Racers, organizers excited that River Regatta will return to Bradenton

Before Bradenton and Palmetto joined forces to host the first Bradenton Area River Regatta in 2015, the Powerboat Superleague had gone more than two decades without a race in Florida.

It was a glaring omission on the American Powerboat Association calendar since boat shops dot the Gulf Coast of Florida and some of the sport’s most accomplished racers hail from the Tampa Bay area.

The first Bradenton Area Regatta drew more than 100,000 spectators, a tour record. Then, in the event’s second year, bad weather shortened the race schedule, kept people home and threatened to kill the event. But the good weather and the crowds returned this year. And after the Bradenton City Council, following the lead of their Palmetto counterparts, approved the event on Wednesday, the regatta will return in 2018.

“What’s remarkable about this event is in just a few short years it’s now become the largest circuit-style (event) on the national tour,” said Mike Fetchko, who manages the regatta as part of Integrated Sports Marketing USA. “It’s a major salute to the cities of Bradenton and Palmetto, Manatee County, and really the numbers — the tens of thousands of regional spectators, because they’re coming from all over.”

The event has become the de facto home race for the Rinker family, a powerboat dynasty from Tampa. Rob Rinker won the inaugural regatta with his brother, Ashton Rinker, who lives in Riverview, right behind him. In Year 2, Ashton Rinker finished first and Terry Rinker, his father, finished second.

The Rinkers aren’t alone. Five of the 14 racers who ran in this year’s final of the Bradenton Regatta on the Manatee River are from Florida. Tom Ludwig, who finished sixth, is from St. Petersburg. Jeff Reno, another staple at the regatta, lives in Okeechobee. Fred Durr races out of Port Charlotte.

“It is always great to be able to race somewhere where you can go sleep in your own bed after the day’s racing,” said Terry Rinker, who owns Rinker Machine Shop in Tampa. “If the weather cooperates, it’s a wonderful venue for the crowds to come out and watch.”

With an earlier approval for the 2018 edition of the regatta — the city didn’t OK the 2017 regatta until the summer of 2016 — Fetchko expects an even bigger field of boats for the fourth-annual race.

Fetchko also said the regatta is seeking to expand its off-water attractions for 2018. He wouldn’t go into specifics yet, but he said one plan calls for keeping the Green Bridge closed for a bit later into the evening next year. He thinks watching fireworks from the bridge would be a fitting way to wrap up a day of racing.

“Even though it’s just two months since we’ve just finished the third regatta,” Fetchko said, “work began the next day.”

This story was originally published April 12, 2017 at 8:33 PM with the headline "Racers, organizers excited that River Regatta will return to Bradenton."