AQUATIC.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LI, Issue 5598, 3 February 1879, Page 6

AQUATIC.

There was a good attendance of boating men at the river side On Saturday afternoon, on which occasion it had bOen brranged tbiat a series of races should ; place bd;iqee|i crews of the Canterbury bad Union Clubs. On account of the difficulties' 1 forming some of, the crows, it was foupd necesea-iy to postpone the senior races toPeh. 15, leaving three events to be got off im Satmv day. It was late in' the afternoon, however, before a start was made, and a long Spfefl being required betweep the first and seoond events, six o’clock had amred when the junior pair-oar race was concluded j so that it wae deemed advisable to hold over the junior double-sculls. So far it cannot be Said that the laudable idea of having races between members of the two blubs’ has produced anything like good results,'the feelmg displayed partaking

too much of one another and by t^oastto accounts of doughty deeds to t»,aone» engender somewhat unpleasant _ i&litog ■ Virtually the only race on Saturday was tjxo Junior four oar, pulled over at wo mile course. The Union men pulled-in thewell-knovfn Heathcote, which is at thepresent time fitted with fixed instead of sliding seats, and splendid lines unquestionably|iad Mme effeot upon the result of the contest, J he C^ nt ® r bury Club has a new four-oann the shed, the Ilywus, and probably she would prove even match for the Heathcote.; As, however. she is fitted'up with sliding seats, she objected te. nnd the Cantejbury crew pulled in the Tamesis. In the the stroke in the Union boat had the , misfortune to carry away the wire fastening of, his outrigger within a short distance from the start, and so was placed at a disadvantage. He was game enough, however, to do his best to win, and had his companions displayed an equal amount of pluck, the issue might bave been different. It certainly, was edifying spectacle to see bow again and Mam telling his stroke to stop, because I K w ™.f D ° use trying to win, and happily the eight is not. an everyday one. Juntos- Foue-Oab Race —Canterbury v. Union Rowing Club. Two miles. union chew, heathcote, north bank.

et lb W. Mi Jujnt, bow ... ' 10 6 A. E. Hawkins, 2 ... ••• 10 0 F. D. Kesteroni 3 ... ... U 0 J. T. Smith, stroke ... ... 10 * . E. Manning,'cox ... ® “ CANTEEBtTET CBEW, TAMBSIB, SOUTH BASE. st lb ■ A. C. Nottingham, bow ... 9 0 0. B. Dodson, 2 ... ... 11.10. ' E. M. Boulton, 3 ... ... 10 9 i J. Grierson, stroke ... , ... 10 la 0. Dixon,- cox ... •>. " Upon this, event ‘an immense amount of. interest was concentrated, both crews being greatly fancied. In their respective aggregate weights there was but a difference of two pounds, and, in this , respect. therefore ' they wore very _ matched. The Canterbury crew in paddling,, displayed the best' form, but . thp, Union men were more. compactly built,, and- gave evidence of greater strength and stayin » power. A splendid start was effected by Mr J. O. Jones, both crews gripping the wttev together, but even here the Heatheojie., gained a decided advantage, Smith having, adopted a quicker stroke than Grierson, and it is probable that he was aided by the admittedly better build of the 1 Heathcote as ,a racing boat. The advantage got at the start, was more than maintained, and at Butterfields, the- first of the’series of awkward, bends, the Heathcote took the water of the; having thus a lead of a good length. By the time the Tannery had been. ■ .-the.. lead ; bad been *■, .increased to. a length and: a half, and then Grierson, in response to frantic shouts from the bank, laid back to his work with :a will, Iho effect being to materially lessen the distance between the boats.- The better state. of things, however,"’was< mot of long continuance, .and at Pratts’ it was apparent that,.bar, accident, the Union men had the race well m. hand. From this corner to the finish the pace was decidedly warm—so much! so to decidedly punish the boating men who elected to run along the banks, and many, of them had: to cry.a go. Thc.distanoe between the. boats; fluctuated from a length to a length .and ja half, until the whining post was in, sight, when the Heathcote again drew away steadily, and the Union crew won a splendidly contested rice by two lengths. The Canterbury men were certainly not disgraced by their defeat, for although they had to submit for the greater part of the distance to the disheartening effect of a stern, chase*, they never for ,a moment lost heart," .and by those who have watched any of the races, it wi'l be remembered that Grierson and Not-, tingbam are two of the pluckiest oarsmen pn the river. To the Union Club, which has the smaller membership, the result was of course extremely gratifying, and . doubtless it will prove an incentive for further trials with the Canterbury and other dubs. ■ The-result of Saturday’s contest is in a large measure due to the untiring energy displayed by Mr E. D. Petrie, the vice-commodore of the Union Olnb, in keeping his men well up to the mark. Jtjkios Paib-oab Eacb.—Canterbury y. Union Bowing Club. One and a-half mile's. CAKTEEBUEY CEKW, CAM, SOUTH BAKE. , St. lb. I E. M. Boulton, bow 10 9 J. F. Grierson, stroke 10 12 J. Laurie, cox ... ... 4 5 : t tTKIOK OEKW, SYLPH, KOBTH BAKE. ; St. lb. F. D. Eesteven,bow... ... 11 0 ■ ■ J. T. Smith, stroke ... ... 10 3 W. Woledgej cox ... ... 5 0

The Cam gained a very slight advantage at the start, and gradually drew away. After going for a comparatively short distance, thestroke of the Sylph unshipped his oar, the wire over the rowlock at the same time breaking. This, as a matter of course, gave the Cam an opportunity for making good headway, which was not lost sight of. The stroke of the Sylph tried hard to recover the lost ground, but without avail, since his efforts were not seconded, and the Cam was thus left to win by any number of lengths. '