Open House Begins Summer of Events Along the Nautical Mile

The Lake St. Clair shoreline will be a busy place this weekend as boaters, businesses and volunteers celebrate the start of the boating season with the and remove debris for the.

Nautical Mile Open House

Businesses along the Nautical Mile shopping, dining and marina district will be welcoming customers back for 2012 boating season during the Nautical Mile Open House Fun Day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 19.

A variety of activities including children's artwork at and clothing drive for the Capuchin Soup Kitchen at the Kolping Center is planned. Also, there will be in-store raffles for everything from hot fudge sundaes at to a 4-hour cruise on a 33-foot sailboat from Sailtime Detroit.

"We are welcoming new and returning visitors to come into the businesses, and hopefully once they step in, they return," said Donna Flaherty, president of the .

Flaherty will be hosting Capt. John Sams from the J.W. Westcott mailboat at her business, , from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m Saturday.

"(The Open House) is the kickoff for the summer," Flaherty said.

Leukemia Cup Regatta

In addition to the activities on land along the Nautical Mile, the seas will also be busy Saturday as more than 30 sailboats take part in the annual Leukemia Cup Regatta.

The boats will leave the at 10:30 a.m. for the regatta which raises funds for blood cancer research and patient services.

In addition to the boats on the water, members of the Nautical Mile Merchants Association are selling paper sailboats to support the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

“With more than one million people in North America diagnosed with a blood cancer, the Leukemia Cup Regatta is an important fundraising event that gives participants an opportunity to do something enjoyable while making a critical difference in the lives of patients and their families,” said Peggy Shriver, Michigan Chapter LLS Executive Director, said in a release.

Nautical Coast Cleanup

The 17th annual Nautical Coast Cleanup and Lake St. Clair Celebration will be held Sunday, May 20. In the previous 16 years, the volunteers have collected more than 547 tons of debris from the Lake St. Clair shoreline. 

Registration begins at 8 a.m. at the , which is also a sponsor of the event. Volunteers will then be dispatched to targeted areas including:

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• Champine Park at 12 Mile and Jefferson.
• Chapaton Retention Basin shoreline.