Wheeling to Host Raceboat Regatta

WHEELING — Vintage hydroplane raceboats — several capable of speeds in excess of 120 mph — will be roaring up and down the Ohio River in Wheeling again this Labor Day weekend.

Four dozen of the fast craft already have registered for the annual Wheeling Vintage Raceboat Regatta, presented by WesBanco. The event will be held Aug. 31-Sept. 2, at the Heritage Port in Wheeling. There is no admission charge.

“We are looking at our best pre-registration of boats in many years,” said Debbie Joseph, regatta co-director. “We will very likely exceed 50 boats in the pits when we start on Saturday morning. The weekend will be exciting and full of action for adrenaline junkies of all ages,” she said.

Proceeds from the event benefit the Easter Seal Rehabilitation Center in Wheeling, which serves a wide area of the Ohio Valley extending from Parkersburg north to Steubenville. During the regatta’s 12-year history, it has donated more than $70,000 to the center.

Though the raceboats can be viewed at the port on Friday, the action begins Saturday. Exhibition runs by the hydroplanes will be held that day and Sunday. Opening ceremonies are set for 9:45 a.m., with the raceboats to run through the afternoon.

Hydroplanes in Wheeling differ from those on the American Power Boat Association racing circuit in important ways. All once were APBA-sanctioned racers, but they cannot compete today because they are not as safe as modern craft. While the APBA now mandates safety features such as driver seating in enclosed safety cells, the vintage boats are open-cockpit craft — with nothing securing the drivers inside.

The Vintage & Historic Division of the APBA is experimenting with allowing vintage boats with safety cells this year, something that has not been done in the past. One boat with a safety cell will be in Wheeling, NM-711 Fantasy, owned by Mark Cravens of Bloomington, Ind.

Engines in the old boats are high-horsepower powerplants, some pumping out 500 horsepower or more. Many will be familiar to local residents who attended APBA regattas in New Martinsville and Steubenville in the past. Some of the very hydroplanes that raced there will be seen in Wheeling.

Many of the boats registered for the Wheeling event have colorful, highly successful histories. At least eight of the hydroplanes won national championships during their racing careers. Five of the boats set world speed records, some at New Martinsville.

And hydroplane racing is a mixed-gender sport. Several of the boats in Wheeling will be driven by women. One, Lil Leprechaun, was driven in competition by Ann Fitzgerald, the most successful female racer of all time.

Several of the raceboats are owned by local residents, including Dan and Debbie Joseph of Wheeling, who founded the event and continue to manage it. The Wheeling/New Martinsville area is currently home to at least 13 vintage hydroplanes, said regatta co-director Dan Joseph.

“The Gardill, Kappel, Glasgow, Pattishall-Krupinski, Bridgeman, and Joseph families have made Northern West Virginia a hotbed of vintage activity, with the A-711 Gemini owned by David Bridgeman of New Martinsville the latest addition to the fleet. We can almost have our own regatta,” he said.

While the regatta focuses on loud and fast raceboats, it will include other activities for those of all ages. Strolling through the pit area, closed while the boats are running, will be permitted during intermissions Saturday and Sunday. They are scheduled for noon through 1:30 p.m. and souvenir posters will be handed out to the first 100 fans through the pit gates each day.

A variety of children’s activities are planned — but one of the most appealing to many youngsters is meeting the raceboat drivers during the lunch break, getting their autographs and often, getting the chance to sit in the hydroplane cockpits.

Many drivers encourage that.

Other children’s activities will include appearances by “the balloon lady,” “the bubble guy,” a movie princess, face painting and games with prizes.

For those more interested in grown-up toys, the popular car show will be held on the street at the top of the Heritage Port steps on Sunday from 10 a..m.-3 p.m.

Back this year is one of the most popular events at the regatta, the basket raffle. It features gift baskets including items appealing to children, men and women. Tickets can be purchased and deposited for drawings on each basket, with winners selected on Sunday.

Another popular event is the free noontime concerts, sponsored by The Health Plan. Appearing this year will be “Mr. Fancy Pants.” The regatta will be kicked off both Saturday and Sunday with special performances.

On Saturday, the United States, Canadian and Australian national anthems will be performed by David Gaudio, in recognition of the nationalities represented at the regatta. On Sunday morning, the Marshall University Fife and Drum Corps, dressed in colonial period uniforms, will perform “Amazing Grace” and the U.S. national anthem.

Major sponsors for this year’s regatta include WesBanco, Savage Crane and Construction, Merco Marine, Panhandle Cleaning and Restoration, The Health Plan, Wheeling Volkswagen-Subaru, Family Medical Supply, and the Ohio County Commission. Other sponsors include the City of Wheeling, Philip High, DDS; Lamar Outdoor Advertising, McClellan Sign Co., C.A. House Productions, Super Mail Inc., The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register, the Green Tab, Wheeling Convention and Visitors Bureau and Wheeling Heritage.

More information on the regatta is available at WheelingVintageRegatta.com and on the Regatta’s Facebook page.

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Vintage Raceboat Regatta Kicks Off Saturday

Twenty-six boats have registered, and the regatta expects more. Although events are scheduled to begin Saturday at Old Magnolia Yacht Club on Main Street, boats will begin arriving on today for display.

The regatta will start at 10 a.m. and run through 6 p.m., while Sunday’s events will begin at noon and last until 6 p.m.

Show-goers can expect to see hydroplanes capable of reaching speeds of more than 100 mph, with some boats able to accelerate to 150 mph. Vintage boats — those built between 1946 and 1985 — and historic boats — those built between 1900 and 1945 — will be featured throughout the event.

Crowds can expect to see a slew of local talent alongside out-of-state boaters. Wheeling boaters, including Dan Joseph and Chris Cox, will show off their skills this weekend. Dave Kappel also will entertain with his boat, Sin. Kappel owns his boat with Jack Wolf; the pair originally are from New Martinsville.

“It’s cool that (the New Martinsville Regatta) is bringing back the nostalgia of the historic boats,” Kappel said.

Kappel’s cousin and event organizer Penny Morris, another New Martinsville local, is a veteran when it comes to organizing boat shows. She served as the president of the River Heritage Days boat show from the 1970s until 2003. She said Kappel convinced her to revive the show a couple of years ago.

“It’s kind of hard to say no to relatives,” Morris said.

The vintage F-77 Barracuda, the featured boat of the regatta, will arrive Friday in New Martinsville with owner and driver Tim Settle. Settle acquired the boat from his father, who purchased the early-style Wickins hydroplane when Settle was just 5, he said. Built in 1946, the Barracuda is the only early-style Wickins hydroplane still in existence. It set a new world 10-mile heat record in New Martinsville in 1948. It was then driven by Lou Butler of Zanesville, Ohio, and came in at 68.64 mph. The Barracuda will return to the site of this major feat Father’s Day weekend.

Although the river is running high from excessive rainfall in the past week, Morris said he remains confident the show will go on without a hitch.

“The weekend is supposed to be good, and the event will go on,” Morris said. “The only thing giving us fits is the river, but plans are going just as expected.”

Musical artist Ezra John and his band “The Hit” will perform from 8-10 p.m. Saturday at the Wetzel County Museum. Concessions, courtesy of the American Legion, will be available at City Park.

The regatta is free to the public.

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Boat racing history will run in Wheeling regatta

WHEELING — The Wheeling Vintage Raceboat Regatta will turn back the clock even further than normal when it returns to Heritage Port for the 11th time this weekend.

Along with the dozens of restored hydroplanes that thrill drivers and spectators alike at the regatta, which runs Friday through Sunday and benefits Easter Seals, the event will welcome for the first time three replicas of “Gold Cup” boats that were the forerunners of the modern hydroplane class of watercraft. One, the “Meri J’s,” belongs to Wellsburg resident Jon Meriwether, while the other two, “Compulsion” and “Illusion,” will come all the way from New Hampshire courtesy of owner Donnie McLean.

“It’s a 13-hour drive from them to get here, so it’s a really big deal for them to bring these boats down. … We hope that everybody really enjoys them,” said Debbie Joseph, who co-founded the regatta with her husband, Dr. Dan Joseph, in 2006. “They’re all relatively modern boats, but they’re built in the spirit of vintage.”

Dan Joseph said Gold Cup boats are more traditional in appearance than their vintage hydroplane cousins, which some visitors have commented more resemble airplanes than watercraft. They function a bit differently, too — their V-shaped hulls actually cut through the water as opposed to typical hydroplanes that feature sponsons that allow them basically to skim on the water’s surface.

In their heyday, most Gold Cup boats that were popular until hydroplanes began to take hold in the late 1940s, belonged to industrial barons who were just as competitive in their leisure activities as they were in business.

“In those days, what would happen is … some guy would build a boat faster than your boat, and throngs of people would be out there to watch a match race between the two boats,” Dan Joseph said, noting those competitions gave rise to competitive powerboat racing in America.

The Gold Cup boats will give regatta fans something different to look forward to this year, but for Dan Joseph the connection is a little more personal. He’s been told his great-great-grandfather, who owned a lumber mill in Pittsburgh, once owned the fastest boat on the water in the Pittsburgh area.

“For me it’s kind of fascinating to bring that part of history back to the area,” he said.

The Wheeling Vintage Raceboat Regatta, presented by title sponsor WesBanco, begins Friday with the pits at the waterfront open to spectators throughout the day, giving visitors a chance to mingle with the drivers as they arrive in town and get an up-close look at the boats.

The real action begins Saturday morning with opening ceremonies at 9:45 a.m., followed by heats from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. with a break for lunch. The regatta concludes Sunday with 9:45 a.m. opening ceremonies followed by heats from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

This year’s regatta also will include special activities for children, and live entertainment during the event will be provided by performers including the Joe Zelek Band and New Age Adenas.

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Man Who Grew Up In New Martinsville Takes Vintage Raceboat for Inaugural Run

WHEELING — David Bridgeman said he was excited about taking his recently purchased vintage hydroplane raceboat for a few exhibition laps.

The man who grew up in New Martinsville and now lives in Hannibal said his interest in boats came naturally while he was raised along the eastern shore of Ohio River. Saturday, he got a chance to test his own boat for the first time during the annual Wheeling Vintage Raceboat Regatta.

While dozens gathered at Wheeling’s Heritage Port, Bridgeman watched in anticipation as a large crane lowered his A-711 Gemini into the water.

“It was a little bit bumpy, but it’s pretty exciting,” he said with a smile after taking several laps. “I’m just trying to get the feel of the boat.”

Bridgeman said he has been watching the regatta in New Martinsville for many years. Last year, he finally got a chance to drive one of the vintage boats when Wheeling resident Brian Joseph let him use his.

“I grew up in New Martinsville, so the New Martinsville Regatta was in my back yard where we lived on the river,” Bridgeman said. “Danny (Joseph) and Brian Joseph and I are friends, and we have been friends since childhood, and they would come down to our house to watch the regatta, and that’s what got them interested in it.”

Bridgeman said he and the Josephs have been following Ohio Valley regattas since the 1960s. After years of interest, he said he finally decided to purchase his own boat from an owner in New York state.

“This will be my inaugural run in this boat,” he said Saturday just before taking it for a ride.

Several of the raceboats are owned by Ohio Valley residents, including Dan Joseph and Debbie Joseph, of Wheeling, who founded the event and continue to manage it.

Debbie Joseph, regatta co-director, said they were expecting an exciting weekend as nearly four-dozen boats were already loaded in the pit area at the river’s edge by Saturday morning. She said they have participants from across the county, and even from Canada and Australia. She said national anthems from the United States, Canadian and Australian were performed at the opening ceremony by David Gaudio.

Regatta co-director Dan Joseph said the Wheeling/New Martinsville area is home to at least 13 vintage hydroplanes. Hydroplanes in Wheeling differ from those on the American Power Boat Association racing circuit. All once were APBA-sanctioned racers, but they cannot compete today because they are not as safe as modern craft. While the APBA now mandates safety features such as driver seats in enclosed safety cells, the vintage boats are open-cockpit craft — with nothing securing the drivers inside.

The regatta continues today with The Marshall University Fife and Drum Corps, dressed in colonial period uniforms, scheduled to perform “Amazing Grace” and “The Star Spangled Banner.” A car show is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Water Street. There is no admission charge. Details on the regatta are available at wheelingvintageregatta.com and on the regatta’s Facebook page.

Those who attend will have the opportunity to stroll through the pit area and meet raceboat drivers, and even get their autographs. There also will be face-painting, games with prizes and appearances by “the balloon lady,” “the bubble guy,” and a movie princess, organizers said.

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Three Honored At Annual Regatta Dinner in Wheeling

WHEELING — Participants and organizers of the annual Wheeling Vintage Raceboat Regatta gathered for a dinner Friday, where three people were recognized for their contributions with awards.

The VIP & Sponsor Dinner was held at WesBanco Arena, where the Henry Lauterbach Award was given to those who came from far and wide to participate in the weekend event.

Honored were Bobby Murray Jr., Harold Rurark and Steve Jones. They were recognized for their tireless participation: Murray and Jones as racers, and Rurark as a boat builder.

“Steve Jones has raced 68 different raceboats in his career — that’s a lot of boats,” said Larry Lauterbach, Henry’s son. “Over 100 career wins … every class, Steve Jones has raced.”

Jones, accepting the award, recalled the time in 1956 where he watched Henry Lauterbach take home an award. That sparked his love of racing.

“I was 14 years old at the time, and I said to my dad, ‘We need one of those boats one of these days,'” he recalled. “I wanted to carry on the Lauterbach tradition.”

Lauterbach recognized Rurark’s work building racing boats, and his son, Jimmy, praising them both highly.

“My dad respected Harold Rurark, and his son Jimmy,” he said. “They’re two of the finest people on this earth. It’s a great honor, and a great pride.”

The names of the winners are to be engraved on a large trophy, which will stay at the regatta. Individual awards were given to be taken home by the winners.

“It honors people who have done something real special in the history of the sport of inboard hydroplane racing,” said Deb Joseph, co-director of the regatta. “Their names go on the perpetual trophy, which stays here.”

The regatta serves as a fundraiser for Easter Seals. Deb Joseph said it has raised more than $70,000 over the past 12 years, with $8,000 being raised last year.

Also, about $1,500 was raised for the Niagara Dive Rescue Team, which works search and rescue missions for hydroplane races while also assisting police with such missions. Money was raised to help replace a motor on one of the team’s boats.

“We’ve had such a warm response, we really felt that we’ve become a part of this community,” said Terry Clark. “We hope to be back many, many times.”

“This group of ladies and gentlemen has become like family to us,” Joseph said.

Joseph said one of the NDRT’s boats was one of the rescue boats that helped first responders during Sept. 11.

Money was raised through the auction of various items — including a handmade set of model race boats — and rides on one of the boats during the Regatta itself. Additionally, a $500 donation was given by Penny Morris, chairwoman of the New Martinsville Vintage Raceboat Regatta Committee.

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