In the Boats

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 16, 19 January 1924, Page 18

In the Boats

(By " Steokz."!

REGATTAS AHEAD

CHAMPIONSHIPS AT PICTON *

THE WORLD'S TITLE.

COMING^ EVENTS. January 20—Christchurch Regatta, Lake Forsyth. February 2—Jlothes Shield Regatta, Wellington. , February 12—New Zealand Championship Kegatta, Picton Ilarbour. March I—Wellington Kegatta, Wellington Harbour. March 24—Otago Kegatta (probably Dunedin). April 21—In(;erprovincial Fours, Picton Harbour.

After the Mothes Shield regatta to be held here on the 2nd February, the most important fixture of the season, the championship regatta, will be the next meeting to interest clubs, and for this it is probable that oarsmen will bo competing from clubs in districts extending from to the Bluff. Queen Charlotte Sound, where the regatta is to be held, has one of the finest rowing courses in New Zealand, and as the course is conveniently situated as far as spectators are concerned there is every prospects of the regatta being I a success. Tho natural formation of the Sound makes it possible for the isolation of a portion of the shore, from where an exceedingly fine view of the racing may be obtained, and for which ] an admission fee can be made. As long as the 'number of spectators is forthcoming the financial succeess of the day can be assured. \ . The following programme has " been approved by the New Zealand Eowing Association : —lO a.m., Maiden Fours, 1 mile; clinker boats; £10,- £3; 10.30 a.m., Championship Fours, 2 miles best and best boats; £50, £15, £5. 11.15 a.m., Junior Pairs, 1 mile; clinker boats; £6, £2. Noon; Championship Sculls, 1J; miles; best and best boats; £10, £2. 12.45., Youths' Fours, 1 mile; clinker, boats; £8, £2.' 1.30 p.m., Championship Pairs, JA miles; best and best boats; £12, £3. 2.15 p.m., Junior Fours, X- miles; best and.best boats; £10, £2. 3~p.m., Championship Double Sculls, 1-^ miles- best' and best boats, £12, £3, 3.45 p m Marlborough Plate, 1£ miles; best and .befct boats; £15, £5, Open to all crews except winners of Championship Fours. The officials for the day are :—Judges, ! Messrs Riddell, Clinch, Roy Smith;' starter, Mr. G. Smith; umpire, Mr W J. Girling, M.P. PADDON AND FELTON'. Several months have elapsed since the talk, of a Paddon-Felton match for the world's title assumed something like definite form, but no match has'yet been clinchod. It appears that a hitch has occurred in the negotiations, theHrouble being as to the course. It appears that i'elton got considerable backing from mid-Clarence residents, and the baljuice of the £500 is believed to have been secured elsewhere. The Clarence backers of Felton are anxious that the race should take place at Grafton, and Felton is equaly desirous to meet the champion where his friends have come to his assistance. Paddon, however, .as holder of the title, is in a position to select the course, and has stated that he would prefer to meet Felton on the Richmond River at Woodburn, where he always rows his best race, writes "Victor", in the .Wanganui Herald. Paddon's attitude on the selection of the course, it is stated, might' change in the event of certain concessions being forthcoming from the Clarence- River people. It is hoped ■ that the difficulties will be smoothed over, and that the two men will meet shortly, as -it should be an in- | teresting race. At his very best Felton is. a first-class sculler, but his performances are not such as to. niake him look a probable winner against Jim Paddon, as the latter is not. only very fast, but he is a great stayer, and this is where he will have an advantage over Felton. AW is exceptionally fast over two miles, but unless he, has improved in stamina he is not likely to see out the three miles and 300 yards at the pace set by Paddon. By the way, Jim writes to say he is in good health, and hopes that the proposed match with Felton will be definitely arranged very shortly. Naturally, Jim is confident he will prove equal to retaining the title, but would welcome more frequent inatcb;es, as he recognises that he is getting on in years. Jack Casey, Paddon's pacer, visited Grafton recently to make- arrangements to meet Jack Hackett, the Clarence River crack, in Gladstone skiffs. Present intentions are to match the pair for £200 for a race in Gladstone skiffs, to be rowed about Easter.'. ' j PETONE CLUB. The Petoiie Club had a bnsy week-en^ when the Senior Pairs for the Moth..., Cup, and tho Harlen Fours were rowed on. The pairs race was' for senior oarsmen only, and the fours for junior members. Five «ews entered for the pairs :A. Hickson (str), H. K. Adamsou (bow); C. Burridge (str), J. Bucknail (bow); A. White (str), A. Maud (bow); A. L, Warden (str), R. G. Duncan (bow); G. Gardiner (str), R. M. Allan (bow). In the first round Warden Towed Burridge, and this race was won by Warden by about four lengths. White defeated Hickson by about a length and a half, after a good race, in which Hickson led for- the greater part of the distance. White, however, finished well. In tho second round Warden beat Gardiner very easily, the | winners rowing welL The final was rowed on Monday evening between White and Warden. It proved to be quite a good race over the' first half, of the course, but over the latter portion the superior combination of White's crew was .noticeable, and he finished some three lengths in front. For the I Harlen Fours three crews entered. They were :G. N. Nicholls (str). G. Palla- | mountain (3), J. Collins1 (2), G. Matthews (bow); L.-Boyd (str), T. Slin (3), E. Monks (2), N. Dickens (bow); J. M'Laughlin (str), R. Cameron (3). N. Kirk (2), 0. Fiuichelle (bow). Nicholls beat M'Laughlin in the first heat. The final of the race was rowed the same afternoon, ahd again resulted in. a win for Nicholls, whose crew iihowed quite good 'combination, considering that they were picked and rowed on tho same day. ) '• ■ 'Oic crews selected to represent the PiHoric club foi- the Mothes Shield regnt.ta and subsequent regattas have not yet given reason to think that they will meet with very great success, for in spite of tho fact that they have been Picked now for almost a fortnight, and that practically idea! lowing weather

has been experienced, the crows have done little or no training. If a crew 13 to be successful, it requires something more than the reputation of what it has done in the, past to win, and when it finds itself up against a fit crew there is no^doubt as to what the result will be. There is still time for crews to settle down to training, and it is hoped that they will endeavour to do better than they have been doing lately. Another matter that might well be givenconsideration by crews in regard to training is that when a man is not present to carry out his training, perhaps through no fault of his own, the remainder of the cTew should put in the time improving their own condition, instead of only talking about the defaulting man. > ' . WONDERFUL SCULLERS. Some interesting reminiscences ofChris Neilsen and the wonderful Harry Searle are given by a correspondent in "The Referee." An account of how Neilsen conceived the idea of the stump-out-rigger (so called in its early history), which is 27 feet long (the wager boat, its predecessor, measured 32 feet), states that the boats are the fascimile of one another except in length. There are some folk who still think that the longer boat is the faster on a smooth day—a best-and-best boat-builder in Brisbane is one of them. . "Mr. M. J. Slack, ex-champion amateur sculler of Australia (and one who took the hide off a bnllock, at Ramornie, on the Clarence River in 1888, in 4min 50sec), paid, me a visit the other week-end. He told me Chris Neilsen offered to lend him a. stump for the race against Bannister and others in 1696. The late Mr.' Harry Baynes, his employer, had just presented him with a new boat (32Et), and also made.arrangements with Chris Neilsen to coach him. He told me also that the first thing that Neilaen did was to alter the rigging of his boat. "Why Mr. Baynes visited him, a few days later, at his training shed, Slack told him he felt certain that he would win—which he did. Ha.d he used the 'stump' I think he would have been tha first to use the shorter boat in a race. He is satisfied now, had he used her it would hare had a runaway victory. "I will try and tell the story in his own words: 'Chris Neilsen is an extraordinary man, and his history would niake wonderful reading. Chris Neilsen holds "the fastest time over the Parramatta- River full course, and, strange to say, it was done in the long hoat; but under extraordinarily favourable circumstances. Tile last time I saw him was in Brisbane in 1888, when he took part in the Brisbane sculling carnival (£SOO, £200, £100). Harry Searle won the final. It wn.s a great race for second place, which Peter Kemp secured, after a hard race with Neil Mattersori. I consider that was Neil's best effort; Poor Harry's was a tragic end. When one thinks that he was only 23 years old when he died in Melbourne- on 10th December, 1889, one can only imagine what he would have done had he lived an6ther eight or ten years, to use the short boat. Jim Stanbury was the bnlv man who ever extended Searle. /.Their race in 1887 is thought by many to be the finest ever rowed. I spent a pleasant day with his brother. John Searle (of Esk Island, Clarence River) some'three years ago. I was photographed at Harrys grave (Maclean, Clarence River), with John Searle and his son Oliver (who, with his two brothers and coiiain, Fisher, beat the three Towns brothers and Billy Ripley, of Newcastle, and' a Maitland four, for the butcher boat championship, in May, 1920). ■• "Tlie first thing of interest I saw at .Ibhn Searle's home was Harry's boat hung up under the front verandah. In the front room is an almost lifesize painting of Harry, oh which is painted his many victories. I was also' shown an illuminated address which I saw Creswick (Shakesperian actor)' present during the first interval on behalf of the Sol'™™B enthusiasts of the time (18B8). John. Searle gave me eight or nine photos which Harry had brought from England in 1889. One large photo' shows Harry beating O'Connor (Canada) in the world's sculling championship .during September, 1889. What a his^ tory is attached to that race! Poor Harry! His was a sad end. -Wherever I went 'when on the Clarence I found that the name of John' Searle was amongst the moat respected." NOTES. Mosman Rowing Club's annual regatta on the Parramatta River on 15th December was a splendid success in eveiy way, and was attended by a large crowd of interested spectators. A sensational incident marked the opening. The umpire a launch," w"hile manoeuvring near the ferry boat Kubu, was run down by the latter and capsized. The launch immediately sank, and several of the regatta officials on board, namely, Messrs. is. J. M'Donald (umpire), J. W. Hence (starter), and W. J. Furlong (judge), were left in the water. They were, however, promptly rescued by the water police, and uot in the least perturbed by their ducking, resumed their duties. Some of the clothing of competitors which happened to be on the launch at the time of the mishap was lost, as were the starter's pistols. Mosman again carried off the championship! fours of New South Wales, but theirs was by no means a runaway victory. Drummoyne rowed a splendid race from start to finish, and had their condition been better, the result might posßibly have been different. The junior fours presented Email difficulty to the Leichhai-dt No. 1 crew, which showed itself to be a particularly strong combination. The maiden eights went to Mosman, though the form displayed in this event left much to be desired. The lightweight maiden fours provided one of the most interesting and exciting struggles seen on the river for some tune, and was ultimately won by Sydney. In the recent race in U.S.A. for tha Philadelphia Gold Cup, which carries the world's amateur sculling championship, W. E. Garrett Gilmore defeated Walter Hoover,. the famous Duluth sculler. If a sculler is sent from Australia to the Eighth Olympiad he might be deputed to have a cut at the Philadelphia Gold Cup on his way home, remarks the "Referee."