Sailors from across the Chesapeake Bay region will set out from Annapolis on an overnight voyage to St. Mary’s City this week for the 53rd Governor’s Cup Yacht Race, the oldest and longest-running overnight sailboat race on the bay.
The race, presented by title sponsor PNC Bank, runs Friday, July 31, through Saturday, Aug. 1, with the main course covering roughly 70 nautical miles from Annapolis to St. Mary’s College of Maryland’s waterfront on the St. Mary’s River — a route organizers describe as connecting Maryland’s current capital with its first colonial capital. Race registration through nextSailor closed Sunday, July 26.
Three satellite routes will also feed into Saturday’s finish this year, including a Potomac Leg starting in Dahlgren, Virginia, along with legs departing from Solomons Island in Calvert County and the Piankatank River in Virginia.
The race traces back to 1974, when then-college President J. Renwick Jackson and three St. Mary’s College student sailors — Dale Rausch, Pete Sarelas and Russ Baker — organized what began as a student-led voyage between Annapolis and St. Mary’s City. Over five decades it has grown into what organizers call the Chesapeake’s most storied overnight sailing event, drawing as many as 100 boats in recent years across classes ranging from multihulls to various handicap racing divisions, including PHRF and ORC fleets that let boats of different sizes and designs compete on corrected time. Race Director Rick Loheed, the college’s associate director of waterfront activities, has overseen the event since 2008.
Adam Werblow, the college’s director of waterfront activities and head sailing coach, has served as principal race officer in past years and has described the event as distinct from the collegiate regattas the program runs throughout the season because of its scale and logistics. Unlike single-day races that start and finish in the same place, competitors and their support crews must independently get boats and gear to Annapolis for the start and then get people and vehicles down to St. Mary’s City for the finish — a level of coordination organizers say has made the overnight point-to-point format increasingly rare among American sailboat races.
This year’s weekend opens Friday with a launch celebration for alumni and race supporters at the Annapolis Maritime Museum & Park, running from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., ahead of the main fleet’s start from Annapolis later that evening.
Festivities shift to St. Mary’s College’s waterfront on Saturday, where the community is invited to watch boats arrive throughout the day alongside live music, food trucks from around Southern Maryland and other shoreside entertainment. The day builds toward an awards ceremony recognizing the race’s finishers, followed by a ticketed waterfront luau in the evening featuring Hawaiian food, hula dancers and a Polynesian fire dancer performance. Advance tickets for the luau are $50 per person.
The overnight format that defines the Governor’s Cup has become increasingly rare among sailboat races nationally, according to organizers, who say the logistics of getting both boats and crew to a starting point and separately transporting people and gear to the finish line have made the format harder to sustain elsewhere. Race organizers have noted that the final stretch into the St. Mary’s River, where shifting wind direction can force sailors to tack repeatedly over the last several miles, is often the most demanding part of the course.
Beyond the race itself, the weekend has become an informal reunion for St. Mary’s College alumni, many of whom return each summer for what is typically the last chance of the season to stay overnight on campus. Past years’ festivities have included live musical performances and, during milestone anniversaries, larger-scale additions such as a Baltimore Symphony Orchestra concert during the race’s 50th running in 2023.
As title sponsor, PNC Bank said in announcing this year’s race that it was proud to support an event highlighting teamwork, perseverance and the traditions of the Chesapeake Bay region.
Full details on registration, the race schedule, waterfront activities and luau tickets are available at smcm.edu/signature-events/governors-cup-yacht-race.
