Rocketts Landing Sprints Regatta

All events will be finals, although we anticipate running several flights.

Races will start at 9:00 AM. A mandatory coxswains meeting will begin at 8am!

Events will be refereed by USRA. The race course will be controlled by the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary.

Saturday, June 14, 9 a.m. - 2 p.m.

For directions, click here.

Hosted by the Virginia Boat Club, in conjunction with the James River Adventure Games.

The Virginia Boat Club descends from one of the earliest rowing clubs in the United States. In 1876, seven young men from the Olympic baseball team and a six-oared shell founded the Olympic Rowing Club at Second Street by the Kanawha Canal.
As Richmond grew commercially and socially prominent, Richmond rowing flourished. In 1888, the Olympic Rowing Club and the nearby Kanawha Rowing Club merged to form the Virginia Boat Club. With their larger numbers and resources, they moved to Mayo's Island by the current 14th Street Bridge where they built the first of several boathouses.

That year (1888), the VBC hosted a large and successful regatta drawing rowers from as far away as Boston.

The modern Club was reorganized in 1986. Today, rowing on the James continues with The Virginia Boat Club and Virginia Commonwealth University Crew Club. The VBC is a private, not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to amateur rowing. Our boathouse was once the power generating plant for Richmond's trolley system. The boathouse is a large, white brick building distinguishable by the tall, red brick smokestack on the west side.

Register now through June 11 at Regattacental.com.

For more information and/or to volunteer, contact Dave Austin at Davidleeaustin@verizon.net

Spectators can watch the crews battle upstream over the 1000 meter course by standing by the Intermediate Terminal dock or on the banks of the Virginia Boat Club and Rocketts Landing site at 4708 Old East Main Street.

Breakfast and luncheon concessions will be made available and all proceeds will benefit the VBC dream to build a new boathouse!

This regatta is made possible by a generous grant from Rocketts Landing, LLC, developers of an urban village coming soon.

From the east or west of Richmond:

• Take I-64 East or West towards Richmond, to I-95 South,
  then follow the next set of directions:

From the north of Richmond:

• Take I-95 South towards Richmond, following signs for Petersburg
• Take exit 74-B - Franklin Street
• At the end of the exit ramp, turn left at the 2nd light onto East Main Street.
• Follow East Main Street through four stoplights.
• Just after the restaurant "Poe's Tavern," take RIGHT at fork.
• Continue 1/2 mile on East Main Street.
• The Virginia Boat Club is on the right, a large brick warehouse with a tall brick smokestack.
• Use the wooden steps to go down to the river; the entrance to the boathouse is on the east (non-smokestack) side of the building at ground level.

From the south of Richmond:

• Take I-95 north to Richmond, cross the James River bridge
• Take exit 74C - Broad Street - East (the exit ramp puts you onto 17th Street)
• Follow 17th across Broad Street, one block
• Turn left onto Grace Street, go one block
• Turn right onto East Main Street, follow East Main through two stoplights.
• Just after the restaurant "Poe's Tavern," take RIGHT at fork.
• Continue 1/2 mile on East Main Street (the Richmond Raft Company will be on your right)
• The Virginia Boat Club is on the right, a large brick warehouse with a tall brick smokestack.
• Use the wooden steps to go down to the river; the entrance to the boathouse is on the east (non-smokestack) side of the building at ground level.