The Windermere Cup is a series of annual

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically ...

races hosted by the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, Washington, United States. The event is open to international teams and takes place on the first Saturday in May, in the Lake Washington Ship Canal around

Portage Bay Portage Bay is a body of water, often thought of as the eastern arm of Lake Union, that forms a part of the Lake Washington Ship Canal in Seattle, Washington. To the east, Portage Bay is connected with Union Bay—a part of Lake Washington— ...

, the

Montlake Cut The Montlake Cut is the easternmost section of the Lake Washington Ship Canal, which passes through the city of Seattle, linking Lake Washington to Puget Sound. It was completed in 1916 and is approximately long and wide. The center channel ...

, and Lake Washington. It is sponsored by Windermere Real Estate. The regatta was sponsored by John Jacobi, former owner and CEO of Windermere Real Estate, to bring some of the top international crews to race crews from the University of Washington. Begun in 1987 with the race won by the Soviet Union, the event draws major national and international crews each year to the Opening Day regatta where among other preliminary events, the annual Seattle Yacht Club boat parade signals the beginning of boating season in the northwest. In 2018, some 18 races from Lake Washington through

were held. Moorage for spectator boats is available on both sides of the course in Union Bay while thousands line both sides of

and stand on

Montlake Bridge The Montlake Bridge is a double-leaf bascule bridge that carries State Route 513 (Montlake Boulevard) over Seattle's Montlake Cut—part of the Lake Washington Ship Canal—connecting Montlake and the University District. It is the easternmo ...

(closed to vehicular traffic the opening day of racing) to view both the regatta and the parade of yachts that follows. On the graphic below, the starting line is to the right in Union Bay (Lake Washington) and the 2,000 meter race is run right to left, finishing at Portage Bay (Lake Union) near West Montlake Park, adjacent to the Seattle Yacht Club's main station. Windermere Cup Race Course

History

The Opening Day Regatta has been raced every year beginning in 1970 when the Seattle Yacht Club and the University of Washington's rowing coach Dick Ericson collaborated to add a collegiate rowing regatta to the Yacht Club's Opening Day celebration. Over the years the regatta has expanded to include junior and masters (post-college) rowers, as well as the First Responder's Cup, an annual grudge match between athletes from the Seattle Fire Department and the Seattle Police Department. Although many refer to the entire Opening Day Regatta as the Windermere Cup, the name applies only to the final two races featuring international crews. Seattle's first Opening Day boat parade was in 1895 in Elliott Bay, and was relocated to its current location at the Montlake Cut in 1920 after the opening of Lake Washington Ship Canal and the Seattle Yacht Club's relocation to Portage Bay on Lake Union.

References

{{Reflist Rowing competitions in the United States Annual college sporting events in the United States University of Washington