The Telegraph Journal, Saint John, N.B., July 4, 1972

By Douglas Glover, Staff Writer

First boat, first crew - The new Kennebecasis Rowing and Canoe Club launched its first four-oared boat on Saturday. The boat's first crew are from left to right: John Wallace, bow man; Tim Frink, number three man; Latif Chaudhari, number two man, and Charles Fawcett, stroke.

With a splash, an old sport returned to Saint John on the weekend.

The newly-formed Kennebecasis Rowing and Canoe Club launched its first boat early Saturday morning marking a rebirth for Saint John of the sport of rowing.

The inaugurating craft, a four-oared boat, was a long needle-shaped craft with a shell, so thin that rowers weren't allowed to put their weight directly on the bottom of the boat when getting in or out.

There were four places for the rowers all facing the stern. Each place had a set of leather "shoes" into which the rower laced his feet. The small wooden seats were set on runners so that they slid back and forth during the rowing motion.

The rowers had one oar apiece and sat in single file so that there were two on one side of the boat and two on the other. The bowman, in addition, maneuvered the boat by shifting his right "shoe" which was attached to the boat's rudder.

The crew’s coach, Donald Lamb, said, "This coxless four is the hardest of all boats to row technically. If you can learn how to row one of these, you can row anything. Even the eights are easier."

Don MacGowan, the club's information officer, said this was the club's first boat. They already have an eight-man rowing barge for practice and they expect to have a new four-man boat within a week.

The present boat comes second hand from the Micmac Rowing Club in Dartmouth, N.S. Mr. Lamb said he could remember rowing against her when he was younger in Halifax.

The club was only formed in February as a result of interest aroused by the Centennial Regatta last year. The parent body was the Renforth Community Centre and the rowing club uses the centre's wharf and clubhouse facilities.

Mr. MacGowan said he's been told that the Kennebecasis club is already off to a better start than the St. Catherine's Club that made Canada a rowing power.

He said the club plans to bold a regatta this summer on Aug. 19 with crews from quite a wide area competing.

He said, "We planned it for that day so that it wouldn't interfere with any other rowing events planned for this summer. These people would love to come. After all what's the point of training all summer long if you don't race?

"Besides," he said," the Canadian Association of Amateur Oarsmen will pay travelling expenses to any certified meeting. That's how we plan to send a crew to the Canadian Henley Regatta next summer."

To help with the rowing program, the club has acquired the services of Jerry Leinert, a former Canadian Olympic coach and pioneer of the St. Catharines Rowing Club. Mr. Leinert will be working in the Saint John area and has offered to coach the club's crews.

The crew on Saturday morning was new to rowing and so the morning workout was spent in getting familiar with the boat and the technique of rowing.

The waters of Kennebecasis Bay are ideal for rowing and unlike many rowing areas the bay has plenty of length for training and competition. Races usually cover 2,000 metres.

To get a better idea of what it was like, this reporter doffed his shoes and socks and jacket and stepped into the bow position to have a go.

You have to step down on the seat runners rather than the bottom of the boat otherwise you might put your foot through.

I got my feet into the "shoes" and we were off. The boat is light and appears very tippy, like "riding on a rubber ball." But you soon learn to keep balance with the oars.

The tricky part is learning to get a rhythm, sliding forward and backward in time with the other rowers. It's not at all as easy as it looks.

The little experience I had of it convinced me Mr. Lamb was right when he said the biggest requirements for a rower are strength and stamina. In rowing, the whole body, from toes to shoulders, is involved in the effort.

The club's biggest requirement now is money and rowers said Mr. MacGowan. "Money, because it's an expensive sport with boats like the one launched today costing $2,500 and rowers, because we need crews."

Mr. MacGowan said, "the rower also needs dedication. This crew here today are organizing to come down twice a day every day to train."