AQUATIC NOTES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5768, 12 January 1897, Page 4

AQUATIC NOTES.

4 [By Jason in " Canterbury Times".] A high wind, which made the water very lumpy inside the moles at Lyttelton on New Year's Day, militated somewhat against the success of the 1897 regatta. The crews occupying the outside positions had all the worst ot the bargain, for though assisted by the wind in the run down to the turning buoys, this did not in any way compensate for the disadvantages experienced on the home journey. In only one instance did a crew win from the outside position, in the Junior Pairs; though Akaroa. won the Maiden Double Sculls from No. 6 position, and rowed second in the Maiden Pairs from the same flag, and Lyttelton finished second from No. 5 position in the Youths' Pairs. Akaroa had the best of the luck in drawing for places, securing inside position twice and No. 2 a similar number of times; V.M.C.A. were very unfortunate, for out of five entries, they drew outside position four times, and next to last in the other event, The excui-sion steamer nuisance, always prominent, was more conspicuous than ever, the Avon crew in the Junior Pairs being all but run down ; while sailing and row boats were constantly on the course, in one of the events a small boat getting mixed up with crews at the turn. This sort of thing, it appears, cannot be avoided, as there is no law to prevent any class of boat meandering around if it cliooes to do so ; but it is to be regretted that those in charge do not exercise more caution in their movements, and show a greater amount of consideration for the officials and also for the competitors. Under the prevailing conditions, satisfactoi'y starting was rather difficult, but despite this in the majority of the events the crews were got off well together. In the Maiden Pairs, the surprise packet was Timaru. The crew competed unsuccessfully at Akaroa, but in the interim had considerably improved, and, favoured by inside position secured a strong lead at i half a mile, despite the erratic steering of i the coxswain, whose manoeuvres led to a ! slight foul with Canterbury shortly after j the start. It was rather an easy win, i though Akaroa, to my mind, under different circumstances is a slightly superior crew. Wairewa improved upon the little ! River performance, but the Lytfcelton lads, | the Webb Brothers, had no earthly chance ; in such water and against the wind. Union i died away in the last quarter, owing to , lack of condition, while Canterbury seemed i completely disorganised by the too pressing 1 attentions of Timaru, who, in addition to '•■ causing tb,e foul previously mentioned, | twice crossed Canterbury. The protest ! entered by the latter crew was dismissed, ' mainly on the ground that the foul had : no bearing upon the result, and while this may have been so, it would be instructive ] to learn where the referees secured inforl mation sound enough to justify their conJ elusion. I doubt if either gentleman had ' previously this season witnessed any races, , and I question if either knew anything at all about the merits of the various crews , engaged, therefore there are solid reasons ; for doubting the fairness of the decision. ! Despite the evidence tendered by the two i starters, I shall always maintain that i Timaru's action (produced by the i cox), should have led to their dis- : qualification, and that Akaroa, Wai- ! rewa, and Canterbury should have rowed off for the prizes, under Section C of Rule 13 of the Laws of Boat-racing. I saw clearly what transpired, and it is unquestionable that whatever chance Cani terbxiry had was seriously interfered with lin the first quarter-mile. In the Maiden j Double Sculls the positions were reversed, i for Akaroa won comfortably, despite their I bad position, from Timaru, who beat Union !by a foot or two. Union rowed with much | better judgment than in the Pairs, and had the benefit of inside position. ! Lyttelton gave a good display, and so did 1 Young Men's Christian Association, but j Wairewa, after their splendid racing at j Little River, were very disappointing, this | being due, I should say, to the state of the ! water. Taken all round, the Wairewa representatives were below expectations, and I can only ascribe their poor performj ances to the fact that they unable to do justice to themselves under the conditions that ruled. The Senior races were repetitions of what was seen at Little River, except that in the j Pairs Wairewa led all the way. Union j had a good chance to defeat their rivals as, ; Chapman was far from well — in fact, he j was compelled to scratch for his other | engagements, and in the Double Sculls, I Reed went stroke and M'Manus bow— but ! let the opportunity slip by, carelessness in igging their boat by putting a stroke rigger on the bow side being but one of | the factors that assisted in their defeat. Chapman deserves great credit for his ! game rowing under the handicap of a very j severe cold, and it is questionable even if I nothing had gone wrong whether Union could have defeated him. To my j mind there is not a great deal between the i two crews, Wairewa having the pull in the [Pairs and Union in the Double Sculls. ! Samuels won the Single Sculls very easily. In the Junior Pairs Union won from the outside position, and, remembering what a , handicap that was, the victory was well I deserved. They had a bit of luck at the start, for they were let away over a ength in front of the others, and this was | really the only bad start of the day. Avon had their chance completely ruined by a steamer which backed out from the wharf nearest the starting flags just as Mr Johnson let the men away^ The crew had the sympathies of all who witnessed the ; occurrence, but, after all, that was very ! empty satisfaction, for it neither restored i to the crew the ground they lost nor returned the entrance money to the club. , The crew lodged an objection, which, :of course, could not be entertained, for Avon's fate is what has ito be risked when> rowing in Lyttelton on New Year's Day. Much to | everyone's surprise Canterbury gained i second place, and a good second too, just \ squeezing home in front of Wairewa. Canterbury had a good position, and must i be better at oar work than with the sculls, ' as from the same position in the Maiden j Double Sculls they were badly beaten. I Timaru's poor position may have been ! accounted for from the fact that just j previously they had rowed in the Maiden Pairs. Akaroa again demonstrated their superiority in the Youths' Pairs and Double j Sculls, winning the former rather easily I and tlie latter in a canter, owing in a | measure to their strongest opponents — I Lyttelton — being put completely out of the hunt by the stupidity of the V.M.C.A. coxswain, who sent his boat at the wrong turning buoy. Cure dropping out doubtless had something to do with this, but the lad, by steering to third position when he should have been at fifth, seemingly indicated chat he was completely muddled. This was a case in which a protest should have been lodged, for Lyttelton's performances indicated a sure second. At the time of the foul Akaroa were half turned and Wairewa several lengths from their buoy, and apparently clean out of it- .therefore, as Lyttelton's chance Avas quite as good as Akaroa's, and remembering their previous performances this season, the crew were much to blame for not endeavouring to have the race rowed over again. In the Single Sculls Akaroa's first string, Hemingway, not only was badly beaten by the Lyttelton representative, Sinclair, but also went down before his club mate. The Akaroa Club headed the list of winning clubs, and the success of its representatives this season is highly pleasing to all those who are able to look a little beyond their own club, for it means the maintenance of an enthusiasm which only success can awaken into life, and is calculated to act as a stimulus to other small clubs. The prize winners wore as follows :— Akaroa £-±7, Union M~i, Wairewa £17, Timaru £11, Lyttelton *(i, Canterbury .£3.