The Mudsock (left), Donna Rae (center), and Fancy Nancy (right) race to the Southside Bridge at the 2023 Sternwheel Regatta in Charleston on Sunday, July 2.

Sternwheel boat races were the order of the day on the Kanawha River in Charleston on Sunday afternoon. Boats began their race above the State Capital and finished at the South Side Bridge adjacent to Haddad Riverfront Park.

In all, 13 sternwheelers raced. Some of the paddle wheelers competed in the first sternwheeler races which were part of an annual Labor Day feature in Charleston beginning in the early 1970’s. There were four heats with at least three boats in each heat hitting speeds upwards to 10 mph.

Hundreds of spectators gathered at the levee stage and along Kanawha Boulevard to watch the event.