CAROLINA SAILING
Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week, April 18-22 Now the Largest Regatta in the Western Hemisphere By Dan Dickison Photos by Meredith Block/Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week (unless noted otherwise)
Paul Jacques and his Charleston-based crew on board his S2 9.1 Old School, head to the start in Day 1’s big winds.
F
or four days in April, Charleston, SC, became the focal point for competitive sailing across much of the United States. Don’t take that on faith. The principal metrics for this regatta back that up: 287 boats on the water, roughly 2,400 competitors in attendance, 28 sponsors underwriting much of the action, and more than 18,000 servings of Goslings Rum dispensed over three evenings. In fact, this homegrown event—still less than two decades old—has evolved into the largest regatta of its kind in the Western Hemisphere. This regatta definitely resonates. First, it attracts the top tier of talent in the sport. This year, from inductees in the National Sailing Hall of Fame (one) to Rolex Yachtsman of the Year (five), to Olympic medalists (six) and more class, national and world champions than you can readily count, sailboat racing luminaries were literally everywhere. North Sails (an event sponsor) had over 30 racers on the payroll in attendance, and Quantum’s national sales manager claimed to have nearly a dozen staffers on the water as well. Randy Draftz, the event director, summed it up aptly on the final day, claiming: “If you’re a professional sailor in the U.S., there are only two places to be this weekend, at the America’s Cup World Series in Naples, Italy, or here in Charleston.” And second, the event has taken on something of an ambassadorial role for the sport, carrying the excitement of sailboat racing to non-sailors. This year, the organizers partnered with Outside Television, and that network aired a 30second promotional spot for the event in all of its markets
42 June 2013
SOUTHWINDS
across the United States for four weeks leading up to the regatta. That represents exposure in over 8 million households. In addition, the organizers structured a one-day event during the regatta intended to share sailing opportunities in Charleston with the general public. Sail Charleston, as it was dubbed, was part boat show, part information clearinghouse. The highlight was the chance to enjoy a harbor tour around the inshore racecourses with color commentary by multi-class champion Greg Fisher. Competitors this year ran into a buzz saw of weather with winds approaching 30 knots in Charleston Harbor on Day 1, and about half that offshore. That afternoon, two Melges 20s were dismasted. After four races that day, former Rolex Yachtsman of the Year and grand prix guru Terry Hutchinson, who was sailing in that 33-boat class, admitted to being “worn out.” This was his first time ever at this event and his first regatta in the Melges 20. “As physical as this boat is, when the wind pipes up like this, I’ve got to say that I feel lucky to have spent so much time in the gym.” On the same inshore racecourse, the Melges 24 Class was contesting its 2013 National Championship, with 37 boats on the scratch sheet. Over eight races in two days (Sunday’s action was blown out due to winds in excess of 30 knots), it essentially came down to a two-boat contest. Bermudian Alec Cutler and his crew on Hedgehog fought it out with two-time Melges 24 Race Week champion Bora Gulari and his team on New England Ropes/West Marine Rigging. Between the two, they hoarded all but two of the bullets in those eight races. Ultimately, Gulari and company faltered in the finale, posting their only double-digit finish, which meant settling for second place overall by a three-point margin. The biggest one-design turnout at the event was the J/70 Class, which was riddled with professionals. In fact, only 16 of the 55 J/70 entries qualified under the Corinthian designation. With that many boats on the starting line, and so much talent spread across the fleet, it was exceedingly difficult to post consistently high finishes, and that level of difficulty was only exacerbated by Day 1’s mondo winds. Ultimately, North Sails’ new one-design coordinator, Tim Healy and his Newport, RI-based team reprised their efficiency from months earlier at Key West Race Week and bested their closest rival—Peter Duncan’s Relative Obscurity— by two points overall to win the class. Though the regatta lacked any behemoths this year (a Swan 56 was the largest entry), it did attract a new group of 40-foot speedsters participating under the High Performance Rule as well as a quintet of Swan 42s, along with the usually diverse array of PHRF entries, which all www.southwindsmagazine.com