ROWING NOTES.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XII, Issue 14, 16 January 1877, Page 2

ROWING NOTES.

... j yy y. :Bv Proteus. .;. -As this is the last occasion before the regatta dri which I shall have the opportunity of writing, I will give the "tip" as far as is Within my power, merely premising that it niay. be: taken <as an unbiassed one. I will take the ra.cs3 seriatim. The first class open, sailing boat race will beapretty .one, and will be a sight worth looking at. As there are eleven boats entered some good sport may be expected, and fouls will be the order of the day. Judging by the large fins and false keels put upon the boats, the owners mean to leave nothing wanting to j ensure them coming in first. The Telegraph, the;winner pf last year, is the favorite, but the result. Will mainly depend upon the wind. .." i -.-'-. • The champion whaleboat race is looked upon by.bpatihg men as the best rowing race of |;he day. ; I think the race will be between th«i "and Cutty Sark. The -latter being thelighter of the two is sure to be the first get away, and her weight will not tell so much as the Thistle will on her crew. For ; thiird place I would name the Thames boat .though she has not yet been put into the ; water, only having arrived last night. She is a tremendous sharp boat, some 37ft in length. Tbie Colonist will in all probability be nest, followed by Our Boys, and the Echo maysafely be put down as last. I have not included the Lumpers' crew which is expected from Welingtoh tor-night, and as I hear their boat is a good one, they will no doubt make a good show. . The scullers dingy race will fail to some light boat such as the Spec or Atau. The Mystery is the only bona fide dingy entered, all|the rest being mere skiffs. y The Secret is the favorite for the yacht race, and I fancy that she will be able to allow the others time with ease, "The crew" of the Gatanet is confident of beating the •ySe«iret,;&nd the owners of the Claymore hope to give the other two a hard tussle for it. If the wind is very light it will militate exceedingly .against the Secret's chance. The phampion f rinr-oared gig race may be . safelyput down to the. Waimea. She is the best boat of the fleet, and her crew is also a • good one. She will be pressed hard by Wellington and Auckland but I do not think Greymouth will stand much of a show. The .volunteers' Whaleboat race will be ahardly contested one. The Aux, a boat which I have not yet seen, but which has a good crew, will probably come to the front closely followed by the two Naval Brigades, with the Echo last. 4 It is .impossible to say which will take first plaice in the coasters' race, as the result will .depend almost entirely upon King iEolus. If thewind is light the Planet is the boat, while if there; is< a; strong; breeze, with a heavy swell on,i the Nelson will be the first to pass the winning post. , A new crew has been selected to represent Nelson in the four-oared junior race, and the were, out ;for the first time last night. Why the old one has been thrown out I am at a loss to know. . The Wellington juveniles, who have come over here with venividivici views, will, I think, get thrashed by our juniors. The second day will open with the second class sailing race, and as most of the boats entered for it are in the first-class race we shall know more about it after that. The champ 'on pair-oared race will probably be taken by Auckland, though I think they will be hard pushed hy Wellington. If i

the Dolphin gets two godd'hien into her she will show up, but hot \yit|iout.\ Leaving out thg; ship's boat, race, conies^ the grand event of the meeting. I believe it is not yet decided which day it ,wiil be rowed on, the crews having orders' to hold themselves in.readiness for the first 'day. If the weather is, fihe. on the! first day it will" be rowed then, "if -it will be helcf'.". over till the second day. The following is the order in which I believe the.boat 3 will arrive at the winning post:— Dolly Varden 1, Wakatu 2, Cam 3; Stella 4, Ilyssus 5, Valentine 6. I have already said so much about the different races that I; will only now give? some ;adyice with -respect ' starting|t which is ah important thing "in, a race. A " crew should get off clearly, without delay, without splashing, and to get racing speed on as soon as possible. They should riot go-off with a burst but progress . steadily at .first, and faster than they mean: to continue/ hut with something always in hand for a rush. However good the watermanship' of. a -crewmay be, the "settling down" often means "getting short" .and nervous at the con-^ sciousness that , : thie "adversary's pace is be- a ginning to show better relative advantage thau during the first burst. If a creVhas'^ anything of the thoroughbred about it .fchereg is no necessity to push for a lead togTvie'eon>fidence, the little steadiness that is gained by^ an exultant hope at a' lead is dearly' -bought if the pace;has) been hotly forced before ithe pulse and. respiration are worked up t^ptoper^ pitch, or the muscles are farm to their wbrk i\ The period of distress is about the second or third' minute, Ibeforel the lungs axe well warmed, aud again about -the ""tenth , minute. _ "At the latter period slackening, is politic till*" the system "comes/again,';' as it ought... if- fit^i A stroke's coolness and generalshijiare; in-P valuable, and he ihust be rableprto make, up^ his mind in a minute knd Without vaiitlationvThough Dutch courage isjto-'-be^ deprecated,^ a small dose, three-fourths of , a' wine" glass.;C of strong tea arid' brandy hi equal-^proporJ* tions, may jbe given if Ijhej.crew are yery .nervous on going to the starting'" post. This steadies them, and- prevents [the exhausting feeling?of lin the [stomachy from nervousness. Of course Ido not mean" these hints to apply solely to the champion^, crews, but to aii the others. A ; But littte interest will be taken iri ; they sculler's race, the whole of tha boats entered ioe} this race hailing from,' Wellington. The 'pace|. will probably fall to Woods, who supersedes!. Hearn in the Moa. i"**--*-' 8The Cadet race, Lthink, will be cancied off-.; by the City Cadets. -They were out in the Cutty-sark las't^eyehing, and seemed toT shape very well. Their boat is a very light"' one,, an important matter to boys rowing a two-mile meeT The'lLrtillery Cadets wilP row in the Thistle, but she is a fester boat thau the Echo, and probably will beat"; her: The latter boat will be manned -by the Wellington Artillery Cadets.