Placentia legend left wedding to row in Regatta
Adrian O’keefe, no doubt a Regatta all-time great, in 1971 showed the type of remarkable enthusiasm for the Regatta that has been its source of strength for almost 200 years.
He was the coxswain for the Placentia juvenile crew at the St. John’s Regatta in 1971. The Regatta was postponed from Wednesday to Saturday. This created a problem for O’keefe because he was set to be married on Saturday.
Not wanting to let his crew down, he left his wedding celebrations and rushed to get to St. John’s by 5:50 p.m. for the juvenile race. He set out with his new wife from Placentia at 4 p.m. in his brother’s car, accompanied by his wife’s sister and her friend.
In the excitement of the day, his brother neglected to tell him the gas gauge was broken. At about 20 miles from St. John’s, the car ran out of gas.
With just 30 minutes to race time, a car came along and offered assistance. However, they had room for only one person. Adrian left his new bride and the others on the highway with a promise to send help. He got into the car and headed for St. John’s.
O’keefe jumped out of the car when it got caught in a traffic jam near the old Memorial Stadium and ran all-out towards the boathouse. He got there just as his crew was exiting their dressing room.
The boys were so happy to see him they carried him on their shoulders to the boat. Just before the starting gun fired, O’keefe said, “Now boys, give me a wedding present. You don’t know what I went through to get here.”
The legendary O’keefe got his wish and his crew easily won their race.
Now he was able to get on with his wedding day. He picked up some gas and arranged a drive back the Trans Canada Highway to pick up his bride. He was fortunate to have married a girl who strongly encouraged his love for the Regatta.
In 1977 O’keefe’s Crew Made History
In 1977, a spirited crew from Placentia lead by the same Adrian O’keefe paid tribute to the Placentia Crew of 1877 by walking to St. John’s, carrying a race boat on their backs and competing in the St. John’s Regatta.
This marked the only time in regatta history that Placentia rowers actually carried a raceshell on their backs all the way to the St. John’s Regatta.
The 1977 Placentia Crew was the defending championship crew at that Regatta. They had won the 1976 Regatta championship and had won the Placentia championship in 1977 before setting out on their historic trek.
The crew recorded a 10:18 win in the Labour Race and a 10:56 win in the Transport Race. Even St. John’s fans cheered when the spirited Placentia rowers won the championship race in a time of 9:54.2. Members of the crew were: Adrian O’keefe, cox; Tom Whittle, stroke; Anthony Whittle, Gerard Barron, Brendan Whittle, Leo Collins and Frank Lannon.