WEST BRITON AND CORNWALL ADVERTISER . 5 September, 1856 Addendum . DEVORAN, POINT, and PERRAN WHARF REGATTA . There has been no regatta at Devoran for the last ten years, although the branch of the river Fal, which extends to that part, offers good facilities for such an amusement, and the beautiful scenery of Carclew is viewed to advantage from the river, and the Devoran side of it. This year the regatta at Devoran has been resuscitated, through the exertions of some of the inhabitants, and an appeal for subscriptions having been liberally responded to, the whole amount collected was about GBP 40. . The regatta came off on Monday last, when the morning was very fine, but about ten o'clock heavy clouds darkened the atmosphere, and the rain poured down with but slight intermission until four in the afternoon. The time appointed for commencing the regatta was three o'clock, but the rain was so heavy and incessant that the committee had almost determined to postpone it, although that would have been a great inconvenience, as a considerable number of sailing and rowing boats had assembled to contend for the prizes, and a great many spectators were present, having left their homes before the rain came. Shortly after four o'clock the weather brightened, and the committee resolved to start the boats; a good breeze had sprung up, and after this time there was very little rain for the evening. . The river looked gay with a crowd of sailing and rowing boats; the "Sydney" steamer and vessels of the port had a great many people on board; and the Devoran side of the river was lined with spectators, some being also on the Carclew side. Cannon were fired at the starting and arrival of the boats, and Emidy's band greeted the victors with lively music. The Umpires of the matches were Captain W. HODGE, of Devoran, Mr. HENRY WILLIAMS, of Alma Cottage, Truro, and Mr. JOHN HERNAMAN, of Truro. . The first match was between sailing punts not exceeding fourteen feet. A considerable fleet of these started, no less than eleven sailing boats, which were as follows: "Albert", T. PETERS, Gerrans; "Durgan", C. TRELOAR, Devoran; "Eliza", N. HAYES, Devoran; "Ann", P. DUNSTAN, Point; "Swallow", W. OLIVE, Point; "James", R. WEBBER, Point; "Tom Scott", R. MICHELL and Son, Point; "Fourteen Brothers", J. WEBBER, Point; "Brothers", J. MAY, Point; "Kate," R. CHELLEW, Point; "Sisters" T. GRAY, Restronguet. . There was so little wind when these boats started that they were obliged to use their rudders, to scull, but soon the breeze freshened, and then the little fleet, with their distinguishing colours, tacking and manoeuvreing, presented a very pretty appearance; but in coming up to the moorings at Devoran the wind again failed, and the tide had set against them. The "Ann," which sailed remarkably well, passed the Devoran mooring at twelve minutes past six, considerably ahead of any of the other boats, and returned to the winning mark long before either of her competitors. The "Ann" is an old favourite, and well-known as a winner of former races in Truro river. The second boat was the "Tom Scott", and the third the "Durgan." The "Durgan" forfeited the prize, in consequence of the steersman having attempted to propel her with an oar, the rudder having broken. The committee, however, considered that as the crew persevered in going round the course, they deserved something; and th! ey awarded them 7s.7d. as compensation. The wind had so much failed that the other boats, with the tide against them, could not make way and reach the winning mark. . The next match was between pleasure yachts not exceeding fifteen feet. Four started – the "Cora", R. F. MICHELL, Truro; the "Primrose," JAMES BLEE, Falmouth; the "Active," W. WADE, Truro; and the "Gower" ROBERT STEPHENS Devoran. The course was from the moorings near the "Gap," (about half way between Devoran and Point) round a boat in Penpoll creek, thence round a boat opposite Tregunna wood, thence round a boat off Loe beach, back to and round the starting boat near the Gap; twice over the course. . There was an excellent start and the wind, N.W., had freshened to a good breeze. Unfortunately, after the boats had passed Marble Head, the wind failed, and it then became a mere drifting match to the winning mark. The committee very properly decided on sending the yachts only once round the course. At Mr. PHILLPOTTS's mark boat, off Loe beach, an occurrence took place which afterwards occasioned a dispute as to the prizes. The printed direction was, that all marks for sailing boats must be left on the starboard, and this direction was repeated by one of the committee before the boats sailed; but subsequently, another of the committee, who had authority to do so, called out to the yachts that they might round any of the marks as they pleased, except the winning mark. . [Two boats rounded Mr. Phillpotts's mark boat by leaving it on the starboard, but the third boat left the same mark boat on the larboard, and thereby gained an advantage. The wind failed at the same time, and the boat then used her large rudder as a scull, by which they came in second. The boat which came in third claimed the second prize, as the other boat went to the wrong side of the mark boat. That boat, of course, said they had instructions they could go on either side. The committee and umpires took a great deal of trouble to arrive at a right conclusion in the matter. All the crews were interviewed, and the crews of 3 boats stated that they heard no instructions allowing them to go on either side of the mark boats; they all understood they were to leave them on the starboard. The umpires considered they must adhere to the printed regulations, whereupon they awarded the second prize to the challenging crew. However, the committee awarded 10s to the crew of the boat whi! ch had crossed the finish line in second place by following the verbal instructions. The fourth boat, much smaller than the others, could not display as large a spread of canvas, and so lost the race.] . The length of the course for the rowing matches was about four and one-half miles, and a better and prettier course for such matches could not be selected. From the terrace, and a great number of the houses at Devoran, the rowing matches could be seen throughout the whole of their progress. . A contest between praams was very amusing. There were two Norwegian praams and one English: the "Mercurius," Capt. WHILLE of Longsound; the "Scandinavian," Capt. WRIGHT, Longsound; and the "I Will," D. HOYLE, Restronguet. The Norwegian seamen are known to be so skilful in the management of praams that it was considered, before starting, the Englishman had very little chance, and so the result proved. They made a good start together, and pulled lustily, but whilst the Norwegians pulled in a straight line, the Englishman was not so clever, but sometimes diverged to the right or left. At one time, he gained on his opponents, but at last seeing they were again fast going ahead he gave up the contest. The "Mercurius" came in first, and the "Scandinavian" second, both being heartily cheered on their arrival. . It was in contemplation to have a "shovel match", shovels to be used instead of oars, but the evening was too far advanced for this fun, and the committee declared the regatta concluded without it. The matches were on the whole well contested, and if the weather had been favourable, they would have afforded a very pleasant as well as exciting amusement. The assemblage of people soon separated, and at an early hour Devoran had resumed its usual quietude.