Nearly 70 years later, Mundy Pond Regatta goes off without a hitch

For what might just be the first time since the Dominion of Newfoundland joined Canada, the Mundy Pond Regatta went ahead as scheduled.

• Mundy Pond Regatta returning after almost 70 years

Punt boat racers travelled to the pond on a sunny Sunday in St. John's and raced in front of a crowd of several hundred spectators. 

"It's the first event on this pond since 1949, so it's a big event for the area. We've got a lot of teams here from the Mundy Pond area, and they're all enthusiastic about racing here today," said organizer Kevin Purchase.

He said many relatives of past racers from the Mundy Pond area were in attendance, and that one woman even wore a shirt that featured photographs of medals her grandfather won when the race was still in action.

That was Karen Renouf, who was planning to follow in the footsteps of her grandfather, who last raced in the Mundy Pond Regatta in the 1930s.

"In honour of my grandfather [Henry Williams] I'm here to do that here today for him," she said.

The event was one of the first races of the season and included male, female and mixed teams. 

The next big regatta in St. John's will be the Royal St. John's Regatta, which will take place weather permitting, Aug. 2.