THE SOUTHLAND REGATTA.

Southland Times, Volume III, Issue 36, 29 January 1864, Page 2

THE SOUTHLAND REGATTA.

It* the first Regatta which was held under the auspices of the Southland Regatta Club, on "Wednesday, was not quite so successful as it s promoters wished, or their indefatigable eilbrts deserved, it was mainly due, perhaps, to circumstances over which they liad no control. Thus, the locality fixed for holding the Regatta — the Lower Pool — was too far from town, and from the scarcity of the means of transport thither, the sports were not patronised by a sufficiently large number of the public to make them agreeable. At all assemblages for amusements of the kind, the means of entertainment do not alone consist in the actual sports of the .day. Holiday makers invariably delight in crowds at their merry meetings — to see and be seen is as much a pastime as the best regatta,-or the finest horse race in the world, and if we had to take the opinion of the three or four hundred people who went down in the steamer Aphrasia, and the additional iifty or sixty who were conveyed there in sailing or race boats, we believe that the large majority would agree in saying that the affair had been slow, and somewhat dreary . This was, however, no fault of any the promoters of theltegatta,|or I th.ose who on Wednesday were übiquitous and indefatigable in arranging the ' races, appointing judges, starters, and looking after other matters ; amongst whom we may notice Messrs Tully (who acted as judge), Ivingman, Clarke, &c, &c... Possibly had the " convincing ground "not been at such an unreasonable distance from town the arrangements would have been more complete, as the managers would have been able to settle them on the previous day, and the delay in commencing would have been avoided. Shortly after twelve o'clock the steamer Aphrasia, winch had been chartered by the Committefor the conveyance of passengers to the Lower Pool, started from her inoorings near the Jetty, and with a bright sky overhead, and a smart but pleasant breeze blowing from the north east, steamed for the Lower Pool, her trip, as she passed the different vessels in the river, some of which had their bunting hoisted in honor of the occasion, being accompanied by a hearty cheer now and again, which was gaily responded to by the steamer's crowd. Bringing up off Sandy Point, many of the passengers landed there, under the impression that a better sight of the matches would be obtained from the Semaphore Station ; but whether from the fact of being disappointed, or disgusted by the inhospitable appearance of the shore, many of them soon returned " like doves to the ark" — probably from a similar cause — in not finding much dry ground to place their feet on, on the beach. Mr. Lee, of the Provincial Hotel, had erected a marquee for the dispensation of liquids and solids, but from the popular impression that it was hardly just to double" the publicans' now acknowledged profit of " cent, per cent./' by charging shillings for nobblers, neither the bar on the beach nor that aboard the steamer had so many calls to them as would otherwise have been tho case, x After some delay in getting the boats tc gefher abreast of the Apluraabj which was the starting-point} the Regatta commenced with Tub Enisx-ei-Atit Saimkg Boats JUob.— Prise, &&> Entrance fee, &3, The following were, the entries, vtoij— Macdouald and, Ooi'b Sciidi S> M, Clarke's Coquette ) J, Si Clarke's Maid of Southland} ami Mv -»a»'sj '-Wuiiiopal' Ciirrki Eke course *.vbs ffolU tlio eieaxnev round the Bom* bay Rock, back round the ecliooiiej? ffauoj ] moored about three-quarters of rt liiilo ftbova i the atoanicr, returning to the starting point,— j in nil about six nuks. A very good start took place between the i first three aamed boats, — the Wnihopai Cturrio j being on the ground, at tiandy Point Beach, and not {jetting awny uutill all chance in the race was' gone. "With a pretty^ ' stiff breeze; right j aft the Scud' iipheld her name,- a,ud wont away | with a gaod lead, oloiety followed by the j Coquette,' and, the Moid, Of Southland, 'JhosopqsitiQus -wojjb gretty eatt»Uy taaujitfuued, t][w $ou4 wfam % fiwtip* f»Ui»g

fia/i'gbdfliHeal Kii^f^dTance: of^ihe' ttfdV other:;, competitors. |Sfiprtly after rounding jfcHe Bo(^ '" andliaying ftj^beat up^against a wind- rights ; ahead/ tjie advantage appeared to lie "with tKe^ Coquette, the •wind at' tins time slightly falling • ' J away. By lying up closer, she made better' hoards than the Scud, and by tlie time both boats were nearly abreast of the .steamer, the race appeared likely to be = Svitli hciv" Before reaching the Jane, -what. :■-■■ with a slight increase in the wind, which was an advantage- to the Scud, and- from what - appeared from' the deck of the steamer, to be' a better Jiandling of the boat, a very closely contested race was won by the Scud rounding the schooner a few yards in advance of the ~ Coquette, and coining down to the starting point gallantly, before the wind, her success being greeted with a hearty cheer. The time occupied was about two hours and a half. Second Class Sailing Boat's Race." Prize £20. Entrance fee, £1 103. Boats entered : — Macdonald and Co.V Rambler, J. Gtodd's ; Blue; Jacket, and J". Cousins' Look-out. Course : from the steamer, round the Bombay Rock, back round a flag boat moored offße'echy Point. A bad start was made, in consequence of the Look-out and the Blue Jacket accidentally fouling, and before they got clear, the Rambler had a clear start of forty or fifty yards. -. The Look-Out was the first to follow her closely, the Blue Jacket being some time before she got away. The fast sailing properties of the Look-Out, with her sail huge enough either to lift her clean out of the water in a squall or else drive her under it, were soon made manifest to the. !dokers-out from the steamer, and as she tore through the water, many who could not help admiring her, could not refrain from disagreeing with such dangerous : , sailing. After she had rounded the Rock, followed; by the other boats, the remainder of the race was left to be finished by the boats without the decision of the judges, the steamer .having to leave before the close of the race. (Et was afterwards stated that, although the Look-Out claimed the race,itwas protested against by one of the other boats, on the ground that she had only rounded the schooner, and not the flag boat.) . Five-Oared Whale Boat Race. — Prize, £20. Entrancq, £1 10s. ift Boats entered : FarrelTs Secret and Robinson's Backwoodsman. Course from the steamer, up the rivei*, and round the Jane, down i-ound the Black Buoy, and back to the steamer. From the start it was pretty evident that the Secret's crew (watermen) knew the secret of pulling well together, their long, even, and steady stroke being so apparent in contradistinction to • the short chopping stroke of their antagonists. It was the Secret's race from the start to the finish, where she came in easily two minutes before Backwoodsman. "We may mention that the latter, a smaller boat, did not object to row four oars against the five of the Secret. ... Four-Oared Wiialeboat Race.— Prize, £15. Entrance, £1. The following boats were entered, viz.: — Robinson's Backwoodsman, Macdonald and Co.'s Pride, and T. Simmond's Will-If-I-Can.' -■■ ■ ■ ■ .: A few yards from the start. the stroke oar of the Will-If-I-Can broke one of his thole-pins, and being very foolislily unprovided with another in the boat, gave up the race. Back-* woodsman had less powerful opponents in' (his race, which, however, was not won easily by her. Four-Oared Whaleboat (Akateite) Race. . — Prize, £12 10s. Entrance, £1. Course,, round the black buoy, up and round the' Jane schooner, and back to the'steamer. Simmond's Will-If-I-Can and Cousins' Rose entered for tin's race, which was won easily by the former. The following matches were not contested, ; viz.: — Two-Oared (Amateur) Boat Race,.; Lighter Race, Pair-Oared Dingy Race and thg. - Duck Hunt. The cause of the first-named^ races not coming off was that there were no entries ; the lateness of the hour and the difficulty of arranging the two latter preventing them taking place. This was the more to be regretted as the Duck Hunt, although last at regattas, is generally not the least of the amusements of the day. About half-past five the trip home by the steamer -was commenced, and amid a very .uncomfortable and cold rain, accompanied by a strong wind, she steamed back to town, the dispiriting influence of the weather during the passage being only unpleasantly enlivened by the near occurrence of an accident to one of the large number of boats the steamer was towing bclnnd. One of the two men in the boat, "Who was steering, having too much grog aboard himself, allowed the boat to broach to in the surf of the steamer's wake, and the boat filling.the men escaped drowning with athorough : ducking before they were pulled into the boat alongside. In another of the boats being towed by the steamer, the crew got unruly, and for the safety of the others she was cast adrift, a situation which the occupants by no means appeared to relish, as they Were without oars, and did not seem to have the means ortheknow- ; ledge of sailing their boat to shore. "We ascertained .afterwards that the boat was . picked up by a returning whale boat, before the darkness and the increasing heavy weather rendered its position one of clanger.