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AQUATICS.
SAILING MATCH BETWEEN THE
MESSENGER AND PADDY FROM
CORK.
In our last week's issue we gave an account of a match
between these yachts, which came off on the previous
Thursday, and in which the Paddy was the winner.
After the match the crew of the losing boat, far from
being satisfied with the result, and thinking that another
trial might afford them an opportunity of reversing
the judgment, deputed Alf. Holland to challenge the
Paddy to sail over the same course for £25 a side, to
come off on the following Saturday. This was eagerly
accepted by the crew of the Paddy, and the owner of
the last-named boat having granted the use of her to his
crew, all other preliminaries were easily arranged. It
was agreed that the course should be from the Sandridge
buoy round a boat moored off the Chequer beacon below
Brighton, and back to Sandridge, about seventeen miles.
In the interim between the first match and the second,
the Messenger party borrowed the whole of the sails of
the Geelong yacht the Eclipse, the winning boat in the
last Hobson's Bay regatta, and to the excellence of
which they attributed the success of the last-named
Teisel. On the arrival of the sails from Geelong, they
were found to suit the trim of the Messenger exactly,her
own sails being much too heavy. The crews having
agreed to start by mutual consent, at 10.49 they got away
on equal terms. The wind was blowing a fine sailing
breeze from the north, varying a little to the N.W.,
being exactly suitable to the Messenger. Both yachts
had their topsails and balloon jibs set, and in the race
down to the Chequer beacon very little superiority was
shown; indeed, when off St. Kilda and Brighton, a
biscuit might have been thrown from one boat to tbe
other. From this time, however, the Messenger led, and
was first round the chequered beacon, beating her
opponent by 1m. 7s., the Paddy's time being better than on
the previous Thursday by seven seconds. From the
beacon commenced a beating-up match, the Messenger
increasing her distance ahead on every board. The
wind continued pretty fresh, but not sufficiently strong
to cause either of the crews to take in sail. The Messenger
made the starting place off Sandridge seventeen
minutes ahead of the Paddy from Cork. Both boats
were remarkably well handled, and large sums changed
hands. The Messenger was built by Messrs. Gough and
Regan, of Sandridge,
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