Telegraph Journal and The Evening Times Globe, August 26^th, 1996

Kennebecasis crew caps off a perfect evening by edging out its British visitors

By: Jan-Christian Sorensen

East Riverside’s Ed Winchester is the latest in a long line of Kennebecasis Rowing and Canoe Club members to reach world-class status.

Ed Winchester, both arms raised, led the celebration for the local crew. Other members are Wayne Macfarlane, with flag at waist, Chris Flood, waving flag, and Sean Moore. Event organizer Greg Zed, is at far left.

Ed Winchester recently returned from the world championships where he was a member of the Canadian team that won a bronze.

Ed Winchester

Renforth - History has a funny way of repeating itself, and this time it made room for Ed Winchester.

Winchester and crewmates Sean Moore, Chris Flood and Wayne Macfarlane sculled their way to victory over their British counterparts in a rematch of a classic Canadian rowing victory in Renforth during Regatta 125 Saturday evening. The Canadian crew defeated the Tyne Rowing Club of Newcastle, England by six seconds in a time of 22 minutes and 10 seconds in the 6000-metre event.

The English lost more than simply the race the last time the two countries met on the Kennebecasis River in 1871, however.

English rowing champion James Renforth suffered a massive heart attack and died as his crew was trying to defend its world title during the affair. The village, then known as Chalet, was renamed Renforth in his honour shortly thereafter.

The importance of the race wasn’t lost on the 25-year-old Winchester, who has been a member of the Kennebecasis Rowing and Canoe Club for nearly 10 years.

"It really was an honour to be chosen for the rematch against Britain," said Winchester. "I didn’t realize the magnitude of the event - There’s a lot of history around the race, and it’s pretty exciting to be competing in it.

"It’s pretty hard to be a Kennebecasis rower and not know the story, although I now I know the history behind it. It’s really been coloured in for me in the past week."

People who Winchester hasn’t talked to in years-including high school teachers from his alma mater, Saint John High - have approached Winchester to offer their congratulations in the last week. He also noted that the Regatta has given birth to an increased number of armchair rowers and self-appointed experts on the original event that each have their own personal spin to put on the race.

While crewmates Moore, Macfarlane and Flood had to earn their seats in the regatta from a field of about 10 rowers, Winchester was given a free pass due to his current standing as a member of the national program.

Winchester missed out on qualifying for the Centennial Olympics by only three spots last November in Victoria, B.C., but managed to claim one of eight spots on a Canadian rowing development team that spent the summer competing in exhibitions across Europe.

It was the same development squad that captured the bronze in the lightweight men’s eight event at the World Rowing Championships in Glasgow, Scotland earlier this month.

"When you compare it to the Olympics, the World Championship was certainly no less of an event, because the competitive level is just as high," said Winchester, who carries no grief over his missed opportunity at possible Olympic glory. "Only four spots were available for the Olympic team, and the guys on the team are pretty irreplaceable. They’re four of the best rowers in the world, so they were the right guys for the task."

He is among only six K. R. C. C. athletes who have made it to the national team since the club opened its doors in 1971.

Flood and Macfarlane were two of those rowers. Also included in the select group is six-foot, five-inch Andy Messer, who was part of the men’s heavy eight Olympic team at the 1980 Games in Moscow but was unable to compete because of the boycott.

Locals Angela Bate and Kirsten Campbell also rowed their way the national B team in 1993, and placed third in the U.S. Rowing Championship in Indianapolis the same year.

Winchester first became interested in the sport after Flood and Macfarlane earned in the men’s pairs at the Canada Summer Games held in the Port City in 1985.

"There just seemed to be this wave of people who wanted to join the [Kennebecasis] rowing club after the Games," he said. "Of course, back then people said that we were all being trendy, but eventually the trendy people leave the sport and you’re left with more hardcore - the fringe element that’s willing to give it all they’ve got."

That’s exactly how Winchester views himself - and he puts in the hours to prove it.

In the summer, Winchester alternated practices between weights, jogging and time on the Kennebecasis. He spends most of the winter holed up in the East Riverside home he shares with his mother Marjorie and brother Steve, keeping fit on an Ergometer - in layman’s terms, a rowing machine.

Winchester arrived at the Kennebecasis Rowing Club just before five o’clock on Saturday, clothed in a in a white T-shirt and khaki shorts and sporting a military-issue haircut and iridescent Oakley sunglasses.

Although the four Canadian reps had only practiced for the first time together that very morning, none seemed to be too worried that they wouldn’t click when the race time rolled around.

"We all have a pretty similar work ethic," said Winchester, "and we all row similarly. We have no worries whatsoever about performing as a crew. We worked well together on the water this morning to get the bugs out."

"Winchester looked remarkably calm before the race and split his time between talking to friends and helping his crewmates prepare their craft. After being greeted by a woman in a denim dress that told him to "break an oar", Winchester explained why he appeared so laid back.

"Everybody approaches a race differently," he said. "Some guys need time alone to get psyched up - for them, it's like a fight. Other guys like to just joke around and be relaxed - it kind of takes the edge off. For me, I'm usually pretty relaxed, because I know that I'm prepared for the race.

"Once you're prepared for it there's nothing more you can do."

Early on, there was some worry about the choppy condition of the water and whether it would affect the race. The river had been a virtual mirror in the early morning, but a wind helped to whip up the waves later on in the afternoon.

Sensing the change in the weather, the Kennebecasis crew decided to stow its original craft in favor for a larger boat.

Flood took a break from checking the pitch on the arms of the boat and looked out on the water. "You wouldn't want to train in these sorts of conditions, that's for sure."

Winchester agreed.

"You don't want a lot of action out there or it could really take the boat out of the race," he said. "If you've got a good wind going, then it could be trouble on the water."

Luckily, as race time approached, the water slowly calmed and the sun made a surprise appearance, bathing the large crowd assembled on the Renforth Wharf and along the train tracks above the river in a brilliant display of pink and orange. Estimates of the spectators ranged anywhere from 5,000 to 15,000.

More than 50 sailboats and power-crafts were also moored on the river, and occasionally sent forth a loud report from an air horn as the race drew closer.

After a quick introduction and a practice lap, the teams were set to settle the international contest - once and for all.

Although the Brits kept up a good clip for most of the race, the Canadian team clearly pulled ahead around the turns on the course, and ended up finishing with smooth, solid strokes.

"It wasn't easy," admitted a winded Winchester shortly after the end of the race. "They were a very tough crew, but we had a good race."

The Regatta also featured two other competitions - the Baxter Foods Wallace Ross Memorial Singles headraces - which tool place before the long-awaited rematch got under way just after 7:30 p.m.

Todd Hallett and Richard Fader of the MicMac Rowing Club in Nova Scotia finished one-two in the men's half of the event. Hallett walked off with $2,000 and first place with a time of 12:09.39 and Fader crossed the line at 12:17.29 to collect $500.

Greg Lewis of Pennsylvania came in third with a time of 12:22.68, good enough to collect $500 also.

Todd Carson of the host club captured the highly-coveted Wallace Ross trophy, which is presented each year to a single sculler in the Maritimes under the age of 21.

In the women's event, Jenevieve Tetrault of the Montreal Rowing Club led the way with a first-place finish of 13:01.07 and a $2,000 prize. She was followed by Jennifer Skaling of Fredericton, who crossed the line with a time of 14:08.56

Third place went to Cara Gillis of Fredericton, who crossed the line with a time of 14:18.04. Olympian Allison Korn of Ottawa finished fourth. She won silver as a member of the eight-person crew.