PROSPECTS OF ROWING

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1170, 4 July 1911, Page 6

PROSPECTS OF ROWING

WILL THE SHEDS BE SHIFTED? "TO MOVE MEANS THE END." Tho decision of the Wellington Harbour Board to construct an addition lo Iho Taranaki Street Wharf ami continue Iho .Jcrvois Quay staging from its present j-niilhern terminus past the rowing eiuh shwU to tliat wharf, has caused something like consternation in tho rowing community. . 'l'ho space for manoeuvring boats between the Quay and the Tarnnaki Street AYha rf is not very great now, and when steamers are berthing or doparting from that vicinity, some smart work lias need lo be done to avoid trouble, but with the full'length of the wharf built out to its full width at the base or entrance, the area of water for manoeuvring 'will be considerably curtailed. Especially will this be felt by the Wellington Rowing Club, whose skids aro located in the south-eastern corner of tho partially-enclosed area. At present tlicro is only the length of Odlin's building between the W.li.C. shed and tlie wharf entrance, but the addition to the wharf will bring half of the foot of the wharf behind the big buildiug, and so annex a lot of what is at present open water. Mr. A. D. Buyiifhl, captain ol the Star Boating Club, informed a Dominion representative yesterday that so far the club had not been approached by the subcommittee set up by tho board to confer with tho rowing clubs. Ho was quite sure of one thing, that if by the action of the board the clubs had to move from their present position, it would mean tho end of rowing in Wellington. There was, so far as he knew, no other suitable sito in the harbour in closo touch with the city that could bo successfully utilised for rowing-shed purposes. Wellington was a ■ place of peculiar moods as far as the weather was concerned, and rowing skiffs could not stand rough handling. Oriental Bay' was out of the question, as it received tho full brunt of the prevailing north-westerlies. Tho. Kaiwarra bight was very treacherous both in hortlierlies and southerlies, owing to the squalls from tho gorge and the big swell, which caused trouble in a southerly. Evans Bay was quite impracticable. There was no security in a northerly, and it 'was. simply impossible in a southerly.' In a light, northerly there would be about half a mile of practicable rowing water—no more. At one time, when there was some talk 'of moving tho shed?, Mr. William Ferguson proposed that tho club sheds should be situated within the Boat Harbour, but that was alss wildly impracticable, firstly on account of the number of yachts anil s-uall sailing craft which were moored there, and secondly because Ihe boats I would stand an excellent chance of being swninped •in negotiating - the entrance when a "northerly" was blowing. The Star Club had moved to its present site from. Customhouse Quay, at the rear of what is now the' Now Zealand Express Company's building, in 1889, and in order to do so weut to tho trouble of raising .£IOOO in debentures. To ihow that' tho club was just about able to hold its own, Mr." Bayfield stated that practically £300 worth of_ those debentures were still owing. Nothing had been paid off (hem for seven years past. The club-house was the finest in Australasia,' ami it would bo a great pity if they were, by the action of the board, forced to abandon tho property, bearing in mind that tho proposed staging in front of the clubhouses would not be. a practicable site for the berthing of vessels. Mr. Robert Fletcher, chairman of the Harbour Board, stated yesterday that it was not intended'to act urbitrarilv as far as- the boating clubs were concerned, but tho'staging would.bo gone on with.'-Pro-bably its construction w ; ould be such that .tho clubs could still use the skids -under the wharf, and the board might agree to raise the staging above tho Jcrvois Quay level to givo-more head room. Personall}', lit thouglil it would bo an advantage port if the centre of rowing was not moved to a site away from the shipping. Ho was of opinion that the site of the sheds—which was City Corporation property—would be a splendid one for fish markets........ '.