A truly Chesapeake-culture tradition is workboat racing and for the second year in a row that tradition is coming back to Yorktown.
Whether in days of sail or motor power, watermen racing home from fishing grounds was a daily event and brought bragging rights to the winner back at the dock.
In that spirit, Yorktown Workboat Races and other events will be offered on Saturday and Sunday, May 31 and June 1, at the Yorktown waterfront. The races will be conducted on Sunday, June 1.
Before being halted in 2005, organized workboat races had been a part of Yorktown’s waterfront for many years. The revival is largely due to the work of Allen Holston, founder of Workboat Life Inc.
“We had workboat races here for years largely due to two ladies, Nancy Laurier and Marion Hornsby Bowditch, who had a dream of seeing York River filled with beautiful Chesapeake Bay deadrises gathering to display their beauty and power,” said Holston. “Many of us felt it was time to bring that back to Yorktown and York County.”
Workboat Model Show
Along with the races, there will be a judged Workboat Model Show in the historic Freight Shed on Riverwalk Landing at the Yorktown waterfront. A parade of race participants will be presented as they go to line up for the races and once the races have concluded there will be an awards ceremony.
Fresh seafood will be prepared onsite as well as there will be other support vendors and associations connected with the watermen, their boats and the bay’s cultural aspects.
“The watermen work hard all year long while braving the hot with the cold, the rough with the calm, the good with the bad,” said Holston. “We are working hard to organize a fantastic event for watermen, their families and community to come together in celebration of their generational heritage while sailing into the future. This day they will be proud to be watermen!”
Workboat Life Inc. was founded in 2018 by Holston to capture the history and culture of deadrise boats and the seafood industry “as things were rapidly changing,” he said.
The organization focuses on teaching the historical and cultural story of life along the waterfront and of local seafood from the river to the table. Workboat Life Inc. has more than 30,000 views on its Facebook page.
Workboat racing event boasts multiple offerings
The 2025 Yorktown Workboat Races, along with the Workboat Model Show and Workboat Art Show, is set for Saturday and Sunday, May 31 and June 1, at the Yorktown waterfront.
On Saturday, May 31, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., there will be watermen displays and demonstrations; tributes to the local seafood industry; and children’s activities for all age groups on the grounds of the Yorktown Watermen’s Museum.
At 10 a.m. the Yorktown public dock will open. There will be classic Chesapeake Bay wooden deadrise boats and Chesapeake Bay buyboats for the viewing. The buyboat East Hampton, celebrating 100 years of age this year, is expected to be at the dock, along with the 101-year-old log boat F.D. Crockett and the buyboat Linda Carol.
From 6-9 p.m. a watermen’s and sponsor “Saltwater Heroes” Appreciation dinner will be presented (not open to the public).
On Sunday, June 1, docks will open to the public at 11 a.m.; workboat model/art show, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.; captain’s meeting, 11 a.m.; opening ceremonies with National Anthem, Invocation Prayer and Blessing of the Fleet, 12:30 p.m.; boat parade, 1 p.m..; racing starts, 1:30 p.m.; and awards ceremony, 4 p.m.
