The 2nd Annual “Around the World Race” sponsored by West Virginia Adventure Rides was held on November 4th, 2023 and it turned out to be an amazing day!  The weather was sunny and temperature was in the high sixties. There were light winds for the first race and almost perfect winds for the second race.  The Round the World race consists of only two long races and they are divided by an all-you-can-eat lunch.  Let’s just say everyone was feed well, and we even had leftovers.

The race is about a half a mile casual walk around the lake. Our race Director Alan did a great job in making sure everyone had a great start!  We don’t believe we saw a single foul called except for someone starting early. Connie did a perfect job scoring the race and even filmed and took pictures!  Braulio had his rescue fleet on the scene, as he cruised near the fleet. Thank you, Connie, Braulio, and Alan! Now, on to the racing.

Sportsmanship; Bart was the only sailor that showed up with an A+ rig even though the use of any rig was allowed in the Notice of Race.  Bart didn’t want an unfair advantage, so Chris represented the group and Bart and Chris negotiated a head start for the rest of the fleet. They decided that a 250-yard lead would be sufficient. Turns out it was a little much, as Bart finished 4th and 5th and taking 5th place overall.

Mari won the first race in just under an hour and she was six minutes ahead of Rob, as he led the rest of the fleet.  It was pretty neat to see everyone finish in a pack after racing for an hour.  The difference between the first-place and last place boat was 8 minutes.  The break between races was about one hour.

Race number two was sailed under pretty good wind in most of the lake.  The first mark and far end were tough and made sailing the lake challenging.  But that’s what this race is all about, having an adventure. Klye came across the finish line in race two at the 30-minute mark and the very last boat crossed a mere three minutes later. Chris crossed the finish second and Rob third.  The wind had really picked up in the final leg as the boats sped across the line about as fast as a DF65 can go.  It was really exciting.

The final scores were added and Kyle’s 3rd and 1st were enough to crown him the champion. Mari’s 1st and 4th put her in 2nd and Rob’s 2nd and 3rd tied him with Mari for third.  He lost the tie breaker, as Mari had won race number 1. Chris ended up in 4th overall after a 5th and 2nd place finish.

After the race, beautiful custom trophies were given out to the winners.  We also gave out gold, silver and black medal necklaces to the top three. The awards were given to 1st thru 7th place. This worked out well, since only one of the eight boats didn’t complete the regatta due to mechanical issues. Everyone enjoyed their goodie bags and free “sailing themed” back packs. Everyone had a great time as the walk around the lake was fun, the comradery was special, and the sailing was challenging.  We hope other skippers will join the fun next year. From what I heard after the regatta, the sailors that participated also can’t wait until next year! It was great fun by all!