River Levels Force Raceboat Regatta Cancellation
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WHEELING -- The visit today from the remnants of Hurricane Ida will have ramifications that reach into the weekend, as the Wheeling Vintage Raceboat Regatta, scheduled for this weekend, has been canceled.
Regatta organizers came to the decision Tuesday afternoon following weather predictions by the National Weather Service. Ida's heavy rains, forecast to hit the Ohio Valley between Tuesday night and Wednesday, will put the Ohio River's waters too high for the boats to race safely this weekend, according to Regatta Co-Chair Debbie Joseph.
According to the National Weather Service's Tuesday morning update, the Ohio River is predicted to crest at almost 32 feet at 2 a.m. Friday.
Regatta organizers said water enters Heritage Port, where the Regatta is headquartered, at 17 feet and water enters the brick area where the pits are located at 24 feet, which would leave mud and debris where the boats would be stationed.
The Ohio River is predicted to remain above 25 feet through 2 a.m. Saturday and not fall below 24 feet until later Saturday morning.
Between the projections of rising river levels, accompanied by high amounts of river debris, it will make racing hazardous for boaters, according to Joseph.
She said part of Heritage Port is expected to be covered by water making it impossible to put the cranes and necessary equipment near the bottom of the port.
"Water comes into Heritage Port right around 17 feet and they were predicting, even by Sunday, the water level is still going to be at 18 feet," Joseph said. "So there's no way that Heritage Port would be cleaned out and ready,"
She said organizers would also have to figure out how to get the extra docks installed and the cranes in place.
"It just wasn't going to happen," she said. "If it (the rainfall) happened three days earlier, I think we could have gotten it done, but with hitting when it did ... there was absolutely nothing we could do.
She said even if the river level did go down enough, when you get heavy rains it puts more debris in the river, making it too dangerous for the race boat drivers.
"The race boats are just made of quarter-inch plywood, so you can imagine hitting something in a boat that's made of quarter-inch plywood and you're going 60 to 100 mph. It's not a good thing," Joseph explained. "The decision was made. It's kind of saying, 'OK, Mother Nature, you got us on this one. When you live on the river, and have events planned for the river, you just have to go with the hand that you're dealt.
Joseph said she just wants to thank their main sponsors; including, WesBanco, Savage Construction and Merco Marine for all of their support.
Joseph said while it's unfortunate they had to cancel the event, one heartwarming thing that came about even after the cancellation of the event is that about 75% of the 60 boaters that were registered for the event told the committee to give their registration fees to Easter Seals as a donation.
"So even though we're not having an event. We will be able to make some kind of donation to Easter Seals this year, so that's a good thing," Joseph added.
Organizers earlier had debated holding the event due to the rapid rise in COVID-19 transmissions in the Ohio Valley. They got the green light to hold it from West Virginia coronavirus "czar" Dr. Clay Marsh, and had instituted several protocols to keep boaters and fans safe.
While the event was canceled last year due to the pandemic and again this year due to predicted river conditions, Joseph said plans are being made to move forward with next year's event, which is scheduled to return to Heritage Port on Sept. 3-4, 2022.