrom the H.M.S. Pioneer. Ladies' Bracelet (gigs) :—Port ChalmeiF Rowing Club (Misses Gash, Carey; Sharpe and Simmonds) beat the Queen's Drivecrew, who did everything well, but did not win. Challenge Race.—H.M.S. Pi6neer, 1; Port Chalmers Navals, 2. This was a popular event, and the rowing of the meno'warsmen, who won by five lengths, was much appreciated. A detachment of the Dunedin Engineers attended to the submarine explosion, which banged at 4 p.m., doing deadly damage to many fishes, to the delight of seagulls and small boys. The sailing and motoring events started and finished on a line between the vessel and tho beacon on the sandbank. The means of communication with the shore were admirable, thanks to the attention of Messrs F. ;ind J. Knewstubb, whose motor boat Mas kept busy. The races were started promptly to programmed time, and | the flagboat being anchored as near ; to the wharves as practicable, the 6pecta- | tors had a good opportunity of- seeing both j the start and finish of the races. An easy ! full-sail breeze saw the first sailing race I away at 11.15 a.m., and thence continued | up till two o'clock, when the. weather threatened sulkily, and finally rained freely. The wind gradually fell away, and half-past two o'clock saw the 20ft open sailing boats struggling to get across the line when the starting gun was fired. But big racing sails hung limp for want of wind, and anchors were thrown overboard to stem the sweeping flood tide. The unballasted yachts, that had started half an hour earlier, also resorted to anchors to save the short distance they had already gone. Down, round Grassy Point the first class yachts made varying rates of progress as their white ' sails caught erratic catspaws of wind from : the adjoining hills. Trie sky away to the south-west scowled more sullenly, and at three o'clock sent along a breeze that might at any moment commence to churn the waters of the harbor into foam-crested waves. Taking it as it came, boats lifted their anchors, and yachts spun merrily down the bay. il-nd "the south-west was kindly, for its angry looks subsided, and half an hour later the wind was back to the north: east,, a fine spanking breeze, to which the

yachts spread their topsail and ewtmg„ t on£ v . their ( spinnakers on the run home. This nice breeze saw the last of the yachts (third class) finish their race a few minutes after six o'clock.' , b ' "< v -^ FIRST CLASS YACHT RACE Distance, 13X miles. First prize ,£ls, -* second >£% third £l. Matua (s£min), tune 3h 48min ... J. 1 Waimama (4min), tnne"4h , 2 Annis (lOmin), time 4h 7min ... 3 Also started: Tucana (scratch), Thelma (Bmin), Carina and Petrel (lVmin)! This was the principal sailing race of the day, and the shifty.winds were probably th» cause of the scratch boat (Tucana).not behig placed. Together with Waimanashe.got. away well at 'the start, followed closely by j Anius and Matua in that order. The .end; of the first round saw Matua 'leading,l Tucana second, and Waimana and Annis fighting it out for third place. At a quarter-' past three Matua was a quarter of a minute ahead of Tucana, but Matua got away, and finished an easy first, Tucana finishing third,. but losing it to Annis on the handicap. UNBALLASTED YACHT RACE (handi-1 cap). Distance, 6 miles. First prize ' £6, secon 1 £2, third £l. Swallow (smin), time 3h 53min 28sec ... 1 ! Ventura (smin), time. 3h 54min 30sec ... 2 Irex (smin), time 3h 55min ... ' 3 Also started: Kia Ora (3min), Revenge (4min), Iris (7min), Eileen (scratch). After the preliminary drift with the tide Ventura took the lead, followed closely by Eileen and Kia Ora. The first, round occupied three hours, then an interesting race ensued between Swallow, Eileen, Ventura, and Irex, the others being only about a minute behind. The finish was particularly good, Eileen overhauling and finishing half a length behind Swallow.. Eileen j faded to get a place, having to give smin j tj Ventura and Irex. OPEN-BOAT SAILING RACE (handicap), for boats 20ft and under., Two rounds. ' First prize £6, second £2. Ruha (30sec), time 2h 26min l' Williamina (scratcuj, time 2h 40min ... 2; Bronzewing (3imin). time 2h 44min ... 5: Also started: May (7min) and Puritana (4min). Runa had just crossed the line.! when the wind fell to a calm, and anchors , were put out. When the breeze came up, Runa immediately got away from a tide- I sheltered position near the bank. She carried the wind throughout, winning with a . good margin. Wilfiamina made a hard ' race for leading position during 'the first round. Puritana retired in the first round, her sail area being too small for the light wind. THIRD CLASS YACHT RACE (handicap). Distance, 6 miles. First prize-j £6, second £2, third £l. Nell (3min), time 2h 49min ssec 1 Waterwitch (smin), time 2h 53min 26sec 2 ,r Viking (scratch), time 2h 49min ssec ... 3 A closely-contested race throughout, Nell and Viking finishing first in a dead heat. MOTOR BOAT RACE (handicap). Dis-I tance, 9 miles. Open to motor boats over 3 h.p. not used as fishing boats. First prize £7, second £3, third £l. lolanthe (9min), time lh 21min 1 Runa (4min 15sec), time lh 20min 42sec 2 Levina (4min 15sec), time lh 21min 17sec 3 j This was a good speed-test race. The following launches also competed (their handicaps and times are appended):—Elswick (scratch), lh 18min; Toroa (2min 15sec), lh 23min 17sec; Maitai (2min 15sec), lh 21min 26sec; Phillis (4imin), lh 22min 7sec; Gertie (Bmin), lh 28min 47sec; Banshee (44min), lh 24min lOsec. ; Records were not jeopardised by the performance, but it will be noticed that the handicapping was very fair.