Tens of thousands braved cool, rainy weather Saturday for the Bradenton River Regatta.

Turnout was likely not as high as the estimated 80,000 who attended last year, but the second-annual event still made for a fun, though damp, day on the Riverwalk.

"It's actually a great day," said Austin Murray of Bradenton, who came to the regatta with a group of friends.  "It's not too bad with the rain. It's not a complete downer."

But the weather did get the best of the racing as rough swells on the Manatee River canceled the rest of the day's races at about 3:30 p.m. Ashton Rinker, who led after qualifying, was named the event winner.

In between the raindrops, race fans lined the Green Bridge to watch Formula 2 powerboats race around the Manatee River at speeds up to about 100 mph. The activites along the riverfront also included Jet Ski racing, BMX stunts, X-POGO and flyboarding.

The rest of the day's festivities continued with the remaining patrons enjoying a concert, food and events.

"I thought it was going to be sunny and stuff but now it's raining," said Sivan Solson from North Port. "And it's cold, like I have two jackets on but I still think it's really cool how, like, the jetskiers and all the people in the water, it's probably ice cold and they're still doing it."

And they did - for most of the day.

And that was enough for most of the regatta-goers.

"We're just in the area, we didn't know about it and we saw it and we were like we got to go," said Cheryl Newswanger, in town from Pennsylvania with her husband Mark. "It's just awesome. This is really fun, this is really awesome. I love it."