AQUATICS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 11056, 6 May 1899, Page 7

AQUATICS.

The weather on Saturday last was very favourable foi cruising, and a largo number of yachts were away, the majority making for Waiheke. Already a number of yachts liavo gono out of commission, and now that the weather appears to have broken, another week will probably see the fleet in winter quarters. Rainbow returned on Tuesday night, after a three weeks' cruise to the North. The yacht went as far as Taipa, Mangouui, calling in at various places along the coast. On the whole tha weather proved favourable, and Mr. Pittar and his mate had a very enjoyable time of it. The report by cable of tho sculling race, over tho championship course, between Barry of Putney, and Towns of Newcastle, New South Wales, published on Wednesday, announcing tho victory of the colonial, was read with much interost by local rowing men. The raco appears to have been a great "go," and when the full details of tho contest arrive, they should be interesting reading. The citizens of Towns' native city, who wore instrumental in sending tho young follow to the Old Country, should fool exceedingly proud of his latest achievement, as no doubt they are. Tho Auckland-built one-rater Alercia, now owned in Sydney, treated her owner and crew to an unexpected bath on Good Friday (says the Australian Yachtsman and Canoeist). A puff struck her suddenly, and sho was over boforo they knew where they were. It is peculiar (the same paper adds) how these boats, which, under ordinary circumstances, seem uucapsizable, take it into their heads to surpriso everyone and capsize. Now, as a maltor of fact, nearly every one of these raters has had a capsize somo day or other, the only exceptions being liva. Question, and Lark. With tho exception of Question, all this season's new rater: have had a tip up. Mr. K. S. Palmer, a well-known American yachtsman, and former owner of the big Yankee schooner Yampa, which he raced at Cones live yoars ago against the English cracks, died in America last month. Tho Yampa was, in 1897, sold to the German Emperor, and is now known as the Iduna. Mr. Palmer, who was very fond of the sea, spent a good deal of his time cruising, and was one of the syndicate which built tho Puritan in 1893 to defond the America Cup. He served as a volunteer on hoard St. Louis during the recent Spanish-American ■ war, becoming seriously ill while serving, and never recovered. Tho Britannia, tho most famous racing cutter ever built, is to come under the hammer this month. The Britannia has not raced since 1897. The Prince of Wales sold her to -Mr. E. T. Hooley two years ago for over £10,000. In turn, tho famous cut tor became tho property of Mr. J. Lswson Johnston (of Bovril fame), who shortly afterwards reso'.d her to Mr. Hooley. Mr. Martin D. f Ruckcr was the next owner of the boat, and i he, without fitting her out, parted with her to Mr. Daniel Cooper, oi Newmarket, who, I having bought the Verona ( big schooner) for i cruising purposes, has decided to place the ; vessel in tho hands of Messrs. Marvin, of , Cowes, to sell hoi by auction to the highest j bidder. The Britannia has still a future bofore her. Altered to yawl-rig, and olaimmg the Yacht Racing Association allowance to which she would he entitled, the Prince of Wales' old racing cutter should be still well able to hold hor own with tho most modern boats. . This is apparently the age of yachting records, and the Clyde is certainly getting a fair share of them. At Meadowsdo we have building at presont (says the Clyde correspondent of the Yachting World), fo. Mi. James Coats, and to designs by Mr. O. L. Watson, the largest sailing yacht m tho world, and now it is is stated that another : record will bo made with the steam yacht , ordered by Mr. Georgo Gordon Bennett, at New York. This yacht, also designed by Mr. G. L. "atsoil, will bo, when completed, the largest private yacht evor built, and will be second in size only to tho Livadia, built at Go van in 1880 for the Czar of Russia, at a cost of over £500,000 sterling. It is not in size alone that the new boat of Mr. Gordon Bennett will be interesting, for it is said that in designing her Mr. Watson has given the nrst indication of what may turn out to be another revolution in yacht-designing. olio i will be 10ft "longer than the handsome pair of 1800-ton boats built for Messrs. Robert and Ogden Goelet, and will have considerably more beam. One of the minor departures from the popular form will bo that nor stem will he straight, and, notwithstanding her great size, she will have only one mast. Her engines will bo of the four-crank type, and of exceptional powei, for Mi, Gordon Bennett has an idea of establishing a yachting trans-Atlantic record. , A Toronto correspondent states tfliH W' B celebrated Argonaut Rowing Club ha decided to enter fo« the Diamond Sculls, and for Stewards' Challenge Cup at next Henley Those who allege that modern sliding always destroys that neatness of body-aotion which was seen in the best oars in fixed seat?, will find, says Mr, Woodgate.in the M. James' Budget, a negative to this theory in this year's Cantab crew. Several of the bodies were as flat, square, and shape those of old fixed-seat cracks of 27 years ago, and there was not one really unoouth tram or bad worker ip the whole of the eight.. JjYNX« i