Placentia’s 1877 win irked St. John’s fans
The stunning performance of a crew from Placentia at the 1877 Regatta on Quidi Vidi Lake irked city rowers for over a decade.
Fourteen years later, in 1891, a St. John’s crew set out to compete in the Placentia Regatta to even the score. One hundred years later in 1977, a crew from Placentia celebrated the “1877” win by carrying a replica of the Placentia shell, and were applauded by all Newfoundland for their success. The Royal St. John’s Regatta up to 1877 had been a summer event dominated by St. John’s and nearby fishing communities, including Torbay, Outer Cove and St. Phillips. The news that crews that Placentia and Harbour Grace intended to register for the 1877 races sparked far more interest in the event than the local gentry expected.
The entry of Placentia did not go smoothly. When Placentia had failed to register by the deadline on August 7, organizers extended it, which meant in order for the crew to compete it would have to register on Thursday, August 9, which was Regatta Day.
The idea for Placentia to enter a crew in the St. John’s Regatta came about when John Foran, owner of Newfoundland’s biggest hotel, the Atlantic Hotel in St. John’s, and a member of the St. John’s Regatta Committee engaged noted boat-builder Ned Sinnott to build a boat for the St. John’s Regatta.
Foran paid Sinnott $75 dollars for the boat. Sinnott’s suggestion to assemble a crew of strong fishermen to row it at the St. John’s Regatta was welcomed by Foran.
There was little hope they could win
The boys from Placentia loaded their boat on to a horsedrawn sloven and set out on the 90-mile journey to St. John’s on Saturday, August 4 with expectations they would make their registration deadline.
They camped overnight at Holyrood Park to rest the horses.
Some Placentia fans, proud of the fact they were sending a crew to the St. John’s Regatta, held little hope that they could actually beat a St. John’s area fishing crew.
On the day the boat left Placentia, a letter was mailed to the Morning Chronicle in St. John’s, which expressed hope that the crew would make a favourable showing in St. John’s.
The letter signed, “Correspondent” stated, “It is hard to expect men who have had no practice and who are unaccustomed to the pond to match men like you have in St. John’s well-practised and acquainted with the race course.”
Confusion over name of the boat
At first, there was some confusion over the actual name of the boat. Three names for the Placentia entry appeared in old records of the regatta. An article in the St. John’s Chronicle identified the shell as “The Electric.” There was a boat called the Electric Flash at the time The Placentia was registered. However when it was registered, likely at Foran’s suggestion, it was entered as “The Placentia.”
Great performance but unlike the legend
Although over the century the story of the 1877 Placentia Crew developed legendary proportions, they actually won only one race out of six in which they participated. The Fishermen’s Race was the most important race in the Regatta, and was known in that era as “The Set Race”.
The Placentia not only won, but also recorded the time of 10:28, the best time for the day. As to the worthiness of the boat itself, rowers of the day considered it inferior to others on the pond.
Also contrary to legend was that when the Placentia crew left the city that night, they did not carry the boat back to Placentia on their shoulders. The trip back was a little easier because they had the horse-drawn sloven exclusively for their own use.
The legend of the ‘Seven Giants’ set aside, their win that day was not only impressive because they had beat the best St. John’s had to offer, but also the fact they had travelled a long distance with little opportunity to practice and familiarize themselves with the race-course and succeeded in winning the Fishermen’s Race.
Their only practice was a couple of spins on the pond in the morning before the Regatta Day program started. The Placentia Crew of 1877 became a worthy addition to the Regatta Hall of Fame and their story has earned a well-deserved place in the history of the Royal St. John’s Regatta.
On Monday August 13, 1877, Foran sold the boat for $112 at an auction held at the Market House, located in the old courthouse, in St. John’s. It was renamed “The Conest” and competed for several years after in the St. John’s Regattas under this name.
St. John’s sought to equal the score
Less than 15 years after the famous Placentia Giants came to St. John’s and won the Fishermen’s Race, rowers from St. John’s attempted to repay Placentia by bringing race boats to that community in hope of evening the score.
It was in 1891 that the Total Abstinence Society took two boats from Quidi Vidi to Placentia for a rowing showdown. The boats used were the Iris and the Gypsy.
Crowds turned out to witness the race held on the north side of Placentia. Rowing for St. John’s in the Iris were the St. John’s Tradesmen, while a crew from Placentia rowed in the Gypsy. Placentia humbled the St. John’s rowers by defeating them ¼ but they were splendid hosts, treating them to lunch and entertainment that evening.