The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1896-07-18
Nearly Two Lengths Behind the
EngIishman at Finish.
POOR MATERIAL IN YALE BOAT.
Englishmen Say Defeat is Due to Bad
Oars-Cook Had no Faith-Cordial
Treatment Of Americans How
They Could Have Won the Race.

HENLEY, CEngland), July THE
Yale crew was overmatched and fairly
and squarely beaten to-day - Henley.
Leander crossed the line le n and
half in advance of the American boat
and there is no reason why it should
not be admitted that the victors should
have made it two lengths, perhaps three
| if they had chosen to do so. The most
satisfactory feature of the result is that
| the Yale men frankly admit that their
opponents on the whole are better oars
men and won on their merits Not
| man in the Yale boat would dream of
| suggesting that the Englishmen jock
eyed or tried to trick them in any way,
and the Britishers may rest assured
that no post-mortem pamphlet contain
ing, base insinuations will be issued
when the Yale crew goes back to Amer
lea.
More than this, it should be said with
equal emphasis that the treatment of
the visiting oarsmen from beginning to
end has been most cordial and hospit-
able.
There are certain interesting things
| to be said about the reasons of Yale's
easy defeat in the first heat of the great
race 1t was due mainly to two things:
Lack of sufficient time for the men to
adapt themselves to local conditions,
and failure to adopt the best measures
for competing under these conditions.
1t is probably true that the Yale men
were not up to the average university
standard of recent years, and that the
preparations for a short race are very
different from those necessary for a
four-mile race. 1t should also be said
that unWarranted interference by one
or more persons who came over with
the American OarSmen seriously hand1-
capped them in their training. An i'm
portant factor in the result was the
oars used. Whatever may be true OF
the new London course, it is fact that
the Yale oar blades were too broad for
the crews best work in the dead, |
CLASSY water of the Thames. 1t is the
unanimous opinion of the English |
coaches that Yale was defeated by Le /
ander's narrower oar blades. The
Americans pulled to their boathouse !
after the race and Trevor Jones said to
a representative of the Sun:
'I can now tell you what l was not
willing to say yesterday. In my opin-
ion Yale's defeat was due to her oar
blades being too wide for this heavy
water-in fact, for any water. Your |
crew led to Fawley court, half of the
course, and if you had had proper oars
they would have led to the finish. All
of our coaches agree with me In regard
to your oars. ! expected Yale would
defeat Leander. Your crew rowed
gallant race, one of the finest ever seen
on English waters. With narrower oar
blades and, perhaps, a little more body
swing. giving more time for breathing
on recovery. Yale would be all right. |
cannot speak too well of the way Yale
pulIed out the last ounce of power"
Trevor Jones' opinion is indorsed by
all the coaches, even by Cook. 1t was
on this point chiefly that the interter-
ence by outsiders arose, and certain
members of the crew positively refused
to row with the new oars. The result
was Yale was Obliged to row the first
half at killing pace in order to keep
I'D with Leander, whose stroke was
noint lower than the visitors. Yale led
at the halfway post by twenty feet,
then Leander spurted and went ahead.
The Yale crew tonight elected F. II.
Bailey. '97, who rowed No. 5, captain
for next year.