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Serious News
05-07-2017, 11:20 PM
By IAN HICKS

City Editor
NEW MARTINSVILLE — In auto racing, there’s Daytona and Indianapolis — and for many decades, in the sport of powerboat racing, there was New Martinsville.

Scores of world speed records have been set on the Ohio River there since 1941 during the old New Martinsville Regatta and the relatively new RegattaFest. This summer, the old Magnolia Yacht Club where those memorable events took place will come alive with the thunderous roar of vintage hydroplane engines when the inaugural New Martinsville Vintage Regatta is staged June 17-18.

It will be a special weekend for Dr. David Kappel, a New Martinsville native and vintage boat owner who runs in the Wheeling Vintage Raceboat Regatta every year. And he knows there are many from his hometown who feel that way, too.

“It’s really in our sense of place and time. This was part of our growing up,” Kappel said of boat racing and its relationship with New Martinsville. “It’s part of our memory and we are very delighted and enthusiastic to be helping bring some of this back to New Martinsville — to folks that remember and younger people who haven’t been exposed to the old boats.”

Many of the world records set at New Martinsville have long since been eclipsed, thanks to technological advancements that have made boats faster, although some still stand — largely because the classes in which they were set no longer exist.

“At one point it was like some of the iconic NASCAR sites,” Kappel said. “Any boat racer who was competing nationally would show up there to see what they could do.”

One of the records that still stands was set by George “Buddy” Byers in 1958, driving the “Miss DeSoto.” Kappel now is the co-owner of that celebrated boat, along with Dr. Dan Joseph of Wheeling, who co-founded the Wheeling Vintage Raceboat Regatta in 2007 with his wife, Debbie Joseph, in 2006.

According to Kappel, Byers’ feat, and the dozens of others like it accomplished at New Martinsville, were no accidents.

“The river is wide, there’s something about the hills that protects the water from the wind and there have been numerous world records set on that water,” Kappel said. “There’s something special about the water down there.”

Kappel said regatta organizers are expecting about 25 boats to enter the first New Martinsville Vintage Regatta, which would be on par with the Wheeling event in its first year.

Like the Wheeling regatta, the pits will be open to visitors June 16, the day before the first heats, as boats arrive at the waterfront. There, spectators can see the boats up close and chat with the thrill-seekers who drive them. The pits also will open during lunch breaks on June 16-17.

Kappel said the idea to start a vintage regatta in New Martinsville got its spark after he and Dan Joseph put on a two-boat show at last fall’s RegattaFest, a competitive event organized by Sam and Sherron Winer. Penny Morris took the lead as president of the new event’s committee, and their efforts have received support from the Wetzel County Commission, Friends of Wetzel County and New Martinsville City Council.

Kappel said the Wheeling Vintage Raceboat Regatta Committee, with its decade of experience, has provided valuable assistance to the fledgling New Martinsville event.

People drive many hours with their boats to attend the Wheeling regatta every Labor Day weekend, but Kappel believes the dedicated cadre of boat lovers who restore and drive vintage hydroplanes will have no problem making an extra trip to the Ohio Valley each summer.

“There are not a lot of events in the eastern part of the United States, so they will be enthusiastic about adding one, especially if it’s well-run,” Kappel said.

http://www.theintelligencer.net/news/community/2017/05/vintage-raceboats-return-to-new-martinsville-in-june/