Harbour Grace Regatta marks special milestone
Annual event turns 150; expanded celebrations planned
Wit an hen the boats enter the cool, blue waters of Lady Lake in Harbour Grace for the start of the annual regatta July 28, it will mark the 150th that’s happened.
The second-longest continuous sporting event in Canada turns 150 this month. The event trails only the Royal St. John’s Regatta in that department.
To celebrate, Joanne Taylor, Bud Chafe and the rest of the Regatta Day committee have expanded the normally one-day event.
While the races will still be held on July 28, the committee has decided to stretch out the sesquicentennial celebrations.
“We’re making event,” said Taylor.
Starting today, the committee has numerous events planned, including a temporary drive-in movie theatre at Lady Lake on Monday, complete with a 40-foot viewing screen.
Dubbed Movies in Motion, patrons will be able to park their cars and enjoy a classic moviewatching experience.
The committee is working with the Pirate Days celebrations in Harbour Grace today at the harbour.
The official regatta anniversary date is July 22 — Sunday — designated as re-enactment day, with plans to stage an event similar to an early regatta. It’ll feature whaleboats on loan from fishermen in Lower Island Cove and there will also be cardboard boat races.
The main event is the regatta on July 28, with a mini-regatta planned for July 29.
The idea is to give novice rowers an opportunity to get on the lake, sharing an oar with an experienced rower.
eight-day
Regatta history
It was on July 22, 1862 that the first regatta was run — members of the Harbour Grace Volunteer Fire Company dressed in their blue uniforms and carried the boats to Lady Lake.
At the time, whaleboats propelled by four oarsmen and guided by a coxswain were used.
Today’s racing shells feature six oarsmen and are made of fibreglass.
Those first whaleboats had names — Medlock, Weasel, Hawk, Test and a gig named Nelly — and their own unique histories.
It was not until 1971 that the regatta committee of the day purchased three six-oared shells from the St. John’s Regatta committee.
Let there be light
The expansion of the regatta celebrations are not the only addition at Lady Lake this year.
For the first time, full electricity service is available at the boathouse. Previously, a portable generator provided power, meaning a familiar noise will be missing this year, much to the delight of organiz- ers like Bud Chafe.
“You can have any kind of activities now,” he said.
The Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) footed the bill for the $75,000 it cost to install utility poles and run power lines to the site. Future plans include the expansion of the boathouse to accommodate an indoor rowing facility.
“If it’s windy, we can’t put anyone on the pond,” Chafe said. “This would allow them to do the same thing indoors.” Rowing in Harbour Grace is a family affair.
Joanne Taylor been involved in rowing for almost 30 years. Her extended family — the Taylors of Bristol’s Hope — have been pulling on oars for five generations, beginning in the early 1900s when Percy Taylor Sr. took up the sport.
Family names like Williams, Chafe, Dove, Downing and Pike are all synonymous with rowing in the town.
With Harbour Grace starting off rowers as young as seven, Taylor said it is not strange to see older siblings joining in, followed by parents.
Chafe started with the Regatta in 1961, and now has two granddaughters (Emily and Abigail) involved in rowing.
Chafe’s grandson, Brendan Chafe, will race in the senior men’s division and serve as a coxswain with four other crews.
Many crews
Taylor said there will be 36 local crews rowing in the 150th Harbour Grace Regatta, the most she has ever seen, with rowers ranging in age from seven to 75.
It’s a sign that rowing is alive and growing in the Conception Bay North region.
“It’s because we’re the only sport in the area that doesn’t cost any money,” said Taylor.
Excitement is running high for regatta day, but the races hinge on one key factor — wind conditions.
“Old man weather is going to determine whether it goes ahead,” said Chafe.