OUT DOOR SPORTS

Observer, Volume 5, Issue 120, 30 December 1882, Page 254

OUT DOOR SPORTS

NOTICES. Secretaries of all kinds of Clubs for the promotion of out-door sports will confer a favour by communicating any items of interest connected with their sport, game, or pastime ; more especially with respect to coming events. Short sketches of sporting or pleasure excursions will be welcome, and questions on all matters connected with sports will be gladly answered. . All communications must be addressed to* The Editor. — Street's new yacht was launched this week from Logan's yard at the North Shore. — Mort Fairs is v%ry anxious to nave another race with the Sybil against the Truant, but Frank Sanderson is not on. — The Minx will carry a happy party of the youth and strength of Ponsonby on a pleasure and Bhooting trip at New Year. —Our Boys and West End commenced a return match last Saturday. Score: "West End, 49: Our Boys, 7 wickets for 70 runs. Arneil was "yoked" by , Whitoside for 6. — Jack Arneil and Testro were the only representatives who were engaged on Saturday ; the former playing for West End v. Our Boys, and the latter for Excelsior v. Ponsonby. — Alf Warbrick has removed from the North Shore to Auckland side, and now resides in Ponsonby. Ho has been engaged fitting up the Ponsonby Rowing Club's boats for the ensuing club trial fours, which are to commence on January 13th proximo. — As. there is a good deal of blow in the air about the Gertie beating any open boat in Auckland, it is a pity but some one who knows better would back the Madge, Transit, or Imp against her, and put in a good crew who would get the most out of the latter boats, and get paid double if they won I I, for one, wo«ld have very little doubt as to the result then. ; —When I stated that the owners of the Magic intended to sell her I was misinformed. They are about to expend £25 on her, and she is on the beach for the purpose of having another streak added, a counter, and a half-deck. The job would have been completed before Christmas had not Logan been delayed with Street's yacht. — A new star has arisen in Gloucestershire cricket. A school boy, agod 16 years and 2 months, made 71 for his county against Yorkshire. He is said to be a wonder of coolness and courage, and played all the York bowling with equal confidence. He hit the only five in the match, and besides got six fours and seven threes. — A team of Northern Wairoa cricketers will shortly be in town to play a series of matches with the local clubs. The following will be the team: — Blair, Colbeck, Coutts, Dashwood, Harding, Hardy, Lowrey, Masefield, Stallworthy, Woodhead. Emergency, Legge.' They play the United, Auckland, West End, and North Shore. First match on the 10th January. — The crews drawn by lot for the trial fours of the Ponsonby Rowing Club are as follows :— No. 1, McCrae, Culpan, Lloyd, and Wake ; No. 2, Valentino, Jones, Garrett, Stanford; No. 3, Miller, Farquhar, Cook, Qibbs; No. 4, Gapes, J. B. Morpeth, Scott! Dixon ; No. 5, Edmonds; Tyndall.T. Farquhar, Wilson ; No. 6, H. D. Morpeth, Leatham, Lowry, PeDnall. Ana of these six, Nos. 2 and 5 should pull the final heat off. — -A party of Ponsonby boys chartered the fishing smock City of Naples and went on a week's cruise on Saturday last. Although there are no weak eerews about the clipper, she has only a weak crew, and I should think her owner would be glad to see her return safe and sound. P.S.— l've been a fortnight (that's too weak) making up this joke ; and now there must be a scrsw loose somewhere, for it reads very weak. -—A correspondent at Gisborne sends me an account of a couple of boat races which took place there recently. The first was between the Alert and Gertrude, and was won by the Gertrude by lmin. 32secs. On the first December the second race took place, and was won by the Polly, sailed by Mr Croft j Comet), 2nd ; Gertrude, . 3rd ; Alert, 4th. The priaa for thjs rac« was a handsome Bilver cup. It is believed that a£s a-boat swoep will be ' got up during the holidays. — A correspondent, "Quarter Back," writing from Northern Wairoa on the subject of the visit of a cricket team from that place, expresses the hope that i the Auckland clubA will trot out their best talent to meet the wanderers; and more, that they will not forget the duties of hospitality, but remember the reception they got last year up there. My correspondent thinks that, as a rule, Auckland cricketers are very "porky " when any strangers are around, and hopes that on this j occasion the boys will remember this hint, and act accordingly. I hope so, too, and shall be glad to hear I that the plucky " bushwhackers " have had a good time. ! — A correspondent (" Lochnagar ") has kindly [ furnished me with, the following particulars of a neV wonder in yachts, which has appeared in the old country lately and beaten all before her. This possesoes considerable interest in view of the rapid progress in yacht-building now observable in Auckland :— " a gentleman in the south-west of England wrote by last mail to his son, who is in Auckland, and gave him an accoaut of a sailing yacht, which is a little over 3 tons, beating yachts ten times her tonnage in a race from Cowes to Dartmouth. This wonder of the age is called Chittywee. The following are the particulars of one of her victories, cut from an English sporting magazine : " Fowey Kegatta. — Yachts not exceeding five 4 tons. Two prizes, £7 and £3. The starters were Chitty wee (3 tons, of Plymouth, Lord T. Cecil) and Eomp (5 tons, Mr E. Atkinson, of Fowcy). Both boats got away on i fairly even terms at 10.51 a.m., and were in the course of , that race very skilfully handled by their respective crews. Tho first round by the Chittywee at llhrs. I 49mjn. 57secs. a.m., and by the Romp at 12hrs. 37secs. p.m. The time for the second round was : Chittywee, 12hrs. 51min. 57secs. p.m.; Romp, lhr. 16min. 32sec. p.m. And for the final round : Chittywee, lhr. 33min. 20sec. p.m. ; Eomp, 2hr. 28min. 42sec. p.m., which shows a clear beat of 55min. 22secs. . This shows what can be done when wanted. The dimensions of the Chittywee are: — Longth on load water line, 33ft.; breadth (extreme), 4ft. 9in.; depth from gunwale to keel, 10ft.; draught of water, Bft. # wich about 10 tons lead outside, and forming part of boat and keel." — That most unfortunate young man, W. H. Nicholls, has got himself into most particularly hot water by his idiotic and utterly false contributions to the Field newspaper. Fancy the impudence of a young fellow like this presuming to write in so disparaging a manner of our perfect harbour, unequalled, perhaps, in ; the world as a yachtman's paradise. Deep, extensive, sheltered from the roll of old ocean, and. generally blessed with fine breezes to send your craft flying through the smooth witter ; perfectly safe as regards danger fr*m rocks and shoals, tide rips, or any trouble of the kind. I am sure that the most dyspeptic grumbler that ever stepped into a nailing boat could hardly fiDd a true fault with our lovely Waiteinata. , Why, the very native name stamps it what it is — sparkling water. I have sailed over nearly every yard of it ' that is navigablo, and have utterly failed to find any i such terrible traps as "Isis" writea of, viz.: — Mud banks, reefs, rock and rips, with " guets that come down from the high land, and make everything crack again." I well remember the Isis. She was a small open boat (20-foot, I think), which was always noted for "mud hooking," or, in other words,, hugging the southern shore from Mechanics' Bay to the Bastion, or thereabouts, as if her sailing master was afraid to venture into deep water. And this experience oven, narrow as it was, 1 believe, only extended over a single season Yet this aspiring young scribe sets up as a judge ol a harbour, and "by his barefaced untruths would stamp bur port as a perfect trap for yachtsmen, when actually as I iave said above, it is certainly not beaten, if equalled, by any.other inland sea (for it is one) on the face of creation. I Bay this advisedly, and not from a spirit of " blow " ; and would advise the proprietors of the Field to be more careful in future in accepting and publishing statements so untrue aad damaging to auy place of which they are written.