Lake Wissota (WQOW) - Chippewa County is home to a 3-day national
championship boat race this weekend.
Boats from
across the country are here to compete.
"This is the
biggest race of the season for this class," said race competitor Matt
Gundlach.
Gundlach will be on the deck of one
of ten boats competing in a national sailboat championship regatta this weekend
on Lake Wissota.
"We actually have
boats from Minnesota and Wisconsin
and as far away as Nashville, Tennessee
and Las Vegas, Nevada. So they've come quite a distance here
to race this weekend with us," said Joe Horan, the Race Chair for the Lake
Wissota Yacht Club.
Yachts have long keels on the
underside of the boat, which help stabilize it. The keels often get stuck on
plant life in more shallow lakes, which won't be an issue in the deeper Lake Wissota.
"Couple things I
really like about the lake is it's very open, so you don't have a lot of wind
shifts, very consistent wind, and there's no weeds! Some of
the challenge will be when you're going into marks, or buoys, a lot of activity
takes place there. And a lot of times you have a lot of boats around there. The
challenge is to get through it clean, get clean air, and make those shifts,"
Gundlach said.
The battle for first place is just
part of the draw for those who chose to make the trip.
"This is a very
casual fleet. I mean we are competitive, we want to win, but I think you'll see
a lot of the competitors helping each other get their boats set up and get
ready. It's a lot of fun it's a great group of people and that's one of the neat
parts about being part of this," Horan said.
The winner of the event is
determined on how the boats finish over seven races. The event continues tomorrow
from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It finishes Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
