Poster for the 16th Annual Cooper Landing Chamber of Commerce Drift Boat Regatta. (Promotional Image)

Poster for the 16th Annual Cooper Landing Chamber of Commerce Drift Boat Regatta. (Promotional Image)

Cooper Landing Drift Boat Regatta returns for 16th year

The event will include a drift boat race, a spring cleanup along the river banks, and a costume contest for the racers.

The Cooper Landing Chamber of Commerce will host the 16th Annual Drift Boat Regatta on May 20.

The event will include a drift boat race, a spring cleanup along the river banks, and a costume contest for the racers.

Shannon Martin, executive director at the Kenai River Sportfishing Association, which has been selected as the nonprofit beneficiary this year, said Tuesday that the Regatta is a unique early summer event.

“It’s an opportunity for the local community to come out of hibernation, to get ready for the fishing season and have a fun, safe competition,” she said.

The river cleanup comes after the racers take off from Eagle Landing Resort — when rafts and fiberglass boats will float down the river and collect trash. Both the race and the cleanup end at the takeout near Sportsman’s Landing.

There’s still room for more racers and rafters to register to participate, Martin said.

“It’s the only time that two stroke is allowed on the river,” Martin said. “It’s a pretty cool sight to see.”

The race, Martin said, generally runs 20 to 45 minutes long, and the experienced racers usually replace the seats in their boats with lighter lawn chairs and even run the boats backward to improve their rowing efficiency.

At both the start and end of the Regatta there will be space for community — a BBQ at Eagle Landing Resort before the race at noon and an awards ceremony and prizes at Sunrise Inn at 4:30 p.m.

For more information, visit cooperlandingchamber.com.

Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.

More in News

A towering Lutz spruce, center, in the Chugach National Forest is about to be hoisted by a crane Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2015, for transport to the West Lawn of Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., to be the 2015 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree. (Photo courtesy of the U.S. Forest Service)
Tongass National Forest selected to provide 2024 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree

Eight to 10 candidate trees will be evaluated, with winner taking “whistlestop tour” to D.C.

A slash pile containing non-organic construction debris is seen at the Snug Harbor Slash Disposal site on Sept. 22, 2020, in Cooper Landing, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Kenai Peninsula Borough Land Management)
Assembly OKs concrete lease in Cooper Landing

The vote came amid widespread community opposition to the agreement

Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion
Children hunt for Easter eggs during the Easter Eggstravaganza at Nikiski Community Recreation Center on Saturday.
Easter eggs, bunnies arrive on the Kenai Peninsula

There are plenty of opportunities to grab a photo with the Easter bunny or seek out some eggs

Flier for Bear Awareness and Electric Fencing Workshops. (Provided by Defenders of Wildlife)
Local workshops to focus on managing bear attractants, electric fencing

The series will run Monday through Friday, April 1-5, in Hope, Seward, Kenai, Soldotna and Homer

A person walks up the steps of the Alaska Capitol, Jan. 16, 2023, in Juneau, Alaska. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer, File)
Some KPBSD schools could benefit from internet bill passed by House

If House Bill 193 becomes law, an additional six KPBSD schools would be eligible for the state’s grant program

Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion
A veterinarian with Greater Good Charities escorts dog Maggie into a free spay/neuter clinic at the Moose Pass Fire Station on Thursday.
Moose Pass rallies behind free spay and neuter clinic

The clinic was put on by Greater Good Charities Good Fix program

Signage marks the entrance to Nikiski Middle/High School on Monday, May 16, 2022, in Nikiski, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Nikiski student arrested after school shooting threats

The juvenile student faces charges of terroristic threatening

Armageddon waits to be shown at the Kenai Peninsula District 4-H Agriculture Expo on Friday, Aug. 4, 2023, at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Bjorkman farm tax relief bill clears Senate

The bill is now up for consideration in the House

Most Read