The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-07-03
CRITICIZE THE vESPER CREW.
What English Experts Think Of Philadelphia
OAr0mcu.

c~ss sSs~~ ~~~~ $3.50
what English Experts Think Of Philadelphia
Oarsmen.
The English papers to hand contain
lengthy criticisms OF the Vespers' stroke
and their work In general at Henley. and
1t 10 admitted on all sides that the Ameri-
cans are dangerous. To the sharps on the
Thames the stroke OF the Quakers is short
and jerky. Yet the shell moves along at good
clip which Is the main point after all.
Sifted down to the real tussle. it appears
that only four crews Ieander. vesper. London
and Thames-will figure Tor the Grand"
For some groundless reason these two latter
crews are thought to have no chance. and
Leander Is regarded as Englands sheet
anchor. Much the same conditions as now
prevail occurred on the visit o! Pennsylvania
in 1901. The varsity Grew created good i'm
preston and started favorite over Leander
in the final. but they just lost BY length.
As . general rule Englishmen always speak
well Of foreign visitors In sporting contests
and rarely ever discourage them by any
adverse remarks. Perhaps the Vespers are
being treated to little hattery, meant we'll
OF course. but for the moment buttered the
right way and according to custom. Quite
an impartial criticism Of the vespers appears
In SPORTING Lite Of June 81 and Is as follows
The actual result is still In the lap Of des-
tiny. but think the impression viii soon DO
borne upon English oarsmen that tho Phila-
delphiA crew will have to be treated from a
sternly serious aspect. ltmay seem too early
a perlod-ther second day on the course
to begin to judge our American cousins
strength. but in the teeth OF half a gale yes
terday forenoon l watched the Vesper crew
do what are commonly known as paddles
over the full course. when they first tried the
Bucks station. and then the Berks. and formed
the opinion that they will turn out very fast.
English oarsmen have never taken kindly
to swivel rowlocks on an eight cared boat.
and the use Of them has a tendency to mako
the stroke look short but the Americans get
q good grip Of the water. have a nice leg
drive and seem TO grease their boat along
in very smooth fashion, In fact 1t is steal
ing action that may deceive the most expert
standpoint that a1ed roylocks are decidedly
Isl. but with OF ordinary improvenent the Yes.
pers will prove force to be reokoned with,
A. the same time I'll have every faith in The
ments Of success,,speed. stamina and eI;;
and Nth as t shSSd
Of tie amateur rowing World. In thus writing writing
eign element, the Belgian and German crews
Berlin crew rov ed spIendidly against Lesndsr
5 l sa shey .ho SH9
strong enough 70 actually throw down the
gauuntlet nay mHy threaten danger bIt as the
regatta the idea has gained ground that they
will not compete -
int the vsspe and sndes IS %o.
complete: There was a regular levee at the
h FIT Ss
sspsSa IT, brok amy
sened alt The va s iii
Still there vas a hieh wind. which helped
heavy handicap on oarsmen when rowing the |
regatta course he . proper %
:, Regular hours q practise is the motto Of
the yspaH cas fs ad f ss sSSq
boat out of the tent and got ahoat from the
BACK fe %as ypadded down Sss
Regatta Island, swung around. and padded |
h to saT wss az hs Tor
81 the winning post The stroke k wa was fast at
pulled through in the. FIRST half minute and
thirty-tvs in the M minute. Then the
OF wnd was sspsa ths neary
miSa and uG 9 81 e appaIrently short The
ley boathouse in 4 minutes IL seconds. Row
ing cond tions were just as severe all the
way up the course. but the form was well
maintained, and the winning post was passed
s minutes Al seconds from the start.
Acting according to their first days prac-
tise, the Vespers turned round again and
padded down stream for a second time.
Round the island they, went from the Berks
TO the Bucks side. and this time taking the
was the most sheltered) they had another
strong paddle over the mile and $50 yards.
Starting at 80 to the minute this time. they
su stained the stroke well UP to Fawley boat
house. where they were seconds slower for
the distance compared With the first row.
part OF the course they lost more. and finished
their second course in minutes 40 seconds.
The varying strength of the wind was suf-
hcient to account for this apparent dis
evidently out more for learning the secrets
OF the course than to do anything In the shape
OF fast work Although l may be wrong, |
am strongly under the impress on that the
Americans will fashion into fast crew II
they. only train on in the right way. They
to the clustering wind and rain showers OF
morning, but IL was a fine schooling
experience that ought to teach them some
thing Of the course, which is necessary. be-
cause at Henley. as somewhat hal slangy phrase
ors seem to have settled down to Henley
training life as II to the manner born. They
express great admiration for the English
built racing ships, and II their own craft is
a fair representation Of the American build,
in front Of their American cousins, especially
when it Is known that the Vesper boat yo-
!ante cost $500, or Ei20. whereas our best
builders can turn out good eight for SEQ
or thereabouts."
DnuV&,1