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Portsmouth, OH and Wheeling, WV Scheduling Change

By: Becky Nichols | APBA Director of Operations | Aug 31, 2021

Photo: Kevin Craft and WVRR Facebook

Portsmouth and Wheeling

Due to inclement weather and rising water levels, two events have had to cancel/reschedule.

From the Breakwater Powerboat Association Facebook page:

"Portsmouth Race on the River update.

With the incoming rain from the remnants of Ida, the Ohio River levels have been projected to go up to 41.5’. Flood stage in the area is at 50’. For the safety of everyone involved we will need to cancel the racing event scheduled for this weekend. We are working with APBA(our sanctioning body), the City of Portsmouth, Friends of Portsmouth, event sponsors, and Coast Guard to reschedule the North American Championship for all 3 classes that were planned to compete. To not conflict with existing events on the schedule, the new tentative date will be October 29th-31st.

Thank you to the Portsmouth community, our racing community, and everyone else involved for understanding the need to postpone the event. We hope everyone has a safe Labor Day weekend.

More details will come in the next week."

From the Wheeling Vintage Raceboat Regatta Facebook page:

"It is with a very heavy heart that the Regatta Committee for the Wheeling Vintage Raceboat Regatta announces the cancelation of our 2021 event, based on the forecast by the National Weather Service for flooding of the Ohio River at Wheeling.

National Weather Service predictions for the Ohio River released at 11:47 AM today indicate a slight worsening of conditions from yesterday's reports. The river is expected to crest at 31.8 feet on Thursday night/early Friday morning, and is expected to still be over 18 feet on Sunday afternoon. At 17 feet, water is in the lower levels of Heritage Port, where our cranes are located; at 24 feet, water is on the brick area that is the main portion of our pits. Once the water is gone, there will still be mud and debris that would need to be cleaned out of Heritage Port before we could move in. There is simply not enough time to get this all accomplished to allow our cranes, docks, and raceboats to get set up; the river will also be full of debris, making our course very dangerous for our vintage boats.

If you have registered your boat for Wheeling or were coming in an official capacity to help with the event, our committee will be contacting you personally by phone or text to be sure that you know that we have canceled. It would save us a great deal of time if you could briefly comment on this post or message us to advise us that you are aware of the cancelation.

We will be working to get refund checks issued for registration, dinner, and camper fees to all participants as soon as possible.

We thank you for your support and look forward to welcoming you to Wheeling for the third attempt at our 15th Annual Wheeling Vintage Raceboat Regatta, Sept. 3-4, 2022."