AQUATIC NOTES.

Observer, Volume 7, Issue 231, 14 February 1885, Page 6

AQUATIC NOTES.

By "Mud-Hook."

The race between the Sovereign of the Seas and Deveron does not seem to have satisfied the owners of the latter, for they issued another challenge to sail around Tin, which the Sovereign people as readily accepted. If not sold privately, ifc is probable that the i 6-foot open boat Violet, the property of Mr Forder, Avill be sold by auction' this week. To anyone requiring a smart and safe boat this is a rare chance. The Violet has proved her superiority by the easy way she won the race for her class at the regatta. Dream and Mascotte sail their match tomorrow (Saturday) if the conditions agreed upon in the. articles are suited, viz : A good working breeze and a dead beat one way. Under any circumstances I fancy the Dream has a shade the best of it. But as both boats are to be sailed by amateurs, she may not be " all out " on the day. The Poet is hauled up on the logs in Freemau's Bay, enjoying her" otvlm cum diqnltate. It is wonderful to hear how very few people like her lines now. If she had come in first on regatta day, as I still think she was good enough to do with proper trim and luck, all these judges (?) would have voted her perfect ! There are not many, if one, of the 20 foot fleet, however, which these smart people would care to back against the Poet in a match for a decent stake. A sculling race for the Championship of the North Wairoa is proposed to come off in April, over a three-mile straight course, in punts of specified dimensions^ It will most likely be rowed in Kaihu reach. The following have entered so far : — Jno. Harrison, H. Harrison, H. Brown, W. Brown, W. Paten, W. Price, W. Ben net, and R. Clark. Several ethers are expected to enter. The stake is to be £5 each mau, the whole to go to the winner, and most likely a silver cup will be added. The entries for the Association Regatta are wretchedly poor. Pousonby only enter one crew for two races, xh., Maidens over lOst, and Junior Amateurs. This after all their "gas" about the number of members and boats possessed by the Club. The new West End Club is bravely represented for a young 'un, and North Shore and Waitemata are well entered, the former especially so. Should the weather keep fine to-morrow I expect to see one or two good contests. I shall try and tip the winners, but it is like groping in the dark to a great extent : — Maidens under lOst. — West End K.C. . . 1 Maidens over lOst. — Ponsonby It. C 1 Junior Amateurs — Ponsonby, 1 Junior Seniors — • West End l Senior B.F. Amateurs — North Shore .... 1 Senior Amateurs — North Shore (No. 1 crew) 1 Senior Whaleboats— -Waitemata 1 Scullers— E. Bailey l T. Farquhar . 2 Junior Whaleboats — only one entry. Waitemata Club. Hanlan's second venture upon Australian waters has turned out better than his first. On Saturday last he beat Clifford easily in their match for £500 a-side over the Parramatta Champion Course. There is little room for doubt, but that when Hanlan rowed Beach and was defeated last August, ho had not taken such pains with his training as he should have done to meet such an undoubtedly good sculler as W. Beach. The reason of this, I daresay, can easily be traced to the ridiculous ease with which he had beaten all the third-class apologies for scullers he had been meeting in the Old Country and America. He had an easy job with Trickett, and only: a bit harder with Elias Laycock; so he thought, of course, that he had no more before him than these when he tackled William Beach. How much he was mistaken, and how badly he got taken down, is now a matter of

history. It is evident that on this occasion he did not mean to let want of condition lick him, for he trained most carefully and got really fit, so that he must have rowed fully up to his old form. On the 28th instant Beach and Clifford row for £200 aside and the championship, and on the 28th March Hanlan rows Beach for £500 aside and the championship (if held by Beach) ; then on April 18th Hanlan rows Clifford for the championship and £500 if Clifford is cham— l mean Beach is Han— hang it ! what the devil does it all mean, anyhow? It's enough to make a fellow's head swim, let alone his scull paddle— l mean—Oh, gosh! what in thunder does Clifford have to do with rowing B§ach for the championship when the fellow has just been badly licked by Hanlan. The latter is, of course, the proper person to row Beach, but they have fixed things up in their own lovely way, and tried to humbug poor Ned Hanlan all they can. He won't care, anyhow ; ' for the more second class men they trot out, the more dollars he'll have to take back to British Canada. Another thing before I leave this subject. When Hanlan was unbeatable, or supposed to be, the Yankee papers were frantic to let people know that he was an "American oarsman;" but since Beach beat him, these time-servers always speak of him. as the " Canadian sculler," and incidentally mention that he is a British subject. " Sing booh to you, pooh, pooh to you."