The word
regatta is defined as:
a rowing, speedboat, or sailing race or a series of such races. Cf.:
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/regattaRegatta has been used since the 1600's with that meaning. Unless you are trying to organize a speedboat race limited to Boston Whaler boats, using the term
regatta seems inappropriate and confusing as a word to describe a rendezvous--"a meeting at a particular place and time"--of Boston Whaler boats and their owners.
At one time the Boston Whaler company seemed to be quite interested in assisting their boat dealers in organizing Boston Whaler boat owner rendezvous. I attended several. The usual situation was a bunch of old guys with 20 to 40-year-old Boston Whaler boats in tow showed up. I think the concept of the dealer-sponsored rendezvous with factory support was to draw in potential new boat customers that might buy a new Boston Whaler boat from the sponsoring dealer. But old guys with maybe $20,000 invested in their old classic Boston Whaler were not the right prospects for a new Boston Whaler boat that might cost $75,000 to $750,000.
It's perfectly fine for someone to think that their Boston Whaler boat designed in the 1970's or 1980's that's basically a big open skiff with a simple console and seat made of wood is the ultimate achievement in recreational boat architecture, but to go to a factory-sponsored event and tell that to the dealer-sponsor to their face might have been a bit too much and may have dampened enthusiasm for the dealer to host follow-on events.
One of the nicest features of dealer-sponsored events was the availability of demo rides on new Boston Whaler boats. That was how I was able to get aboard and go out on demo rides on a bunch of nice new boats:
Boston Whaler's Will Rogers driving me and others on a 305 CONQUEST demo ride; Stuart, Florida, April 2004. I did not get to drive on this ride; the boat was the dealer's boat, and it had a very big price tag.Chris and Susan on a demo ride in a 240 OUTRAGE with twin 150-HP engines. Stuart, Florida, April 2004. I did get to drive this one, but under close supervision.At the Torch Lake event, I got to drive a 230 DAUNTLESS with a VERADO L4. We had to hold it down a bit as the engine had almost no run time, and we were only able to get out on a long canal. Also got to drink a lot of free beer at this event. I think was was c.2006, Maybe the beer is why I can't find any pictures or notes from that weekend.
At the Harbor Springs owner's event I got a ride on a 250 OUTRAGE with twin L4 VERADO engines. This was the last dealer-sponsored event I attended, and it was held in August of 2008.
After c.2008 the factory or dealer-sponsored owner events seemed to go on hiatus. The big economic dip probably had something to do with it.
The factory does seem to still sponsor some events in Florida, usually a run from Miami to Bimini, and most of the participants own much newer Boston Whaler boats, much bigger Boston Whaler boats, and those boats have two, three, or four Mercury VERADO engines on the transoms.
My local Boston Whaler dealer, COLONY MARINE, is having a shindig this month. I may have already missed it. I went to one of their events several years ago held indoors in the winter. There was a big crowd and some catered food. So no demo rides, but it was nice to see some new OUTRAGE models.
You can see an index of articles about Boston Whaler trip or rendezvous events from 2013 to 2015 in the old TRIPS AND RENDEZVOUS forum archive;
http://continuouswave.com/whaler/oldFor ... Index.html