Free celebration with “One of Sailings 10 Best Parties” all day party Saturday
by Marc Apter 29 Jul 2023 13:27 PDT
August 4-5, 2023
The 50th annual Governors Cup Yacht Race culminates in “one of sailings 10 best parties” at St. Mary's College of Maryland on Saturday August 5 © Paul Matthai
The historic 50th annual Governor's Cup Yacht Race hosted by St. Mary's College of Maryland starts in Annapolis on August 4 and finishes on Saturday Aug. 5 with an all day party at the college in St. Mary's County. The public is also invited to the festivities dubbed "one of sailing's 10 best parties" by Sailing World Magazine. Four free bands start at 8:30 am and run till 9:00 pm with dancing encouraged. Food trucks and bars will cool off spectators and sailors. The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra will perform at 3:00 pm in the new air-conditioned Dodge Auditorium. See the racing boats at anchor in the harbor by free water taxi. Information at www.smcm.edu/govcup50 .
The race is the oldest and longest overnight competition on the Chesapeake Bay. It begins Friday, August 4, in the afternoon in Annapolis and ends Saturday, Aug. 5, at the College's waterfront on the St. Mary's River with post-race awards and festivities. The race from Maryland's modern-day capital to its colonial first capital in St. Mary's City includes the Pride of Baltimore, a 105 ft. topsail schooner built to the lines of an 1812-era Baltimore Clipper.
About 100 competitors are expected to arrive at the College to participate in an all-day festive atmosphere Saturday including four free rock and steel drum bands and a pay-what-you-wish concert by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. The rock bands include Groovespan (6:30- 9 pm) and CAISO. The public is also invited to the festivities and award ceremony dubbed "one of sailing's 10 best parties" by Sailing World Magazine.
The New Maryland Dove, an 84 ft. replica of a 17th-century square-rigger from Historic St. Mary's City, will be the finish boat at St. Mary's College of Maryland. The nature of the race has a lot to do with its enduring popularity. "It's a sailor's delight, a 60-mile open water race on the Bay that finishes as a tactical race up the St. Mary's River for 10 miles," said Adam Werblow, director of the waterfront and head varsity sailing coach for SMCM. "The leaders usually arrive at the finish at dawn or earlier and as the oldest and longest race on the Bay it's one damn exciting competition."
Special 50th post-race festivities will include live music and dancing from 8:30 am to 9:00 pm. This year's finish celebration at the College's waterfront promises to be a memorable one, with four bands playing throughout the day, some of the area's favorite food trucks and cash bar, showers and overnight accommodations for sailors and their guests as well as the public and even a performance by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO). All of the festivities are open to the public, and the music is free (donations accepted for the BSO concert in the College's newly-christened Nancy R. & Norton T. Dodge Performing Arts Center). Registration is suggested for the BSO concert at www.smcm.edu/bsoc.
St. Mary's College of Maryland's dinghy sailing team has won 17 national championships and produced more than 150 collegiate All-American sailors since 1991. In 2010, the team won the National Intercollegiate Sailing Association team racing championship. SMCM 2023 graduate Leo Boucher won the National Singlehanded Championship in 2022 and this year was named Mid- Atlantic sailor of the year as well as Sportsman of the Year.
St. Mary's College, the National Public Honors College, is ranked #6 among National Public Liberal Arts Colleges by U.S. News & World Report. The college is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. Approximately 1,600 students attend the college, nestled on the St. Mary's River in Southern Maryland.