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The Wheeling Vintage Raceboat Regatta will make its return Sept. 3-4 at Heritage Port.

WHEELING — After a hiatus brought on by COVID and extended by a hurricane, Wheeling Vintage Raceboat Regatta organizers are hoping that 2022 will be the year of the event’s big return to the Ohio Valley.

Co-founder Debbie Joseph is excited for Labor Day weekend, when dozens of boaters and hundreds of fans will flock to Heritage Port for the 15th annual event, now on its third year of attempting to welcome fans.

Heats will take place both Saturday, Sept. 3 and Sunday, Sept. 4. Opening ceremonies will be held at 9:45 a.m. on both days and heats will begin at 10 a.m. After a 90-minute lunch break at noon, heats will resume both days at 1:30 p.m.

The racing pits at Heritage Port also will be open to the public from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 2, so people can take a look at the boats as they come in.

The event, Joseph said, is shaping up to have more than 50 boaters from as far away as Florida, Wisconsin and New Hampshire.

“We’ve got boats coming from 12 states, so we’re looking at a really, really good year,” she said.

The 2020 edition of the event was scrapped due to the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. A cautious attempt to return in 2021 was nonetheless scuttled by Hurricane Ida, which pushed the water levels of the Ohio River to a point where it was too dangerous to run the boats.

“Losing the Regatta in 2020 due to COVID was a no-brainer; everything was canceled that year,” Joseph said. “Last year, everything was beginning to pick back up. Events were beginning to happen. We had the blessing of the health department, we had all kinds of precautions in place, but five days before, we realized that Hurricane Ida had made a sweep up Pennsylvania and had brought torrential rains that brought the river close to flood stage.

“We knew we were going to have to cancel – even if the water came down,” she added. “There’d be so much debris in the water, and that was really, really dangerous for our boats and boaters. After spending the entire year planning the event, the Tuesday before we had to cancel it.”

Joseph said the Regatta committee has been able to carry that momentum forward to this year’s event, though some of the long-haul boaters – such as those who had registered to come from Seattle – would not be making the drive this year.

Proceeds from the Regatta benefit Easterseals. Since its inception, the event has raised more than $100,000 over the last 14 years, Joseph said. Even last year, most participants donated their registration fees rather than accept a refund, allowing a $5,500 donation during a year when the Regatta was on hold.

“We hope to build on our history of donations to Easterseals this year,” she said

The race course itself will be dedicated as the J. Michael Myer Memorial Course, in honor of Myer – the late executive editor of The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register – and his long tenure on the Regatta’s board, his role on the Easterseals board and as a good friend of the Regatta’s leadership. Myer passed away Jan. 6, 2021, and a brief memorial will be held for him around 9:30 a.m. Sept. 4.

“His was a horrible loss,” Joseph said of Myer. “Mike was so important to Easterseals and so important to our Regatta committee, that we knew we had to honor him in this way.”

WesBanco serves as the title sponsor for the event, and has for the last 10 years. Joseph expressed her gratitude for their continued support.

The Regatta is free to watch and will include live music, kids’ activities, and open pits to interact with the racers and check out their equipment. Joseph recommends coming earlier in the day, rather than waiting until the evening, for those hoping to see the boats in action.