Provincetown Schooner Regatta

You will never know the world aright,
till the sea itself floweth in your veins
and you are clothed with the heavens,
and crowned with the stars.
-- Camoes, Portuguese poet

In Memory of its Founder, Capt. John Bennett
Photo Deirdre Tasha

THE GREAT PROVINCETOWN SCHOONER REGATTA & YACHT RACE SEPTEMBER 3-6, 2008

e-mail: schoonerrace@yahoo.com ~ (310) 617-8554

2008 Application form coming soon!

Letter to Captains:

Directly over your bow, the Annual Great Provincetown Schooner Regatta looms in the offing for all of you who have participated in the past regattas, or those who have heard about this great nautical event and want to join the festivities and good natured competition this September in Provincetown Harbor.

Please mark your calendar and send in your registration to help us plan a great weekend activity for you, your crew and your vessel.

Each year the Provincetown Regatta gets better, offering more of the Town to our visiting sailors and crew, but the basics, which have proven so enjoyable in the past, remain the same.

FRIDAY AND SATURDAY: Vessels arrive and pick up their captain’s bags with information for berthing, mooring and schedules for events, parties and races. Please note that participation in the Regatta for vessels requires pre-registration.

FRIDAY: Starting at six p.m., the Crew Party, on the pier, under the stars, with great food and drink and live music for listening and dancing.

SATURDAY: Eight a.m. sharp, the Captain’s Breakfast. You and your navigator are must shows to get your Race courses and instructions.

SATURDAY: Eleven a.m., the Parade of Sail in the harbor, inside the breakwall.

SATURDAY: Noon. Vessels to the starting area, according to class.

SATURDAY: Six p.m. The Awards Dinner, a chance to regale, recount and enjoy the camaraderie, a just reward for a day under sail, whether or not you carry away a trophy.

We look forward to having you with us this September.

The Regatta Committee

OUR MISSION STATEMENT

The first Provincetown Great Schooner Race was held in September 2002 as a gesture of good will towards the late Captain John Bennett of Provincetown and his Schooner Hindu, a local vessel. Capt. Bennett had died early in the summer of 2002 before he could finish plans he had to invite friends in the tightly knit schooner world to call at Provincetown and race their vessels in our magnificent harbor. After his unexpected death on board the Hindu, the idea of realizing his dream was taken up by others in the Provincetown community who felt the Schooner Race would be a fitting tribute to Capt. Bennett and his famous schooner. All those who participated in this effort were inspired by Capt. Bennett’s philosophy that good fellowship and good times are an important part of everyone’s life.

The First Provincetown Great Schooner Race was such a success in the Town that its organizers were urged to carry on the tradition. Mindful of the important role 19 th and 20 th Century schooners played in the maritime commerce of Provincetown the Race was expanded to become a Schooner Regatta with a mission to celebrate not only the importance of Grand Banks fishing Schooners in the Town’s history but our fishing heritage and the wealth it left behind which includes the diversity of populations, cultures and creative expressions which have defined our rich and colorful past.

It is in this spirit that the Great Provincetown Schooner Regatta will hold its annual event in September and invite all of those who love the sea to join us in this annual celebration. The size of your vessel and the design of her rig matters not, especially if your schooner exists only in your dreams.

The only qualification for participating in the Regatta is a craving for good fellowship on the voyage of Life.

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