CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — A powerboat narrowly missed a racing shell of high school girls on Sunday during the largest summer regatta on the Charles River.
The Cromwell Cup is a 1000-meter rowing race between Weeks Bridge and Magazine Beach.
More than 600 athletes from all over New England and the Mid-Atlantic competed in the Cromwell Cup. The event promotes awareness of rowing in the Boston and Cambridge communities.
Regatta organizers had posted signs and teamed up with the Charles River Alliance of Boaters to alert powerboat captains of the all-day event in advance and requested they hold off on traveling through the course while the races took place.
Multiple breaks were scheduled in between the races to allow any waiting powerboats to pass through the course.
David Wiedaseck, co-director of the Cromwell Cup, told Boston 25 News all of the boaters had been happy to wait, except for two who ignored a race marshal’s requests to stop, putting the rowers in danger.
The race was stopped as the marshal scrambled to alert the rowers of the oncoming powerboats and ensure their safety.
“We are really grateful that no one was hurt," Wiedaseck said. "The spectators were very upset and concerned at seeing this potential accident. It was a scary situation.”
@MassStatePolice we really miss you guys when your marine unit is not here. This boat MS1682BC and MS3342AY has a near miss and almost sank the rowing shell. They refused to wait 10 minutes for us to ge the High school kids out of the way pic.twitter.com/BbFgOmbpJb
— David Wiedaseck (@DavidWiedaseck) July 14, 2019
Massachusetts State Police is aware of the incident and is looking into it further, spokesperson Dave Procopio told Boston 25 News.
“The vast majority of the boating community was extremely cooperative and supportive of our event,” Wiedaseck said. “I am grateful to all of the responsible captains on the water.”
Cox Media Group