Uncle Rick (www.pbase.com/1eyeclosed) and I went out May 9, 2009 to take pictures of the Dad Vail Regatta. I'm going to copy and paste his description of the event:

The Dad Vail Regatta is the largest intercollegiate rowing event in the United States. Over 100 schools compete each year in this prestigious event held on the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, Pa. The 2009 edition of the Dad Vail was held on May 8th & 9th this year. Heavy rains earlier in the week caused the level of the river to rise but the rain held off on race days. This was my first time photographing the Regatta and I tried to take shots that would give you a flavor for the race day experience, not necessarily focusing on the race results.