Gearing up for a historic running of the Royal St. John's Regatta

The first Wednesday of every August is special to St. John's residents, and has been for two centuries.

This year marks the 200th edition of the Royal St. John's Regatta, which combines the athleticism and competition of fixed-seat rowing with the carnival atmosphere of a traditional summer garden party.

For many of the thousands of spectators who flock to QuidiVidiLake in the east end of the city,the races are arguably the least enough reason to go.

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What's more are the games of chance, socializing, eating good food and of course a classic Newfoundland beer tent for those wanting to enjoy a few sociables on their rare middle of the week day off.

A townie game of roulette

Speaking of beer, another tradition goes in hand-in-hand with the civic holiday on Wednesday. Regatta Roulette, locals call it. It's a night of drinking on the evening before the Regatta, in hopes the weather cooperates for the races to go ahead the following day and giving those who work in St. John's the day off to recuperate from a self-inflicted headache.

It's a risky game not to be played by the faint of heart. Colin Dalton, co-owner of the Duke of Duckworthpub, says the Tuesday night before the Regatta can either be busy or slow.

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"If people have made the decision to go home, we're empty. If they made the decision to stay out, the party's on," Dalton told CBC's St. John's Morning Show.

Dalton says his pub treats the Tuesday night before a Regatta like a Friday in the middle of the week.

"On Tuesday nights, people are debating whether or not they're going to go home at 10 or 11, and if it looks like the Regatta is going ahead, you stay out," Dalton said.

"Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose."

Weather lookinggood, knock on wood

The weather forecast so far looks good, with expectations for warm weather and winds not strong enough to cause trouble for the competing teams.

Meteorologist Rob Carroll, who works with Environment Canada's weather office in Gander, saysit looks like it should be a nice summer's day, with highs around 28 C in the afternoon, with westerly winds.

"They'll be light in the morning and they may pick up at times as much as west 20 kilometres an hour," he said Tuesday.

"But not really seeing anything more than that right now."

The races

Whatever your reason for hitting up the lake on Wednesday, the reason why the event exists is because of the races.

For 199 years to this point, rowboats have raced up and down Quidi Vidi Lake for pride, honour and a trophy.

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This year championship rings were commissioned for the 200th anniversary of the races and are being donated by Anaconda Mining to the winners of the men's and women's divisions. The rings are made with certified Anaconda Newfoundland gold and created by Terry George and Julie Bursey George, owners of The Golden Tulip jewelry store.

"This is exciting. It's the 200th running," Bursey George said.

"So it's kind of exciting for us to be involved in anything like this."

It took roughly six weeks for the rings to be made. From the design, to the prototype and the materials themselves pose challenges along the way.

"We have to find a refiner that will do exclusively Newfoundland gold, and then of course with the design we wanted to keep it simple," Bursey George said.

As for the races, the weather and a distinctly St. John's game of roulette, Dalton advises to make your plans late in the evening on Tuesday.

"I'd make my decision at midnight. At midnight at least you can go home and get sleep and get to work," Dalton said.

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