We in North Carolina have a special relationship with “the beach”.  But Nags Head, Kill Devil Hills, Kitty Hawk - these are the famous big brothers of the Outer Banks (OBX).  I’ve always wondered why there weren’t more dinghy regattas out there.  After all, this is a place so famous for its wind that it drew the Wright brothers all the way from Ohio to try out some crazy ideas they had.

But a quick look at a chart tells you why.  Roanoke Sound is incredibly shallow!  I checked out the nautical charts after I’d already registered for the OBX Multihull Sailfest at Nags Head, and I have to tell you, it made me more than a little anxious.  But I’d paid my money and promised to be there, so I put my faith in the regatta organizers.

Since before the time of Blackbeard, even before the Lost Colony, local knowledge has ruled the day in the Outer Banks.  Hardy Peters and the other locals showed us the hidden gap in the marsh grass where we could launch.  They detailed the invisible path out to the race course.  I don’t think the races could have been held anywhere else on the huge sound.  But I didn’t hear of anyone having any trouble with the depth all weekend.

Most of the Wetas arrived Friday and we set up our boats.  A couple had a brief sail before the wind died for the evening, and before we had our choice of excellent seafood dinners while watching the sun set over the Roanoke Sound.

Overnight there was rain. And rain, and more rain.  In fact, it rained all day Saturday.  But there was wind!  Not huge amounts, but more than enough to get around the course for four races.  Gareth Ferguson (aka The Rookie) - well, let’s just say Gareth did well.  In fact, Garett dominated.  He won every race Saturday, and not by a little bit.  But there was plenty of competition among the rest of us, with a lot of position changes, especially during the first half of the races, and variation in the finish orders. Behind Gareth, that is.

That evening we were warned to tie our boats down, because a lot of wind was expected overnight.  They have a healthy respect for the wind in the OBX.  The locals had anchors to screw into the lawn, but the visitors didn’t, so we derigged as for trailering, and did the best we could.  Nobody had any damage.  (Well, I had some damage on Saturday, but due to a rigging mishap, not wind.  I had to sit out Sunday’s racing.  To be honest I was worn out from Saturday and did not mind a recovery day.)

The big winds Saturday night churned up Roanoke Sound pretty good.  As Sunday morning rolled in there was some excitement as sailors began rigging their boats for the days races.  Crewed boats could be heard discussing what you do to avoid capsizing and what to do if avoidance fails. The wind was forecasted to “die” to 15-20 kts by race time.  We headed out to the race course. The 4 Weta sailors who chose to race were the first on station and milled about smartly waiting for the start. The wind whistled, the waves bounced and one of us retired back to the beach.  In the end it was a fun day of racing. Sometimes it was close, but The Rookie (Gareth Ferguson) easily won all three races. Again.  The shallow-water waves made for some challenges and none of us felt like we approached anything near perfection. We all had stories of stuffed bows and near capsizes upwind and screaming spinnaker runs downwind. Eric Frank was going to retire after the 2nd race, but his radio was dead and he could not tell RC he was retiring.  He decided what the heck and raced in the third.

In all, it was a really fun regatta - a very nice contrast to some of the light-air tests of character we sometimes get in central NC.  I would advise all not to categorically write off sailing in the shallow sounds of the OBX. As long as you have access to generous locals who know the waters.

Special thanks to East Coast Sailboats for putting on the regatta. And a personal thank you to Gareth for his expert help in repairing my mast track on what was supposed to be his day off!