AQUATICS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 10594, 8 November 1897, Page 3

AQUATICS.

- WEST END ROWING CLUB. The first. "At Home" of the season . of the above club was .'.held ,on Sat- j urday, when 1 ' members ' received their ; friends. Though the weather was none too , favourable,' there was a large attendance, it ! being estimated that there were close on 1003 , people who availed themselves of the club's ■ invitations. ' The hospitality of West End is proverbial, and Saturday proved no excep- , tion,-the. large number of guests being 1 waited , 011 In a manner quite astonishing to , any not acquainted with the manner in which ' the function was managed. The tables were 1 presided over by a number of ladies, and each . member of the club not engaged in ; rowing seemed to vie with the others in doing 1 his part to make the "At Home" a'success, and thus it was that from start to finish both the social and aquatic portions of the day's programme were earned out in a manner ,; that > reflected * the greatest credit ; on all concerned, from tho captain : of the club down to the last new member. The whole of the capacious boathouse' both upstairs and down was thrown open to visitors, ; afternoon tea and refreshments being dispensed on both floors, and even carried all along tho beach; where seating accommodation was provided for the ladies_ who preferred the beach to the club's premises. . ■ Mr. D. 15. McDonald (vice-president) officiated as judge, a position which proved no light one, as 011 Saturday the final race was one of the finest finishes ever seen, only five feet separating the three boats, but the judge's decisions in all cases gave every satisfaction to all parties. Mr. R. Logan (of Logan Brothers) acted as starter, and also provided the starter's boat, the Despatch, and all the crews were got away evenly. The sea was very lumpy for the first two races, a nasty swell interfering considerably with the : boats, but there was no mishap from start to finish with any of the contestants, each race being won on its merits. The first race brought out three crews, stroked respectively by G. 0. Stephenson, J. Maxwell, and A.-Wright, Stevenson made a mistake in keeping too far out, in the heavy sea, it being much smoother in shore, but he made a good race of it. One of Maxwell's crew bad been on the sick list for tho week, which .interfered somewhat with the chances, but up till half the journey all three.:boata v :kept.,well, together. _ When the shelter of ? the Orphanage Point had been'reached' Wright made v his effort, and . brought his crew to the front, and , despite the efforts of the other two crews lie • won a victory of a length and a-half, having .rowed an almost perfect race. ■ ; Two crews competed in the, second race, , being stroked by Messrs.' Bailey and Conway respectively. i Bailey's crew were slightly the • - favourites, but Conway's crew gave them a I 1 great .tusslfi'for it, being beaten juSt at the . finish by three-quarters a length. : -In tho third race, Young's, four proved too I good for Matthew's, ■' > • '■ A spell of half an hour was given before the, final to give. Young's crew a rest, and . just before five p.m. the three \vinncrs of the I second round-Wright, Bailey, and , tfouug, came .'out for the final, tho : spectators ap- . plauding each crow as they, got into their respective boats. Mr. R. Logan got\them , away lo a beautiful start, and it was' at once observed by all on the Despatch that the race was to bo an extraordinarily exciting one, and so it proved. It seemed impossible ! for any one of the three crewa to obtain a J lead, each man in hi^ respective crew strainin" every nerve. .'The excitement round the ' boathouse was intense. " Bailey wins 1" I " Young's crew !" " No, Wright 1' and first one and then another crow was expected. As ' they crossed the line Bailey just got a stroke in before Young, and lauded his crew wiu--1 hersi' by two feet, Wright's quartette . being only three feet ■ behind Young's. As the ; . three crews came to the J beach they received quite an ovation, the spectators sending up cheer after cheer, and i when it became apparent that the contestants I came for the judge's decision—being quite ignorant of the result themselves—tho apj plause became more pronounced, and the ■ losing crews joined in cheering Bailey's four. - Tho three crews were as follow :—(1) Bailey, I H. Adams, P. Booth, F. Munro, C. Hughes (cox.); (2) F. Young, C. Stephenson,' A. Richmond, W. Bigelow, and George (cox.); (3) Alex. Wright. P. H. Hughes, A. ■ Bond, L. Graham, and Dawson Hanna (cox.). ' The boats were immediately housed, and the ; captain of , the Club, in a short, neat speech, i thanked the prize-givers, Mr. T. Peacock, patron, for binoculars, which Bailey's crew 1 won; and Professor Carrollo, for gold-centred ' medals, won by Young's crew. He also moved a vote of thanks to Mr. D. B, Mc--1 Donald, judge, and Mr. R. Lojan, starter, 1 and 'to the lady friends ■ who had assisted in dispensing the Club's hospi--1 tality. West End, the captain said, would ',- enter < crews < for-- all - tho . gig,,' races ' at the forthcoming Ponsonby Regatta, and in | addition the clnb will also be represented at 1 the floral fete, to he held on the 27th instant. ' Mr. Clark thanked the many friends pre- < sent for their kindly interest, and trusted ' that they would all continue d maintain it in the doings of the club during the coming season. , '-' - 'V ' The Newton Baud discoursed a number of choice selections during the afternoon. ; ! ■ ' ST. GEORGE'S ROWING CLUB'S • ; "AT HOME," - ; - Judging by the success attending the social ' function • promoted ■ by; the St. George's ' Rowing Club on Saturday, and the . interest taken in the heats of , the, trial fours, the 1 club should have a prosperous season. The ' completeness of the arrangements, the large j attendance of.those- to whom invitations 5 had been' issued, the pleasant situation of I the boating sheds (gaily decorated with' f bunting), and , the animated appearance which the beach presented, all tended to make the afternoon a thoroughly enjoyable one. : Mrs. Street very kindly threw open the lower > part of the handsome grounds of" Birtley," 1 and those present availed themselves of the ! seats erected on the grassy slopes, from which 1 a'' splendid view of. the -harbour, and the 1 finishes of the racing events was obtained. ■ The commodore of tho club (Mr. Seymour ■ Thorno George) was present, as also were • other prominent officers of the- club. .The • captain (Mr. A. McHardy), secretary (Mr. J. ! S. Laing) , and committee, did all that 'was ' possible to' ensure .the comfort of those > present, Messrs. Laing and M.' Phillips' being • indefatigable in their efforts to promote the success of the "At Home." ' Members of the > Waitomata, West End, Auckland; and North X Shore clubs p were present. The Newton • Brass Band, under Conductor Trnssell,' dis- •• coursed enjoyable : music during ' the y after- ! noon, and afternoon tea was handed round > to the ladies and gentlemen present. | Heats • of the trial fours for, trophies presented by • Commodore George were decided. In the » first heat the competing crews were: Niohol- > son (stroke), Atkinson, Kissling, Sutton, and « Buchanan (stroke), : Carter, i Murray,Vi aud 3 George.' ;- Nicholson's § crew J; pulled s. well, ' maintaining a '/strong - even ( stroke to t the 1 finish; -and 'won' rather easily. ..-Inthe '> second % heat "the contesting i crews were ?: Thompson (stroke), Dunnage, Craig, and G. > George, and I Jcrvis (stroke), Murray; Hay, b and Littlejohnr. There was every indication c of an excellent finish being fought out wheu b the bow of Jervis'crew broke his stretcher, , and thus spoiled whatever chance hey had ; of winning. ■; The | crews in the • third - heat a were; Whitley (stroke), Gordon, 5 Davis, and , and MoHardy (stroke),' McGill, i Edgcumbe.'andißennell.ft'A good race en- ! sued,-<but, the captain's crew asserted, their • superiority' and ' secured - the ■ verdict. The • semi-final was contested by the crews stroked 3 by Thompson and " Nicholson > respectively, , and won tby ? the j former. The j final v heat i, .between - McHardy i and Thompson's Screws ;T will be decided during the week,