AQUATICS.

Otago Witness, Issue 1762, 29 August 1885, Page 21

AQUATICS.

Under the heading " Balm for Hanlan," the N.Y. Clipper writes : — The Australians could hardly have treated Ed. Hanlan better than they did had he come out winner of his matches with Beach. Here is what he*said while showing a St. Louis reporter some of the contents of his strong-boxes. It is .at least entertaining reading : This ring, which has twenty-four halfcarat diamonds and five large rubies, was presented to Mrs Hanlan, by a wealthy squatter and sheep-raiser near Sydney. ' Here's another ring, with twenty good-sized diamonds of the first water and alavge sapphire, given to me by citizens of Sydney. This pearl-studtled bracelet is a present to Mrs Hanlan from the Mercantile Rowing Club of Melbourne, and here's a horseshoe diamond-pin and a pair of solitaire diamond sleeve-buttons, presented to me by the crew of the United States steamer Iroquois. I have a number of other presents given me by citizens of Australia packed away that surpass these in magnificence and value. Now, all of these gifts were received by me after my defeat by Beach, and for that reason I value them very highly, as being testimonials to Edward Hanlan personally, and not to the champion oarsman. You have doubtless heard that after the race a purse of £600 was raised for mej and one of £3000 for Beach. I like the Australians, and I will make my return trip there in about eighteen months from now and when I do go I would like to take feur of the representative oarsmen of this country with me, to show the people out there what pairoared and four-oared rowing is. There . are plenty of good men there, and we can get a race for almost any sum from £2000 to £4000 out of them. Gaudaur, Teemer, and Ross are three of the men I would like to have go. I haven't selected the fourth yet. If we could arrange for a four-oared, two pair-oared, and four single races I think that we could carry off most of , the honours and a considerable sum of money. ' In the eighteen months that I was in Australia I cleared something like £6000 over and above everything, and considering that I lost my biggest race, I rather imagine that a neat suin.'f^ • It is reported that , Teemer's majich with Hanlan has fallen through, and, that the former is coming to Australia to row Beach.

The New York Tribune of July 29 says of the coming race for the American Cup :— " It is known that nearly 200,000d01 0f American money is staked at odds on the English yacht Genesta, thelargerpart being by members of the New York Yacht Club. Amember of that club said recently, ' I have laid -1280 at 2 to 1 on the Genesta.' • A review of facts as they leaked out are not reassuring to those who hope to retain the cup on this side of the water. Not only is the visiting craft the best all-weather boat in Great Britain, where dangerous rivals are plentiful, but she is a racer from the tip of her top-mast to the bottom of her keel. She has 17 sails for all possible contingencies, and her crew is the pick of all England. Capt. Webb has taken no chances in that respect. His arrangements are like so much machinery in which every man has a definite place, and I hear the captain offers to prove he can make the most radical changes of rig in three minutes. , All these considerations are inducing a wide belief that a struggle for the possession of the great cup will take place, sueh 1 as has never before been known in the history, of thosecontests. All American hopes are stakedon two new vessels, for it has been definitely settled as prophesied weeks asn, that the trial races would be between the Priscilla and the Puritan only."