Rain dampens Jobbie Nooner revelry

Detroit — Friday's planned party on the water has turned out to be all wet.

Heavy rain throughout Metro Detroit has put a damper on the Jobbie Nooner, the 47-year-old annual tradition of playing hooky from work to party on Lake St. Clair.

Fewer than a quarter of the normal 10,000 boaters braved the elements to attend this year's event, Macomb Sheriff's Sgt. Renee Yax said.

"With the weather, attendance is low," Yax said. "There are some boats out there, but not many."

Yax said there are no reported problems.

"We'll keep an eye on the weather, because if it clears up, people might start showing up," she said.

Rain was expected to continue throughout Friday.

The Jobbie Nooner, held annually near the mouth of the St. Clair River at Lake St. Clair, was started in 1974 by auto workers who described themselves as “jobbies."

The event, which is held on the last Friday of June, annually draws about 10,000 boaters and more than 100,000 people. A Jobbie Nooner 2 occurs the first Saturday after Labor Day.

ghunter@detroitnews.com

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