AQUATICS.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XIII, Issue 800, 6 July 1905, Page 13

AQUATICS.

(By

"The Reefer.”)

There is not much doing in Auckland in the aquatic line just now, although all the builders are busy. The pleasure fleet is hauled up for the winter, the only vessels afloat being a few motor launches.

It was unfortunate that the mile championship in England should come on for decision so soon after young Keran’s airival in the Old Country. The Sobraon lad could not have been in condition to last out so long a race, but he led Billington for over half the distance.

Then the latter overhauled him and won by 50 yards, doing the journey in 24min 42sec. It is said there were 79,000 people at Highgate Ponds to witness the race. The time for the mile ‘s aii English record.

Miss Kellerman, the Australian lady champion swimmer, has lost no time in getting to work in England. On Saturday she is reported to have swum from Putney to Blackwall, 13| miles, in 3hr 54min 16sec.

Tom Sullivan’s sculling match with Eddie Droman is now assured, the latter having sent over from Canada the articles of agreement duly signed, and Tom having affixed his signature and deposited £loo——half his stake—with the editor, of the “ Sportsman.” The match will be rowed in Toronto Bay on August 23, the distance three miles with a turn, and Sullivan receives £5O allowance for expenses. He will sail from England on July 20.

A cable from Vancouver, in a recent English paper, stated that George Towns has replied to a proposal to meet Stanbury or Durnan, or both, on the Fraser River during the Dominion fair at New

Westminster, in the autumn, that he is willing to arrange such an event. His reply contains a challenge from himself and Stanbury to all-comers foi' the double-sculling championship. The “ World” says that the Barry brothers, of England, are ready to take up such a challenge.

The construction of the new yacht for King Edward VII., designs for which were invited from private firms, is to be undertaken by the well-known yacht builders, Messrs. A. and J. Inglis, of Glasgow. This new vessel is primarily intended for short cruises and entrance to harbours of comparatively shallow draught. The yacht willmeasure 285 ft in length and 40ft beam, and be of 2000 tons. A noticeable feature of the vessel is that it is to be propelled by Parsons marine turbines, which will be arranged in the orthodox manner, with one highpressure turbine in the centre, and a low-pressure turbine on either side. A cruising speed of 17 knots is anticipated, with an astern speed of 13 knots. Steam is to be raised in a battery of cylindrical boilers.

The two new 52-footers Britomarte and Sonya are attracting a good deal of attention in British waters. The former

was built by Mylne, of Dumbarton, and the latter by Herreshoff. Britomarte is regarded as a “ middle weather” boat, and Sonya as likely to prove most successful in light weather. It will be interesting to see how these boats fare when pitted against Moyana, the crack 52footer of last season. * * * * Quite exceptional interest was being taken in the King’s Cup races, in which the American champion, B. B. Kieran is to compete, when the mail left. Indeed, the event promised to be more representative of the world’s swimmers than ever before. The German Swimming Association is sending Emil Rausch and America C. M. Daniels. The holders of the Cnp (Sweden swimmers) purpose making a bold attempt to retain possession, and to that end district competitions were being held all over the country, so that the verv best men might be selected. The dif’ . rent departmental winners were to ha- opposed each other at Stockholm in a fi 'al contest, and from these three men had to be selected. France and Italy were expected to send champions, and Finland and Hungary also. Austria will not be represented, as Millala, that country’s best man, has retired, and other Austrian swimmers

are not good enough for even the Hungarians ; therefore, it would hardly be worth their while to make the journey. In England nearly every swimmer of note wanted to take part. Forsyth will not swim in the event, but Jarvis and Billington were expected to do so, as was Robinson, the breast-stroke champion. * * * *

A motor boat in which there is likely to be centred a great deal of interest is the new 70ft Grawert racer for Jacob Siegel. If everything goes along smoothly, the inventor expects to have the boat in the water in about two months (says the “ Motor Boat” of May 4.) The boat will have a beam of 7Jft, and will be equipped with four Grawert explosion turbines, giving a maximum of 1000 h.p. The peculiar construction of this new type is attracting the attention of engineers. It is flat-bottomed, except that from ’midships right aft a pe-culiarly-shaped keel projects from the bottom. To this keel are attached the bearjngs of the rudder. Mr. Siegel’s new boat will be equipped with two propellers, one amidships and the other in the stern, besides the patent keel. The ’midships propeller will be protected by a skeg connecting the bow with the patent keel aft. The propeller is also a new invention. It differs from other

screws in that the water thrown from it travels right out from the concave blades. The inventor asserts that a very high speed is obtained by the placing of the screw amidships.