WATERMEN'S BOAT RACE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 266, 27 October 1862, Page 5

WATERMEN'S BOAT RACE.

A boat race, which came off on Saturday afternoon, in the harbor, attracted a great nu.aber of spectator*-, seomei fco plea^ th3m iU, a-r! mi^ht, we should think, with very little tiimV.e, bz made the msans of initiatiuga movement for a Duaeiin regatta. '..'.'* The race, in whaleboat3, was confined to the watermeuofDunedin ; inde^l, it was originated by them, and, hal there bsen nj aid from the public, the match would have been for a sweepstake of a poand or two. When the intention to' have a race became known, Messrs Riordan, Mr Greer, and other gentlemen, including Mr Clarance Holt, gare contributions ; so that the treasurer appointed by the tn?n was enable 1 to announce a prize of £20 for the first boat, and. of £10 for the second. Four boats were entered. The quarter-deck of the Geelong steamer, which was lying at the new Jetty, formed a convenient post for Captain Dickie, deputy h :rbor-master, who was very fitly selected to be the judge and readily undertook the office; four o'clock on Saturday afternoon was fixed for the start; and a course of nearly lour miles and a-half was marked off by three icoored boats, as follows :—From the new Jetty to near the north easterly point of the harbor ; thence across to Grant's Braes ; thence to Anderson's Bay • and thence to the starting point. As we have said, there was a large gathering of spectators. The Geelong and other vessels at the new Jetty, and a considerable portion of the new and old jetties, were densely crowded ; and upon Bell Hill and its slopes, as well as upon the Rattray-street Pier, there were also good! v mustering.

Soon after four o'clock, the boats were ranged in the following order, counting from the pier, the position being settled by lot :—

I.—Alert, white flag. D. Mackenzie, coxswiin; George Mason, stroke; Peter Andrew, John Daly, William Mackersy, aud Frederick Patterson. 2.—Marion, white with red cross. P. Johnson, coxswain ; Robert Skelly, j-troke ; J. Smith, T Bradley, A. Hojrluud, and W. Whimsl'. 3.—Eclipse, red. Win. Phillips, coxswain ; Daniel O'Uri.jn, stroke; James Baxter, Edward M'Kenna. John Mackersy, and John Keith. i.— City of Hobart, blue. Thomas Farreil, coxswain ; Win. Thomp-ou, stroke; .lame* Fletcher, Jreder.ck Bannister, [Louis Engeltiolf, and{Jacob Turubull.

At eight minutes after four, the signal to go was given by the dipping of the Geelong's ensign, and a capital start was made. The City of Hobart seemed to have " the call*' amongst those inelned to bet ; and the Eclipse apparently had more friends than the Alert. Soon after starting, the City of Hobart took the lead, and the Alert drew slightly ahead of the other two. The first boat was rounded at 4.17; Eclipse, which was second, closely followed by Alert, being 18 or ao seconds after the City of Hobart. In the pull to Grant's Brae, Alert came well up with the Kclipse, but neither of them gained on the City of Hobart, which rounded with a lead of 25 seconds. Thence to the Anderson's Bay boat, the City of Hobart increased her lead to half a minute, and the Alert collared and slightly passed the Eclipse, the Marion being comparatively " nowhere." ■ The stroke up to this time had been rather quick and very vigorous ; but it was quickened for the pull home, especially by the crew of the City of Ilobarfc, and the boats came up, the first three at a splendid pace, as follows :—

H. at. s. City of Hobart 4 35 30 Aiwt 4 35 50 Eclipse 4 3b1 3 Marion 4 36 20 The first boat did the distance in 27.}- minutes, or at the rate of ten miles an hour.

The prizes were during the evening delivered to the coxswains of the City of Hobart and Alert, at the Theatre Royal. During the afternoon, a very smart four-oared gig, smartly handled, attracted a good deal of notice. She was commonly spoken of as " The Princess Boat," and we are glad to learn that she will probably become the first craft of a local club, which ought to be a success, if at all fairly managed.