Patrick Barrington has been on ‘the pond’ since he was in Grade 6 — almost 30 years — but there’s a good bet that when this 2018 Royal St. John’s Regatta is in the books, it will be the last time Barrington will row competitively on Quidi Vidi Lake.
“I’m 40 now,” said Barrington, the middle brother of the Barrington clan who followed their Hall of Fame father, John, to Quidi Vidi.
“I won’t see 41 down there, I don’t think,” he said, before adding with a big laugh, “well, if I do, I’ll be divorced.”
He’s kidding, of course. We think.
Point being times change, and while the Barringtons and Smith Stockley have rowed up and down Quidi Vidi all spring and summer, it’s different from what it used to be.
“I think there’s 10 kids between us in the boat,” he said. “So, trying to juggle that with rowing isn’t always easy.
“When we rowed 10 years ago, you’d go down to the pond at 5 o’clock and you’d be there until 8:30 or 9. I remember being down there throwing a football around, waiting to go out for another spin.
“Now, for a 5:40 spin, you show up at 5:30, 6:15 it’s over and by 6:30 I’m in the car and gone.”
It’s a special year, of course, for the Regatta, which is celebrating its 200th anniversary. And judging by the number of crews entered this season, everybody wanted to be a part of it.
There are 156 crews registered to row Wednesday. Compare that to the 96 last summer, 98 in 2016, 95 in 2015 and 90 in 2014.
“There’s been a lot more activity this summer, a lot more buzz,” said veteran coxswain Gord Delaney, celebrating his own anniversary of sorts this summer, that being 25 years steering crews on Quidi Vidi.
One thing Delaney has noticed is the number of men’s crews is noticeably up from previous years. The ratio of female rowers to their male counterparts had been, of late, heavily slanted towards the females.
“You’re seeing more men’s crews, and hopefully, they’re not all just around for the one year,” said Delaney. “It’s re-invigorated that category.”
Question is, could this be the final hurrah for a lot of crews?
For the top-ranked men’s and women’s teams, Outer Cove and M5 Group, this is the third year of their three-year programs.
And what’s a Regatta without a Smith Stockley team?
In addition to Pat Barrington, there’s Gerard Barrington on No. 5 oar, Ian Power, Derek MacDonald, Chris Quinton and Robert Lacey. John Barrington Sr. is the cox and Ken Power — another Hall of Fame rower synonymous with Smith Stockley — is the coach.
Ian Power, by the way, is Ken’s son.
John Barrington Jr. is not rowing, instead busy with kids who are now on the pond themselves.
“For us, with kids and family stuff, we don’t hang out there anyone,” said Pat Barrington, who in addition to rowing in his younger days was a member of the Ontario Hockey League’s Peterborough Petes for a couple of years in the late 1990s.
“Your time is booked, you go down 10, 15 minutes before, jump in the boat, and when it’s over, it’s, ‘OK guys, what time tomorrow? See ya. I gotta run.’
“If I want to run the Tely 10, I can do it on my own. I can run in the morning, at lunchtime, after work … whatever. In this type of sport, you have six guys — yes, you have spares, but it’s not the same — trying to juggle all those schedules. It can get difficult.”
Like the other teams, the Regatta’s 200th anniversary was the primary reason for coming back this season.
Last year, Smith Stockley finished second to Outer Cove, which won its second straight championship.
Outer Cove had the quickest time in the Time Trials, staged on a blustery Saturday earlier this month, in 9:52.07. Smith Stockley had the second-fastest time with a 10:25.36 showing.
