“When we arrived in Lunenburg and took a look at those rugged fishermen who had been out fishing all summer and who were in top shape, we kind of had second thoughts,” said Lloyd Heisler and Russell Langille when they looked back on their thirty-six races. Describing themselves as “a couple of hayseeds who rowed a dory now and again,” the team acquired an expertise that put them at the top of international dory racing.
Beginning in 1934, Heisler and Langille rowed together for twenty-one years. They were consistent provincial champions for two decades. Internationally, the partners competed in the famed Gloucester and Lunenburg International Dory Races and carried off the coveted trophy from their first entry in 1952 until their retirement in 1955. They defeated Gloucester’s team in their final championship race at the 1955 Lunenburg international competition.
• Heisler and Langille rowed together for 42 years
• 1st at Gloucester Int’l Dory Race: 1952, ’53, ’55
• 1st at Lunenburg Int’l Dory Race: 1952, 54, ’55