ROWING TOTES.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 7057, 19 February 1910, Page 12

ROWING TOTES.

[By " Exjiex."] FORWARD ALL! During the now closing regatta season Wellington i-owiu;* enthusiasts have been impressed jrroatly by many examples of the truth of that saying which demands " ono thinj; at a time." At the commencement of training many were optimistic in the view th?y took of the chancos of certain crews, and it must bt eoni'essed that &onie of thc-ni went to work with a will. Then there came a period when the stroke of a crew found the pony races a- suitable diversion whei, he oufrht to have been teaching his bow man not to roll out of the boat. Crewr* had to be disbanded and remodelled at; a critical time, all because one or two I men in the combinations were either incapacitated or tired. Thus at the first of the season's regattas -local men had no condition, faults were prominent, and very little succefie was achieved. Even at the regatta held on tho harbomr ion January 15th city crews were in nearly every race hopelessly outclassed. This could- not be assigned to any inferiority of physioue, a* our men were heavier in most events. Season, after season lias none by and an ever-increasing laxity.in training has been manifest. No' longer are pijies laid aside, and seldom are crews seen doins land-work. Atone time in the Star Club it was an unwritten rule that should the weather bo unsuitable for boat work, then the stroke would take his men for a long run, euch as from the boat house to Roseneath, uiong the rkhjs to Mount Victoria, and then back to the shod. In those days voces had a fascination for all the men who took part in them, and local triumphs were frequent. This season the cry, if the -weather has proved unsuitable, has been, "O, -we'll come down in the morning." In-the morning two members of a crew of four have appeared, the remaining two having overslept .themselves. The object of thesrf remark* is- (o show to those rcsijonsiblc that unless the present state of things io remedied ' rowing, as a sport having a public interest, "must deteriorate. How many of the veterans in our midst will attend functions in . which the representatives of the institutions to which they were formerly proud to claim membership go to the wall every time? Very few, I assure you. Next year must not bo a repetition of the last one or two seasons. Crews.must understand that to attain success they will find, only one road, and that is by training and an honest endeavour to uphold the prestige of their respective clubs. j

When visiting Norton's boat-building workshop a day or two ago I learnt that ho has, now under construction a maiden double scul-1 or for the Napier Rowing 'Club, a clinker four for the same club, and a 351 b clinkor single sculler fox the Union Club (Napier). A clinker doubleseuller was built for Gisborne, but was not completed in contract time, and the club refused to take delivery, the • reßutt !>eing that the boat is for sale. i Yet another challenge, and Dick Arnet (j)niles complacently. How »nany,; more will ask the champion to beat them if he can? Some say that Wheloh will win in the coming race, while others vow that his chance, is nil. Those who saw Wholch sculling during his amateur days and against Fogwell think ° that the Southerner is a likely man. _who,i goes at top speed from start to finish. . ,

Pearce has put his money down for a. match with Arcst, and tb» general impression, so far '■■ as. can be gauged, is that this will be Arnsfe first really hard battle. .■■■•■ - ■>:. '

The final of the -Wellington Bowing Club's senior pairs was rowed off one evening recently, And resulted as follows :—■

C. Fumeas (efcr), Mathiesan (bow)... 1 S. Shilling, (stir), Cairns (bow) ... 2 Shilling got the best of tho start and lost no time in establishing .a- substantial lead, which/stood to him until halfway. Then Furncss passed him, and at the judge's boat hid a good canvas to the igood. •' At the time of writinsf ! about seven crews are in training for, the Star Boating Club Pitzsjerald fours. - Some of the strokes. had some difficulty in. getting their men to -work, : and this partly accounts for the comparatively small field. Coming' fixtures on the Wellington Rowing; Club'e programme are the club double sculls and junior single sculls. ' ■ Crews from the shine club for the Napier Regatta have done one or two good rows this week.

THE NEW. CHAMPIONSHIP COTJKSE. ',: TUB GREAT ZAMBESI RIVER.: . The course upon which the race will take place is near Livingstone, Northwest Rhodesia, and.is, we believe, within five miles, of Victoria Falls (says the "Sportsman). Mr % NickaJls, , who went out last year to organise the Zambesi Regatta, speaks highly of it, and according to " Unif undisi," who con-, tributed an article to. the." Sportsman " after that event, it is a splendid piece of water. He wrote of it as follows.:—"The finest course in the world, bat lone, seems to be the only "opinion on the subject. Those who were accustomed to judge distances on the South African coast looked across directly opposite the boat house at Long Island and said: ' Two hundred yards wide'; on consulting the surveyor they found that the truemeasure was 450 yards. The whole river at this point is about two miles wide, with many islands, but. the regatta | course was between Long Island and the North Bank.. Practising was delightful; I never any trouble about crews stopping, the course, the five boats being ■ Quite lost in the vast expanse of water."",! According to Mr Nickalls, the situation; is magnificent, as. will be understood; when it is mentioned that it is .35G0 feet I above the sea level... The stream overj which the race is to be decided runs at i 715 yards an hour, which is ab»ut as fast as Hen-ley. where, however, the crews; row againfct it. There is hotel aecnnimo-1 dation for about , 500 people. The •re- j gatta, however, will attract so many that it has been practically decided to build a huge grass hut' city to accommodate the people. The Zambesi railway direc-1 tors, too, have promised their assistance. : They have a huge siding that runs down to the water and overlooks the ! course. The company will run trains in I which the travellers will live throughout the racing. ■•.'"•, ■ I The sculling championship of the world ] is, of course, the great event, but the j International Regatta, of which it iej part, promises to be of exceptional in- j terest, ami it will not be surprising if; eights, and perhaps fours, go out from England and Europe. The British South Africa Company hope to make the event of international importance, and if everything pans out as it ia hoped, the constitution of some of the crews that will compete for the Zambesi Challenge. Cup will be most interesting. In addition to rowing, there is also to be a gymkhana. . , There are two rowing clubs on the Zambesi river near the regatta course, the Livingstone and Zambesi clubs, and we understand that the latter has excellent accommodation for both fours and eights. Coaching is somewhat difficult, owing to the width of the river. ' A launch will be engaged for Barry, but

if tho suggested towpath is made it will bo possible for a" coach " on horseback to do good work' with a megaphone. Tho regatta course last year was one and a half miles long, and each quarter was plainly marked on the north bank, l'lie championship will, howover, bo ovc<r three and a half miles. There is a hospitable club, tho Civil Service, where, doubtless, tho sport will be eagerly anticipated.