Catch Some Of The Fastest Powerboat Racing At Orange Cup Regatta In Lakeland

POLK COUNTY, FL — Local residents and all can enjoy some of the fastest boat racing fun in Lakeland Saturday and Sunday at the Orange Cup Regatta.

2021 marks its 83rd event making it Polk County's second oldest sporting event. Major League Baseball Detroit Tigers spring training is the oldest. Walter Engle started the Orange Cup Regatta in 1933. The races will be at the end of the American Powerboat Association's season, a news release said.

“We think this is going to work to our advantage,” Gene Engle, Orange Cup director and Central Florida Racing Club president, said. “This is really two races — one Saturday and one Sunday. So there are a lot of points to be earned.”

The largest entries, the Grand National Hydroplanes, run first. Known as “the quake on the lake,” they reach speeds close to 150 mph. Other fun events to watch include the smaller classes of racers, such as the Jersey Skiffs, that often spend as much time in the air as they do in the water, officials said. Fans and spectators are welcome to ring Lake Hollingsworth with chairs and blankets to enjoy the action.

Races start roughly at 10 a.m. and run until dusk, weather permitting. Practice rounds will take place Friday, Oct. 15, starting at noon. It is free to attend the weekend races.

Orange Cup Regatta 2013 footage: