The Lower Island Cove Regatta is an annual event held in the community at Island Cove Pond.
I remember older residents talking about the original 'boat houses' which were located on the north side of the pond years ago. There's nothing left there now. The Regatta was held for many years up until the early 70s when the event came to a halt. The Regatta was revived in the early 90s by the newly formed A.Y.L.A. (The Association for Youth and Leisure time Activities).
The regatta is usually held on the 2nd weekend in August. Crews consist of people from the Lower Island Cove area, as well as crews from places such as Hr. Grace.
I rowed with friends a few years in the early 90s in the youth division. I also was Coxswain for a mens team for a year or two as well. It was always something we looked forward to in the summer.
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| The A.Y.L.A. Building, at Island Cove Pond |
Regatta weekend usually kicks off with a Folk Festival, Fireworks and miscellaneous events. Race day is Saturday with all races held that day along with food and games for the kids. An adult dance takes place Saturday night at the A.Y.L.A. building.
The 1st Lower Island Cove Regatta
I was always curious about what year the Regatta started, and who rowed in the first races. This got me searching for information. From my research, I learned that the first Regatta took place 105 years ago!
The article below describes the very first LIC regatta, which took place Thursday August 15, 1912. It appears that this event was part of the Sunday School picnic, which was probably like a church garden party like you see today.
There were four boats on the pond:
1) The Beothic
2) The Myrtle
3) The Crimson Arrow
4) The Volunteer
The writer (K. Morris - Secretary Regatta Committee) seems disappointed that only 3 races (one in each division) were held for the day. There were Fisherman, Student and Juvenile divisions. There appeared to be a rivalry between North and South sides of Lower Island Cove. The article describes the members of each crew. I wonder how old the juvenile racers would have been? Since we have the names of the crew members, we should be able to figure out how old the racers would have been that year.
An tea was prepared for the racers and spectators after the event, which was followed with games for the kids which went into the "Wee sma" hours at the Orange Lodge (this building still exists in Lower Island Cove). Sounds like a good time was held by all!
Here's the write-up which describes the first Regatta. Did your ancestors race?
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| The Evening Telegram - August 19, 1912 |
This letter to the Evening Telegram from Chas. (Charles) Garland August 21st, 1912. It appears that the Beothic had a clear advantage on the pond over the Myrtle. He mentions having shipbuilder Wm. (William) Broderick build a couple new race boats to keep the races fair.
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| The Evening Telegram - August 24, 1912 |
The 2nd Regatta (August 20, 1913) is described below. It sounds like the morning weather was not the greatest on race day. It cleared in the afternoon and they managed to go ahead with the races. There appeared to be a good turnout of spectators for the event once the weather cleared up.
They kicked off the Regatta with a running contest which H. A. Gillingham from Musgrave Harbour won. I wonder how long the race was? Maybe they ran around the pond.
It sounds like only two boats were used for the 1913 races:
1) The Beothic
2) The Dreadnought
Unlike the first race in 1912, the 1913 Regatta have teams from the neighboring community of Caplin Cove, who did quite well in the races. It appears that both Juvenile and Senior Fisherman races were won by the Caplin Cove teams.
The Student race was between a LIC team and an "All-comers" team which appears to be made up of people from several communities. I'm guessing due to low numbers it had to be done in this manner to allow racing in that division.
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| The Evening Telegram - September 6, 1913 |
Thanks to Lance Tock for sending me these old pictures of the Regatta.
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| 1965 or 1966 LIC Regatta |
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| Race boats on Lower Island Cove pond |
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| Boathouse on Regatta Day |
Earlier today, I presented the A.Y.L.A. with a framed copy of the above articles to be displayed in their building.
I hope you enjoyed my findings describing the first two Regattas. Keep an eye on this Blog for more Lower Island Cove history stories.
S.
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