FINISHING TIMES CLOSE IN BOAT RACE AT FOXTON

Wanganui Chronicle, 30 December 1947, Page 2

FINISHING TIMES CLOSE IN BOAT RACE AT FOXTON

.. Palmerston N-, Dec. 28. lhe Manawatu Boating Club's race down the Manawatu River from Palmerston North to Foxton was completed yesterday afternoon The winning boat, that of A. R. and 1.. C. rates, J. Hornblow and O. K. Mitchell, a 19ft. flat-bottom dinghy completed the course in lOhrs. 46min’. Ihe second leg from Shannon took 4 hrs. 9min. The second boat, R. E. Todd end C. Carters 12ft. flat-bottom craft, did the second part of the journey In the same time. However, the winning boat had completed the first stage in 13min. less lime. A strong north-westerly wind made conditions difficult for all competitors. In the morning waves from six to seven feet high rolled across the straight stretches of the river. Officials of the club inspected the river, and called for a show of hands from the competitors about whether they could continue from Shannon. It was decided unanimously to complete the race. I The first boat left Shannon at 10.30 a.m., and the remaining seven at onemirtUte intervals. The canvas canoe of Cousins and Waterson was holed | seven times before reaching Shannon; it was patched en route. i All competitors hugged the banks, and found difficulty in negotiating the bends, because of the wind. Nicholson and Butcher found their clinker-built dinghy unsuitable for the trip, and retired from the race at the Whirokino bridge REFRESHMENT PROVIDED. ' More than 30 cars were parked at I the Whirokino bridge to see the contestants pass. A bottle of refreshIment and a leg of duck were passed Ito B. Short and R. Evans, who made the trip in a surf ski. By the time the boats reached the Whirokino cutting, where the waves had been particularly high, conditions were not so difficult as in the morning, but a heavy swell still persisted. Cousins and Waterson provided the large crowd at the finishing point with some amusement. One of the occupants of the canoe jumped over the side, evidently thinking that the water was shallow, and momentarily disappeared. The others who completed the course finished in the following order: J. and C. Dansby Scott, 12ft. flalbottomed boat, 12hrs. 26min ; Cousins and Waterson, canoe, 14hrs. 31min.; K. Malcolm and K. Mew, canoe, 15hrs. 9min.; B. Dalzell, J. Seal’s, and A. Clarke, 13ft. flat-bottom boat, 15hrs. 16min.