THE HANLAN—BEACH CONTEST.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 4553, 25 November 1887, Page 3

THE HANLAN—BEACH CONTEST.

(By Telegraph.) I (Per s.s. Hauroto at Wellington.) J Sydney, Nov. 19, Referring to the Beach—Hanlan match, the Sydney Morning Herald gives the following :—At an informal gathering, held in Beach’s sitting room tho other evening, the conversation turned upon the race. Hanlan, who was present in the Champion’s cosy quarters, expressed the opinion that tho contest ought to prove the most exciting of its kind ever seen in or out of the colonies. Said he, It will be a fair and honest struggle, and I hope the best man will win.” These sentiments were heartily endorsed by all present, including Messrs Kemp, Perkins, Brett, and T. R. Smith. Beach also coincided with what had been said by his rival, and stated he thought it would be a downright hard battle for the supremacy. If all goes well, and the scullers are as lit for the contest as they are at present, the race should be a grand one and exciting in the extreme. It will be a contest between two of the greatest rowing men of tho century, and the struggle will be more than ordinarily interesting, owing to the fact that the competitors are straining every nerve and repairing every muscle for the great race. Hanlan says he never trained for a tace in ■which tho movements of the scullers were so accurately and successfuly chronicled by the Press as on this occasion. On being questioned with regard to the chances of winning, Beach said quietly, “I feel more confident that I can win this race than I did about any race in my life.” The champion also stated that ho believed he could row over the Nepean course as fast, or faster, than Hanlan. He expresses the opinion that he can'row the championship course in 21min. Beach, who has won laurels on the Paramatta, and on the bosom of Old Father Thames, thinks the Nepean course is the finest he has ever seen, and Hanlan, the Toronto sculler, who is no mean authority upon such matters, considers that the Nepean champion course is the finest and the fairest in the world, and yet very few residents in this Colony know the Nepean is tideless, or nearly so, and as a rule, its waters are clear and calm. In fact, in this latter respect it closely resembles a landlocked lake. The course itself is a magnificent one, From the starting point it runs in a north-easterly direction, about two miles and a half of the entire distance. The exact length of the course is three miles and a quarter, being perfectly straight. When there is plenty of water in the river, no better place could be found in any part of the world on which to row a race in wager boats At the starting point the Nepean is about 300 yards wide, but lower down towards the railway bridge it is more than 350 yards in width.