September 09th, 2019
Labor Day weekend North Carolina Wetas Sailors converged upon Virginia Beach, Virginia to join local beach cats for the annual Chesapeake Challenge.
As the horn sounded, sailors hopped on their boats in the LeMans start and were off to the races. Wetas sailed a nine mile course in four to six knot winds followed by a 19 mile course on Sunday in six to ten knots of wind in the ocean. Dodging powerboats, container ships and other commercial vessels became interesting as they crossed shipping channels in the two to three foot crazy chop. After going around several islands, the multihulls sailed back over the underground Chesapeake Bay Bridge for the final reach in. Now, a comfortable 12 knots of breeze, without wave interference from the islands, West Coast Weta Sailor, Tim Corcoran couldn’t see a thing as the spray was flying. What a blast downwind for the last 15-20 minutes of the leg back to the beach!
In the end, Alan Taylor smoked the Wetas and a good number of the beach cats both days. Thanks Hobie Fleet 32 for inviting the Wetas on this grand adventure on the Chesapeake!
By Stephanie Taylor
