Outer Cove headstones honour love of rowing to the grave

Rowing flows through the blood, sweat and tears of the people in a community by the ocean just outside of St. John's.

The residents of Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove have long been known for their record-breaking performances at the Royal St. John's Regatta.

"I remember listening to my parents talk about the men who rowed for Outer Cove in the past with such passion and respect," said Mayor Bert Hickey.

"As a little kid myself, I just couldn't help but get caught up in it."

Soit's only appropriate the families of some of the most historic rowers continue to honour their feats, even once they've stopped living and breathing.

I suspect you're going to see a lot more of this as we all pass away.- Bert Hickey

The cemetery near St. Francis of Assisi Church is somewhat Regatta-themed, and Hickey who has his own lengthy history with the Regattasaid the trend dates back to when he was a boy.

Hickey recalled seeing the headstone of Dennis (9:13)McCarthyas a child, and asking his mother what the number meant.

He found out that McCarthy was a member of the famous 1901 Outer Cove crew that set a 9:13 course record at the St. John's Regatta that year, a record that held strong for 80 years.

"One of the things this community was always so, so proud of was their success at the regattas," he said.

Etchings includedates, faces and memorabilia

The prior record was from 1885, set by another crew from Outer Cove more than a century before the event earned its "Royal" designation in 1993.

"Rowing played such a significant identification of what this little community excelled in," said Hickey.

WATCH: Zach Goudie finds out about the legacy of Outer Cove's rowers from Mayor Bert Hickey:

"If you look at the record books you'll see that Outer Cove back in the late 1800s/early 1900s would dominate the Regatta. They went up against the best that St. John's and all the other outlying communities had, and they'd always win."

Hickey, a retired rower and coach who led the M5 women's crew and Outer Cove men's crewincluding his son, Brent Hickey to championships last year, said the rowers from these historic crews more than a century ago were local heroes.

The families of the 1901 crew started the Regatta theme by honouring their historic record on the stones that mark their gravesites. Today it's not uncommon tosee fairly new headstones with etched photos of teammates, dates from being inducted into the Regatta Hall of Fame, and other Regatta memorabilia engraved.

"I suspect you're going to see a lot more of this as we all pass away," said Hickey.

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