Wow, what hyperbole! First, ILYA was formed in 1895 and the first regatta at Put-In-Bay started after that, not the mid 1800s, and it took time to grow. Also, Bay Week has been declining for decades and has not been even the largest fresh water regatta in OHIO, let alone the world, for years! That distinction goes to Cleveland Race week regatta; see: http://ech.case.edu/cgi/article.pl?id=B15

I hope the turn out is good but accuracy should not be surrendered just to "hype" a regatta. It is too easy to fact check things now to claim ignorance or to deny the obvious.