Stay tuned for more details as we receive them about the best power boating regatta on Lake Erie. This time of year we see the I-LYA Junior Sail Regatta where Junior Sailors compete for points towards national competition in various racing classes. There is also the Deep Water Sailing Races where skippers compete by classes at Put-in-Bay.
Finally there is the I-LYA Senior Sailing Races which have been held for over 100 years with racers gathering at Put-in-Bay to race off the Western Shore. Races can be watched from the shore of Put-in-Bay. Stop by the downtown harbor for a colorful display of sails, and sleek racing craft including many Scarabs.
Put-in-Bay has plenty of lodging for those who wish to stay overnight and enjoy more of their island time. Find a Put-in-Bay hotel room, or maybe a rental home or condo to spend the night.
Power Boating Facts and Fun
- Powerboats from all over Lake Erie come together at the Put-in-Bay Ohio Boat Docks. Boats of all shapes and sizes gather at the public docks downtown. Reservations are not accepted for the public docks, so please come early. First come, first to the bar
- The first powerboat racing took place in 1829 while the era of annual racing started in the year 1856.
- The earliest boat to be powered by a petrol engine was tested on the Neckar River by Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach in 1886, when they tested their new “longcase clock” engine.
- The first ever motorboating competition was established by Alfred Charles William Harmsworth in 1903 and was appropriaetly called The Harmsworth Cup. It was envisioned as a contest between nations, rather than just between boats or individual captains.
- The first major Powerboating race in the USA took place in the year 1903 as the Gold Cup organized by the American Power Boat Association (APBA).
- When two boats under power are about to meet head-on, neither has the right-of-way. Both vessels must make a noticeable course alteration to starboard after giving the proper signal of one short blast.
- When two power boating vessels under power are crossing, the boat that has the other to starboard is the give-way vessel and must avoid the other by passing astern.
- You’re not required to have your radio on. But when it is, the law says you must listen to Channel 16 or for recreational boats turn to Channel 9.
- An inboard/outboard contains a hybrid of a powerplant and an outboard, where the internal combustion engine is installed inside the boat, and the gearbox and propeller are outside.
*** This is a tentative date ***