Windermere Cup

Begun in 1987 with the race won by the Soviet Union,[1] the event draws major national and international crews each year to the Opening Day Regatta where among other preliminary events, the annual Seattle Yacht Club boat parade signals the beginning of boating season in the northwest.

[4] On the graphic below, the starting line is to the right in Union Bay (Lake Washington) and the 2,000 meter race is run right to left, finishing at Portage Bay (Lake Union) near West Montlake Park, adjacent to the Seattle Yacht Club's main station.

Seattle's first Opening Day boat parade was in 1895 in Elliott Bay, and was relocated to its current location at the Montlake Cut in 1920 after the opening of Lake Washington Ship Canal and the Seattle Yacht Club's relocation to Portage Bay on Lake Union.

[5] The Opening Day Regatta has been raced every year beginning in 1970 when the Seattle Yacht Club and the University of Washington's rowing coach Dick Ericson collaborated to add a collegiate rowing regatta to the Yacht Club's Opening Day celebration.

Although many refer to the entire Opening Day Regatta as the Windermere Cup, the name applies only to the final two races featuring international crews.