Hampton Cup Regatta 2026

Date: 5 September 2026 – 6 September 2026

Location: Fort Monroe, Hampton, United States

Organizer: Hampton Cup Regatta

The Hampton Cup Regatta is the oldest continuously run hydroplane race in North America, first contested in 1926 by members of Hampton Yacht Club. Since the mid-1960s the course has been Mill Creek at Fort Monroe in Hampton, Virginia, watched from the shoreline and the East Mercury Boulevard bridge. Dozens of inboard hydroplanes and other powerboat classes run heats through the weekend, with the fastest boats well past 150 mph on the straights. Spectating is free and the viewing is close, which is part of why the event has survived a century of changes in powerboat racing. 2026 is the milestone year: the 100th annual Hampton Cup Regatta, scheduled for early September 2026. To be clear, this is motorsport on the water rather than sailing, but as a piece of American racing history running in the shadow of a 19th century fortress, it has few equals on the East Coast.

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