The annual 12-ounce Regatta is a contest of wits, craft and fun with a little bit of alcohol sprinkled in.
Nautical contraptions of beer cans – root beer cans for the kids – electrical tape and a hodgepodge of other household items raced along a specially designed course yesterday afternoon to capture victory and raise money for a local charity. But don’t be fooled by the laughter and cheers erupting from a pavilion at the Port Annapolis Marina. The Chesapeake Outdoor Group’s event is a serious and competitive enterprise. The regatta is the organic evolution of a rained-out vacation day seven years ago, when a group of buddies in the Outer Banks found themselves cheering on an empty beer can that had been toppled into the pool by the wind. The weather cleared, and “next thing we know, we had rules, regulations,” Tickel recalled. “It was basically a competitive recycling event. You go down to the beach and collect whatever you could find. We had races for seven straight days.” The friends eventually formed the COG nonprofit group, partly to give back to the community, partly to legitimize their fun. “We kind of hit on that niche of people who like to party and like to help,” Tickel said.
Over the past six years, the 12-ounce Regatta has raised around $18,000 for the Annapolis Maritime Museum. The group also holds brew tours, ski trips, an annual crab feast plus monthly charity-drive/happy-hour events that have raised money for everything from school supplies to a nature preserve. The uniting element of COG’s approximately 100 members is a love of being outside, having a good time and helping someone out.