PORT TOWNSEND — Saturday’s 22nd annual Rat Island Regatta will provide a quiet celebration of the power and beauty of non-motorized boats, inviting participation from any self-propelled craft and offering onlookers a chance to be part of the fun.
Port Townsend’s Rat Island Rowing and Sculling Club provides ground support, but the event is sponsored by the Sound Rowers Open Water and Paddling Club of Seahurst, which supports non-motorized, open-water races for human-powered craft throughout Puget Sound.
Entering the regatta requires each craft to pay a $10 per person entry fee for members and those 18 and younger, and $15 for non-members.
On the day of the race, fees become $15 per person for members and $20 for non-members.
All participants are invited to a post-race private barbecue.
“The regatta happens to be the best event because we have the most sumptuous feast at its end,” said rowmaster Ted Shoulberg. “We live for food and row for food.”
The regatta has two options, a 7.8- mile long course and a 2.9-mile short course.
Registration begins at 7 a.m. for a 10 a.m. start.
The starting and finishing point is at the Kitchen Shelter at Fort Worden State Park, going around Rat Island and returning on the same route.
Shoulberg expects about 100 people, which includes 32 Rat Island Rowing and Sculling Club members, with crews from Tempe, Ariz., and Portland, Ore., scheduled to participate.
It is open to all human-powered watercraft, including rowing shells, singles, doubles, quads, eights, kayaks, paddleboards and outriggers, with prizes awarded to the winner of each category.
“It is an unlikely sport because you are always facing the wrong way and can never see where you’re going,” said race director Steve Chapin about sculling.
“But being able to propel yourself across a big body of water is an amazing reward that is hard to explain.”
Shoulberg said the club is “open and inclusive” and welcomes rowers of various skill levels and experience.
“Rowing requires a lot of thinking because there’s a lot happening at the same time,” Shoulberg said.
Experienced rowers can just join the club and jump into a boat while beginners and those who need a refresher take a training course in order to learn the ropes.
The club is made up of volunteers who help each other out.
“Everyone needs coaching, but we don’t have a full-time coach,” Shoulberg said.
“So we help each other and watch out for each other.”
The club requires that each rowing party be accompanied by a motorized launch, which circles the area and provides help to any rowers in distress.
The club has about 70 members, with its $25,000 yearly budget originating from membership fees.
Aside from rowing, the club also rehabilitates vintage craft, most recently the Kathy Lazara Whitman, a 62-foot-long wooden classic racing shell.
For more information about the race, go to soundrowers.org.
For more information about the Rat Island Rowing Club, go to ratislandrowing.com.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
