The opening yacht race of the season took place on Saturday. The start was over an imaginary line between the Police Hulk and the Pootung Church spire, and the: race, which was a scratch one, was down the river and round a mark-boat moored off Half-way Point, and finishing on the starting line. Eight boats put in an appearance at the start, and they crossed the line as follows It was almost adead calm at the start, the different boats yulohing from the jetties into the river, In consequence of this atate of things, the Pinafore, which intended to compete, did not; and another noticeable absentee was the Oharm. She had hor bow-sprit carried away the other day by the Falke, and her owner had not had time to complete the necessary repairs. After crossing the starting line, the com-Poting boats tacked through the shipping with light southerly airs, the Mai Kent loading for a short distance.
Company's Wharf, the Arrow, which got opposite ' the Ohinese Merchants'
med in the food tide of Pootung in avoiding a collision with the Fearless at the start, obtained first place. Tt took the boats over an hour to tack down to the Naval Yard, and on reaching there the wind freshened a Kittle, Still progress was very slow, as the flood tide, which had up to then been making only' on the sides of the river, had now extended across it, counterbalancing the improved effect of the wind, and it, was a hard beat down to Silverthorne's Point. The Arrow more maintained her lead, and, weathering the Point, she sot her large jib and ran anay from her opponénis, the next boat, the Maid of Kent, being fully three quarters of a mile behind, while the others were nearly as far behind hor. ing boat rounded the mark-boat minutes to six o'clock; the Maid of Kent was nine minutes after her; and the Fairy rounded at ten minutes past six. The wind held until the Arrow reached the Point on the return journey, when it fell almost to a calm. lore she met the Ariadne and the Lorelei. The Intter turned round and drifted with her on the last of the flood back to the Settlement. The Arrow crossed the finishing line at 7h. 25 min, 23 sec., beating the Maid of Kent, which was second in, by nineteen minutes, and the Fairy by 20 min. 53 seo." We believe that none of the other boats went over the course, at least the time they finished was not taken by Inspector Howell, the official time-keeper on the Police Hulk.
'Mr. D. Glass, the skipper of the Arrow, in accordance with the conditions of the race, proceeded to the E-we jetty to receive the' prize he had won—an eight-dollar butter dish, but it was not forthcoming. In its absence he received warm congratulations from his friends.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.