AQUATICS

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume IX, Issue 681, 26 March 1903, Page 6

AQUATICS

(By

“The Reefer.”)

Tlie Auckland Swimming Club will bring off sports next Saturday in the Auckland Graving Dock. There should be a bumper attendance.

r rhe attendance at the Northern Swimming Club’s sports is estimated at three thousand persons for the two nights. A very handsome profit was made, which is to be entirely devoted to fostering swimming in Auckland. Bravo '.

The same club will hold their championship meeting on Saturday, April 4, in the big Calliope Dock. A number of outside competitors will tave part in this, including Hamilton, of Greymouth, the plunge champion, R. Roberts and T. Smith, of Wellington, and two representatives from Christchurch.

Tn the race last week in Wellington for Admiral Fanshawe’s Cup some thirty service boats competed. As was generally expected, H.M.s. Archer’s whaler, sailed by Captain Rolleston, was first home, but on this occasion was unable to save her time from H.M.s. Lizard’s whaler, steered by Captain Glossop. The Royal Arthur’s pinnace, sailed by Lieutenant Oliver, just beat the same ship’s launch, which had Captain Lumsden at the tiller, for third place. The Archer’s whaler has already won Lady Brassey’s Cup and Admiral Beaumont’s Cup.

During the rowing season, brought to a close by the Ngaruawahia Regatta, the Waitemata Boating Club’s heavy-weight maiden crew have won every race in which they started, nine wins being placed to their credit, including the Champion Maiden Fours at the New Zealand Championship Regatta, held at Wanganui, and the Maiden Race at the Wellington Regatta last month.

A cable states that the owners have? decided to christen the America Cup defender Reliance. It is certainly a much better plan giving a >ew b°at a new name, instead of ado niu.g the numerical style of nomenclature so common with the English challengers, which shows such an utter lack of originality, m addition to being very confusing. What a he st of names Hit through one'--’ memory v-hen writing of a new defender of the muchcoveted Cup. Magic, Sappho, Madeleine, Mischief, Puritan, Mayflower, Volunteer, Vigilant, Defender, and Columbia, one and all managed to defeat the long array of challengers. Will the name of Reliance be added to the list ?

A number of the best known professional oarsmen have been giving their opinion lately about the respective merits of long and short sculling boats. Peter Kemp had no doubt as to the superiority of the short boat, and in support of his contention mentioned that whilst he was working with George Towns they used to take turn about in the long and short boats and have contests, but in., every trial the user of the. short boat won ; thus proving conclusively to hia mind that the short boat was the faster. George Towns, the Champion of the World, gave much the same opinion. Bill Beach, whilst admitting that he must bow to the opinion of those who sung the praises of the short boat from the fact that he had never tried one, could not understand why ,if it was so .much better than the long boat, faster time was not made in it. In the race between Tressider and Pearce the first mile took 6min. 2sec. in the short boat, whilst in the old style he had done the distance in--smin. 46sec. He put the question : <f If , these short boats are faster, why is not better time made ? Was it that the rowers of the old days were greater oarsmen than the new men with their supposed faster boats. Chris. Neilsen, who originated the idea of the stump outrigger,, was very emphatic on the point that he had no shadow of doubt as to the speed of the two classes of boat. I remember very well seeing Neilsen make his appearance in the first boat of the new type seen on the Parramatta River. The wiseacres on the launch which I happened to be a passenger by were fairly unanimous in condemning the innovation, but Neilsen soon demonstrated that the short boat had come to stay.

Promptly to time Sir Thomas Lipton’s big cutter, which is to again try and Wrest the America Cup from the New York Yacht ( lub, has been launched at Belfast, appropriately enough on StPatrick’s Bay. The cable announcing the fact states that extraordinary enthusiasm was shown when Shamrock 111. first took to the water. The ninety-footer carries the burgee of the Royal Ulster Yacht Club, which has backed Sir Thomas Lipton’s challenge, so that it is only fitting that she should have been built at Belfast. It is easy to realise that the occasion would be made a red letter day at Messrs Harland and Wolfe's huge shipbuilding works, on Queen's Island, and Irishmen to a man will wish for the success of the Shamrock in her coming trials of speed against the New ¥on< ehampicn.

Bad luck was experienced by the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron with its ocean race for the Gascoigne Cup. The wind was of an exceedingly light nature, and interest speedily died out of the contest. This can scarcely be wondered at, when the event took over nine hours to decide, the start being effected at 2 p.m., and the first boat to finish not crossing till seven minutes past eleven o'clock. At the Heads, the Fleetwing was slightly ahead of the others, but now the wind died away. Managing to get a fluke, Scotia soon afterwards assumed the lead, but changes in the leading position were frequent, and darkness setting in, all interest was lost in the event. The officials, however, waited patiently for the yachts to come home, and, after much waiting, they saw Petrel cross at llhr 7min, Culwulla at llhr 25min, and Heather at llhr 33min 24sec. Petrel easily won without her time allowance, and thus secures the cup for the second year in succession. Before the trophy can become the property of any one yacht it has to be won three times in succession. The three placed yachts were all built by the Logan Bros., of Auckland, from practically the same design.

The Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron intend holding a yacht handling competition, and also one for life-saving on Saturday. In the former the yachts will be at anchor, and will then have to weigh and make all plain sail and make for a mark, then close reef and change jibs’, then shake out reefs and set all possible running canvas, and finally take in sail and bring up. Points are to be given for each task, and the yacht scoring the biggest aggregate will take the prize. The Commodore’s yacht Ida is a strong fancy for this, and should about win. In the life-saving competition the yachts must be under-weigh, when a dummy will be dropped overboard. Yachts must then be hove to, dingeys be unlashed and launched, the dummy picked up and brought back, and the dingey hoisted on board. The crew doing this in the quickest time will be awarded the prize. The competitions should prove highly interesting, but the judges are likely to have a very difficult task.

The 440yds swimming championship resulted as follows:—Cavill (New Somh Wales. 1; Craig (New South Waten) 2; Hamilton (New Z f, a'aT d), 3. Won easily by 20yds. here b ing a sia ilar distance between the second md third im«- smin 49 4 ssec . The plunging < h-mpion ship r suited as follows: — Hamilton (N w Z.alund i 58ft. lljin ; Colct ugh (Qu «n-i M), Efi lOjin.; Brett (Queensland), sbfr. 3in Tn addition to winning the Quartermile Championship. R. Cavill also won the One Mile and 100 Yards' Championships at Brisbane. In the former the New Zealander, Hamilton, was the only other man to finish, being only two yards behind the Sydney crack. * * * * Nineteen vessels were entered for the eighth general handicap of the Manukau Yacht Club, and another capital race was the result. Maka Maile sailing 1 from scratch gradually went through the fleet, and eventually 7 crossed the line over a m'inute ahead of Elsie, with Pretoria. Mascotte, and Elsie next in order. As a result of this race Maka Maile has displaced Ladysmith for leading position in points for the handicap cup. having fortynine points to her credit, while Ladysmith has forty-seven points, and the Malua lies third with forty points. There are two more races to be sailed counting for the cup, and some very 7 interesting racing- should result.

| The North Shore Yacht Cluo Bailed oft' the final handicap on Saturday for. Mr J enny’s silver cup. The entries and handicaps were as follows:—Volunteer scratch, Ida min, Ladye Wilma 12min, Spray 19mm, Matua 20min, Janet 21min, Wairere 21min, Corinna 22min, Peri 23min, Tangaroa 29min, Wareho 31min, Tuna 33min, Ofa 34min, 40min, Rewi 42min, Colleen 48min, Asta 55min, Icarus 55min, Melba 55min, Waratah 55min. Spray, Corinna, Peri, Tangaroa, and Wareho did not 1 -tart. With a nice southerly breeze, Volunteer .vas soon at the head of affairs and, although badly handicapped by her draught, which com--7 pelled the big yawl to keep out in the strong tide while the others worked the shore, she steadily opened out her lead all the afternoon, and eventually crossed the line Bmin ahead of da, which was followed home at short intervals bv Ladye Wilma, Wairere, Matua, Janet, and Tuna On time allowance prizes fall to Wai--4 rare, Matua, Tuna and Janet. i ' .; V * * * * J Mr S. Hordern, iunr., owner of White I Vvings, who was over here some four rea- - sons back with the half-rater Bronzewfng, ! arrived on Monday morning by the Waij kare from Sydney. He is accompanied by ' his wife and Mr J. See, .iunr., a son of • the New South Wales State Minister. The ■ party 7 intend leaving for Rotorua on Friday, and journeying down the Wanganui ; River, and will return home via the Bluff , and Hobart.