MORE ABOUT BARRY.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 929, 23 September 1910, Page 2

MORE ABOUT BARRY.

.'•' LETTER JUST RECEIVED. THE TAMENESS OF THE BIG RACE. TWO CANDID CRITICS. ' Harry Floyd, trainer,.of -"Dick" Arnst, the champion sculler of the world, does not 1 think much of Barry's sculling. Writing from Livingstone to a friend in Ou August 19 he says:—' all we - have, heard from those who,are supposed to.be' good authorities on rowing in England about Barry s skill and science in.hisvboat, 1, as a poor simple colonial/beg v to differ very much, and make, bold to say that in my opinion Barry is a very long ■ way from what any aspirant for championship honours should be. In the first place," what struck us as. rather amusing was that henvas always assisted out with Ins boat, and you know cmr men. always look after themselves.-.He rows with .his knees together, . straight: back, ■■ and scarcely catches the water with his sculls until :he is nearly; opposite his rowlock;. Ho 'knifes' his left-hand scull very badly at the finish of .his stroke, 1 and lifts-the ..water with: his sculls by - starting,, to feather before he is clear of the water. He,, catches: the-water -light, ■ •-especially' when rowing fast, docs not get back niucli over- the perpendicular, so you will-ese = tliat he rows rather a.short.stroke, notwithstanding that some say otherwise. Barry; pnly. uses a 6J-inch,; bladed scull. 1 He gives a'-peculiar : twitch'.-■ with''his shoulder just.-as he starts to go forward, and has little' or no drive' at the' finish -of. the-stroke.••• '••:.-V ■:--.>' .'■':-,: " •

."His.• .training-:,methods:'are quite different to ours. As you luiow, we have a regular method, which' 1 works like, clockwork every, day, but, from'what we.have, seen .of Barry, .he is all fits and starts, and never gets-a good, rub down.- -But still; ho thought he was in 'good nick,' ro.wing.at about list. 81b. : .'Dick' rowed at ; just: over 1.15t.; and "was feeling pretty •will, though he did riot -, do /nearly '. the Work -that, he \wbuld have done .in' New Zealand,: as tho'climate here, is"-, much warmer, the. temnerature niore. even, :ahd the "altitude, . being about , 3000 ft.,: .had something to \dp;- with -it..:; : ,.'.-. : /\: ■' -..-■■• .'Not- More iKan/ippO^Onibokers.;'.■• '■; ;: ,- ,:■,,; ; "The day'-pf;V,the';race-;,was' could 'be desired—nice, and' Iwarm, swith' ■ a slight head .wind agaihsfcthe; men—just enough- to slightly ruffle 'the water..-\All ■ ■the trains .that-could, get -here came with" a full -Complem'eht.'of.'-passebgers,- but' the: whole crowd looked very small cbinpared with .what:we'have been used to in Syd'riey and New-Zealand: I don't thiuk'the whole -lot would have exceeded -2000.' ■ ■;..-' "Mr..'Parker, and Mr. Nickalls'tossed for ■ positions." Barry .'won,::arid took ikesouth;side,:, in my opinion.: the least ad-. vautageousjif anything. :"i; Mr: Spencer Gbllau 'acted .as referee. . ■;,. "Are You -Roady?" . H : V; '~'.;'. Only a small', launch,. carrying, 15. per-, sons,.followed'the race. ."Dick" had gone up, to fho;'start some.timeiibefore'Barry, vvho ,'wcnt up in, the launch', towing his boat; behind in a skiff. -Both men were out, on, the; markvsbori after- the time'for starting, (3 p.m.); :: They, were not- iong abreast when "Dick" said: ;. "Are, you ready f" being;at that'time; abbiit half "a length,';ahead.: To" everyone's surprise,, .Barry answered by ;: digging his sciiils inthe water arid getting away.'. It was the taniesfstart I ever .saw in a race. "Dick" only rowed about. 30 to the 'minute-; Barry. slightly-faster. "Dick" -was 'two. lengths ahead. before they had. rowed a. quarter of a'mile, and, .taking things easy/rowed, no more than-: 24.t0 jthe minute. Thei: race-neeits no. describing,'; as from this out ■ "Dick", was ::;up ,;to jifdiir and five iehgths. ahead. We .could vuot tell :what. time the first mile:was : covered in, as we did know wliere the distance marks jvere.;:;:: ". : .. jb ;:V;'v'.-.'; : '.'.■■ .'::. ■ "Rowed to a;Standstill."j;; '-~ .':Parrj; rowed' himself; to a" standstill about-:,, 250: yards from the finish,, stopped for; soi'nV time 'aiid":;tlir'ew • water' over" nihi-. self. -Then, he, coatinued on to the post, r :b3ck;edtip''ai'd 'shooli hands with "Dick"; thpvsmalF crowd cheered,,and,it ; was,all over. ...The time was i.21; mjnutes,'l3 seconds.•'-.-, Some-say it was:a little.loriger.' ,; Frpin'tho.start ito the finish there -was never .anything which raised Jhe Slightest, enthusiasm or hope for-.the English.'sidej for- it was. simply, a' procession: down-the river. Barry, never seemed to make an effort. There,was,no betting..They would: . not take any odds', - and at the finish: nbiib of our. party won anything.' I "barrack-;' ;ed" Guy ? Nickalls; on the launch'- into 1 ; a bet of a large bottle of.'..champagne:".-The cheques.; were paid;over' the "same night' 'at;; a; dinner'., given ', by; : the' Towing 'club: ■It;\yas',a;:very tamc>:affair compared with what we',' aie used "to;,' Barry, is^ 1 selling his'boats, aad'is off; to-morrow... for 'Home, .quite "satisfied, that- he'; has;, been beaten ,by' it better mari. 1 :- ;'; '■-■■; ; ...'-',-,. ; "-.-.-' ' ~"P.S-.—There ' wss. not; a 'soul-,at.the start—-not even, a -nigger started from the wilderness." : . •■;;!':: ..:; ;/.;■.; :;,;;:,,,:. ", OPINION 0F : DR. THACKER.

v y RACE ON/ CERTAIN.,:; ,■ ■ Dr. .'■. Thacker, ,of "Ghristchurch,,' one .of / Arnst's backers,: who arrived; 'back frbni the '/' Zambesi,; /• yesterday, / 'is • not: nearly 50... contemptuous ''"in his estimate, of Barry's; capabilities,'and his" description of' the race varies a: good'deal from J?loyd's. ' For instance, Dr. Thacker • said, 'that, he won 'the. .toss,- .an'd.choso the'north, side of .the river, Floyd/said that .it...was Messrs./Parker and'/Guy Nickalls who- tossed, "and Nickalls . won. Dr. Thacker states that it was Barry .who said;"Aro;,you ready?". • Floyd says'it .was'Arhst. •: Such coniplicatioain detail," is'/rather, puzzling. :\ '." L ; • ■ •;-.■: ..-.-: ''Dick Just Plugged- Ahead." ;; As' to the: race, Div Thacker says that iii'n'bbut'ton "or twelve strokes Arnst \vas' a: length' and a - half ahead, : and, .at the end or the first mile,, ho was two 'lengths Towards 'Long ..Island '. a strong wind ; raised, waves' aubiit eight, or .ten .inches.high; v :wliick made both.work pretty hard..;At no point.m the race.did'either: man. row'more.: than 28 or SO strokes to the. minute, and, when, they met the head wind,-.'Arust dropped to 19-' or 20, and Barry to about-22. ■, Coming out from Long Island, Arnst/appeared to ;be coin, iortably ahead,, with" riarry hanging on a ; few lengths.behind;: Arnst was'about three, lengths ahead when approaching the: Zambesi; Rowing Club's slieds, and about five, lengths - ahead . when' opposite the shed. Then Barry took a look around, and; then spurted magnificently.: He plugged at'.it in great style, ■until'-almost up to Arnst's -boat,'.-but Lick just plugged steadily ahead, and gave Barry the. full effect of his wash. Barry then slackened off—his effort was too late, or he. hadn't enough in him. About'2oo yards from, the finish', the Englishman stopped rowing altogether, 'and Arnst ■'. went von steadily to :the .post, keeping .ujm'the same dogged stroke to the end. . ;" Off to Shoot Lions;, •Dr. Thacker gives the time as 20min. !14 l-ssec, but, says that, the course was 200 yards over the S{ miles distance, rAfter:■the race Arnst carried; his, boat to the shed and was iying down, looking pretty tired when the doctor'when in to/shakehands. After a.-}ager...beer. "Dick": revived and said that Barry had stuck to him pretty well. ; . . . . Dr. Thacker. says that "Dick"-and "Jack" Arnst and Harry Floyd have genie up'the-Zambesi in company with a'Mr. Dreyer, ■ trader and guide, Who has promised them ulenty of'shooting, including lions, leopards, cheetahs, elephant's,-and crocodiles. They proposed; to'.- : stay out. about a month before returning, to'Livingstone.'. ■'•:'. The Thames Proposal. V Asked about the possibility of another match-Dr. Thacker said: "Another match —oh, yes, thero is bound to be another match on the Thames in' July ;hcxt. Why, Guy Nickalls said to mo on the launch that if the race had ; been oh the Thames, Barry would have won!" "What did he mean by-that?" "Barry said he was troubled by the shallow water, at the: start and by the rough water half-way through, and all the time he complained bitterly about the food. It was'-pretty hard, too. /Dick' left the North .Western Hotel at Livingstohe to camp down by the river,/and there, he did better with': his own black cook and ditto chambermaid: Barry would have done the same, but .was frightened . of the mosquitos and. tho malaria they. : carry, .so he/stayed on;at- the hotel, ■'."l'loyd suffered for a 'time from septic fever—not malaria—and had to.have his leg lanced, but had quite 'recovered before we .kit.". 1 jl . .'•••• '-: