Ready, set, paddle at the Rochester Memorial Day boat and kayak race

May 04, 2026

ROCHESTER —The annual Rochester Memorial Day race will return Monday, May 25 at 8:30 a.m. Racers will begin at Grandma Hartley’s Reservoir and end at the Mattapoisett Herring Weir.

Contestants can either race in a boat of their making or in a kayak.

Kayakers must be 18 or older, race in a single-person vessel and wear a personal flotation device during the whole race. The entry fee is $10 for this division.

To compete in the Mattapoisett River race, contestants at least 7 years old will race in a homemade vessel made of a material of their choice. Each boat will carry two people.

There will be a men’s, women’s, junior boys, junior girls, co-ed and parent/child division for the river race. Junior division teams will be made of boaters under 14 years. Parent/child teams will be made of a child under 14 and their parent or an adult 25 or over.

Trophies will be awarded for first, second and third place for each division.

A registration session will be held at the Rochester Council on Aging at 17 Dexter’s Lane. The session will run from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on Friday, May 15. Starting positions will be assigned or drawn once registration closes.

Each contestant must submit a signed registration form to be eligible for a starting position. Forms and rules can be found at Lloyd’s Market, Arthur Benner’s house at 319 Cushman Road or at the registration session.

An annual ham and bean supper will be held at the Council on Aging the weekend before the race. Tickets for the Saturday, May 23 dinner can be purchased at the door. The event will run from 5 to 7 p.m.

During the dinner there will be a silent auction for two carbon fiber paddles. There will also be raffles for two of these paddles and an afghan made by Cecelia Hall. Raffle tickets can be purchased at the registration session and at the ham and bean supper.

To request the rules and registration form, to obtain free boat-building plans or for more information email Benner at artbenner@comcast.net or call him at 508-763-2024.