Citing a lack of participants, Hodgdon Yachts has canceled this year’s Shipyard Cup, the annual super yacht regatta held during the last week of August in Boothbay Harbor. The three-day event was scheduled to start August 26. This is the second year in a row the East Boothbay shipyard has opted to wait for more favorable circumstances.

“We need a minimum number of firm commitments by now to make it worthwhile, roughly six,” said Ed Roberts, global director of sales and marketing for the East Boothbay-based business.

The event is funded through a combination of sources: a registration fee, corporate sponsorship and underwriting from the company itself. While the sponsorship interest was healthy, many of the boats large enough to participate opted to set sail for the Mediterranean. This greatly increased the amount Hodgdon Yachts would need to contribute thus making the venture financially insolvent, Roberts said.

Despite a second consecutive cancellation, Roberts doesn't see a trend. Instead, it's simply a matter of competing interests in the narrow world of super yacht owners and their 100-foot vessels.

“There's not that many of them to begin with. Plus they have the ability and the interest to go anywhere in the world they want to,” he explained.

This year’s would have marked the 12th Shipyard Cup since 2002. According to the company's website, the regatta is designed to bring big boat racing to Maine's coast. The regatta is open to yachts over 70 feet (21 meters) LOA (length overall) and set in the Corinthian spirit — or, with a high level of sportsmanship. The regatta has emphasized fun, safety, and a laid-back environment.

In conjunction with the Shipyard Cup, the company was slated to simultaneously host the first-ever Hodgdon Boat Owner's Rendezvous, a maritime alumni weekend of sorts geared as a celebration of boats built by the company over the past two centuries. While the centennial commemoration may be scaled back, the company plans to honor the milestone in some fashion, Roberts said.

"Turning 200 years old is something that we're very proud of," Timothy Hodgdon, president of Hodgdon Yachts, said in December. "The fleet of boats that we've built ranges from the Supermaxi Comanche to the arctic exploration schooner Bowdoin, to Superyachts, military vessels, limousine tenders, small pleasure boats, and lobster boats.”

 With a similar race scheduled in Bermuda next summer, Roberts is confident the Shipyard Cup will be back in 2017.

“Since the boats will be closer to New England, many are going to wait until next year,” said Roberts.