Mayor's Cup is here with full day of events on tap
Jul. 7—PLATTSBURGH — It's Mayor's Cup Day in Plattsburgh.
The 46th annual Regatta and Festival kicks off this morning with kayak rides and a 5K run/walk and, of course, the sailboat race as well as many other events.
A total of 46 boats in three divisions will launch for the race on Plattsburgh Bay at 10 a.m.
BEST VIEWING SPOTS
They will be competing for prizes in all divisions and the coveted and storied actual Mayor's Cup.
Prime viewing spots are the Plattsburgh City Beach, the City Marina or from the Terry Gordon Bike Path.
Today's events will begin with the kayak ride at 7:30 a.m. at the beach. The 5K run/walk will follow at 9:30 a.m.
LANDLUBBER EVENTS
Throughout the day, several events are scheduled for the whole family to enjoy including volleyball, sand sculpting, a kids' fun run at 11 a.m. and much more.
The band Damaged Goods will be performing live at the beach in the afternoon, and the city will be presenting Hayley and Annie in the Water performing Fleetwood Mac's album Rumours live this evening around 6 p.m.
Free parking at the beach, courtesy of the Sunrise Rotary Club and the city will be available all day.
The Regatta makes for great viewing as the boats unfurl their sails and spinnakers as they jockey for position to catch the most wind.
"Of course, it depends a little bit on the wind conditions, but generally, the view from the City Marina is quite good," Kjell Dahlen, Sunrise Rotary Regatta Chair, said.
Dahlen said he expects the races to be finished before 4 p.m.
VALCOUR RACE
An awards ceremony for the winners will be held at 6 p.m. at the Naked Turtle next to the City Marina.
An additional race, the Valcour Race, will also be held on Sunday, hosted by the Sunrise Rotary.
"It's less of a formal event than the Mayor's Cup so we are gonna start outside the City Marina, at the navigation mark there ... it wraps around Valcour Island and then back," Dahlen said recently.
"It seems to have quite an interest this year and I'm confident that this year that we will have a great weekend, and I expect to see the best sailors from Canada, Vermont and New York."
Originally hosted by the Valcour Sailing Club, the Valcour Race was immensely popular with the local sailing community in the 1970's and 1980's.
The Valcour Race will also be added to this year's Lake Champlain Championship Series (LCCS) and advance registration is required. However, all boats registered for the Mayor's Cup Regatta are automatically registered for the Valcour Race.
"We were delighted to see a significant increase in boating traffic on Lake Champlain last summer," Dahlen said, "and thought it might be exciting to bring back the Valcour Race and add another day of competitive sailing to this year's Mayor's Cup Regatta weekend."
E-mail: jlotemplio@pressrepublican.com
Twitter: @jlotemplio