AQUATICS.
CHAMPIONSHIP -OF -THE -WORLD.— BOBBRi; CHAMBERS AND RICHARD (From the Home News.) m ' The long ' looked-for "international scullers' match between Robert Cham"bers^ehaittiiien of 'the Thames^ and < Tyne,.»nd Richard Green, the Australian champion, for a stake of £400 anA the [of the Thames, attracted a large crowd of aquatic sports-. men on June 16, and long, before the time appointed for the start the towipg path at Putney presented a very ammated appearance. The fact of- Green, having «ome nil the way from Australia foe the express purpose of rowing our best man, caused a great, deal? ot excitement in aquatic circles, and,' a great nuinber,-of persons had their, " soy." on this match, who, at other times, never troubled theieheada about' boat] racing. Greeni'on his arrival in this country, -located fei'mself at- Kelley f s, while Cham- , berstook up his quarters at Salterns, in ■ company with his old Mentor (H. •- Claspev) and E. Winship ; and both/men having maintained the palm of superiority against all comers on their respect ive waters for some years past, a slashing contest was expected, the friends of ■ both being very sanguine as to the result, but *l»e Australians Stuck out for the
.odds of 2 t© 1. The raerning was very cloudy, with '< a light -fiOuth-weßterly breeze, and shortly after 12 o'clock the rain, which siad been threatening, came down rather sharply, aad -continued at intervals throughout the rest of the day. At a few minutes before 2 o'clock the men paddled down to the bridge, aud now the betting was pursued with great eagerness— loo to 40, and eventually 4J to 1, being laid on Chambers. Mr Howell, of New South Wales, having been appointed umpire for Green, Harry Clasper for Chambers, and Mr Clifford referee, the men rowed to their stations, Green, who won the toss, taking up his position at the third pierhead of the Aqueduct, while hi-s opponent was at the fourth. H, Kelley was in the head of Green's cutter ; while S. Salter, of Oxford, piloted up Chambers. Ou stripping, both men appeared in admirable condition. Chambers looked the .taller man when -seated, and, although the lighter, showed a prominence of muscle, more bossy, and more clearly defined than that of Green, who although apparently as strong as a horse, exhibited a want of reach and a stiffness in getting back in his boat which contrasted most unfavorably with the free and slashing style of Cnambers. After drifting about a length from the Aqueduct, and becoming level, they made a very capital start at 2 h. 4 mm. 55 sec.
Chambers was the first to tak° the water with his sculls, and, as the competitors left their stations, the champion «howed ahead by a few feet, amid a perfect roar of delight from the Newcastle division on the steamers. The second and third pulls on the part of the Australian, proving effective, their positions Were reversed, and Green was leading well, and goiug at such a pace that, when opposite the Star and Garter, he was half his own boat's length in front, increasing his lead at every stroke. Opposite the Duke's Head, Green im proved his position, apparently rowing •easily, although the pace was much above the average, which was evident from the fact of Chambers having to lay fairly down to his work. Green, as they went on, still further increased his lead opposite Simmon's Boat-house, until he was his own length in advance, and, at the London Rowing Club Boat-house, half his length clear. The betting on board the umpire's boat had by this time changed, and one of Chambers's etaunchest backers laid an even " tenner" on the impulse of the moment, that the Australian won. At the Bishop's Creek Green was exactly a clear length in advance, and the Newcastle men were so silent that the uninitiated would not :'' have known " Our Bob*' was rowing for } a championship. Green was taking a magnificent course, rowing well, and fairly out of the track of ChanoM.bers, who was beginning to row towards it £he Middlesex shore, directly astern of L Green.' When the Point was reached, LGreen could be fairly seen to be a clear length in advance. At this point of the twee, Kelley urged Green to go more ■into the stream ; the Australian, howlever, shook his head, and took a slight ■rest, which allowed Chambers to draw ■up a trifle. Green then, like a giant ■refreshed, again, set himself going, ■getting a .trifle further in frout, and B*as leading at Craven Cottage by a ■ength and a half clear, the time, being ■,mm. 22-sec. The pace up to this Boint had been something wonderful, and Had evidently begun to tell upon Green, Hbo, although ; he! jdid: cot slack up, jH^gan to jerk in the commencement and "^•iddle of his stroke, while Chambers ■a pulling with the same, effectiveness ■ichhad so frequently before brought ■n home successfully. After passing ■aven Cottage and nearing the Dun<* ■farf, the competitors went across^ Hfv* 8 Green diverged from the direct H^fiist, Chambers drew upon -him H*4ly, and for^a-few strokes appeared ■The was going up ; but Green once about the third of the way across, boat straight, and- kept the the stream, Chambers having up to avoid* a foul/ A determined j^B'doDg face now ensuedj fehstmbers Altering in his regular lnofemeni, I^PlGreen evidently waS %>|ing to the jyVor although, by severa|||||)», and gHeritly spasmodic effbriMpc^iiiß^his; boat) in adli^^ftfe hs»yet the inevitable Bigii^|||t^iat~ to be drawing next, opposite^ ! #|b Treeii'teaiched bjrbot!|^| tijtini wj»s., ths stem of Cham^^!&|at j^H^rlapped the stern of Greeh's, 'WK^' at tlie mmo on a spurt, and gained -go ic^B^athe went past the Australian
opposite" the 1 Soapworks. point. Green here-gave way from sheer distress,~and never> held Bob a stroke, the latter going right away and taking Green's water opposite the distillery. .Going through Hammersmith Bridge, phamjbe'rs wasleading by four leng&s, in 9 mm. 30 sees. Green, after passing through the 'bridge, appeared to collapse, and left' off rowing, which allowed Chambers to lead, by., any number of lengths at Chis,wick Waterworks, and as both" men only, drifted up,- all" interest in the match was at an eiid. Chambers, still pulling with the greatest deliberation, went through Barnes Railway Bridge in 21 mm. 28 sees., and at an equally leisure pace passed tbe Ship at Mortlake, completing the whole distance in 25 mm. 23 sees. Green paddled up in 4 mm. 18 sees, afterwards, and Chambers thus scored his fourth victory for the Championship. Chambers rowed in a boat built by Henry Clasper, called the Alexandra ; Green, the Australian, one by Biffin, of Hammersmith, called the -Rose of Denmark. . Both were fine specimens of art ; neither of them complete, with the iron outrigger, weighed more than 33 Ib.
That the race was won by the best man there can be no doubt, although Green had been ill for some days with diarrhoea, which probably Weakened him very much. The style of Chambers was on the present occasion faultless, as, frotn the start, he discarded the scrambling stroke he showed in the first part of his match with Everson, and although Green led him so far, Bob never altered his stroke but once, when the swell of a steamer caused him to hit the water as he feathered his left-hand scull. Chambers never rowed better in his life than he did on this occasion. He was extremely cautious about touching or fouling, and too much praise cannot be awarded to Stephen Salter for the judicious manner in which he took up his man. Green is by no means an over-rated man, and at some future day will prove that he has powers much above the average, should he again compete on English waters. His style is certainly not so taking as that of Chambers, but that h^e can move a bo3t uncommonly faft is patent, from the manner in which/ be led his opponent for a mile apjf a |»Jf. He p.u&J essentially with hif frms and legs, without throwing bacjc his body, whjch gives his Stroke an appearance of being very sjiort and ineffective. Green says he was taken, with the cramp when nearing Hammersmith Bridge, and that soon afterwards he was obliged to cease rowing. Whether illness was the cause of his resigning the contest so early or not, is only known to himself, but that he Was very ill and exhausted when he came on board the umpire's boat is most certain. He could scarcely stand, and it was not until hot applications had been administered that he recovered. Chambers went round the boat and made a collection for his opponent, which amounted to £8 ss. The stakes (£400) will be given up on Friday, July 3, that day having been selected by Chambers and his friends for the ceremony.
(On the evening of the above match a backer of the Australian brought L 5 to the stakeholder to make a fresh match, alleging that he had been defeated by accidental illness. The money was covered on the part of Chambers, on June 1 8, and a meeting was arranged to take place at Kelley's, the Bell, Putney, on June 23. to increase the deposit and draw up articles. Accordingly on the day named there was a large muster of the friends of the men. Salter repre r sented Chambers, and Kelley Green, who was present, together with several members o( the metropolitan racing clubs. Kelley stated that illness was the cause of Green's defeat, and he was ready on his part to draw up articles to row, fojr L2OO aside and the championship, in the middle of August. Salter said that Chambers would not row until October, in consequence of having business to attend to, and having already rowed two races for the Championship this year, but that he would row on the Tyne in, August. Kelley replied that Green was anxious to return home in September, but he thought it would be better to postpone further negotiations until Tuesday, June 30, which would give' time for correspondence with Chambers. Salter agreed to the proposition, and thus the matter stands at present. •
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Southland Times, Volume 2, Issue 85, 28 August 1863, Page 5 (Supplement)
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1,696AQUATICS. Southland Times, Volume 2, Issue 85, 28 August 1863, Page 5 (Supplement)
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