2013 Rockville Regatta preview

My image from the Rockville Regatta on the cover 

Revelers and pirates enjoy the 2012 Rockville Regatta

It's time again for the annual Rockville Regatta! What started as a way of life for Sea Island farmers over a century ago, continues today in a grand way. The Sea Island Yacht Club is the setting each August, at the tip of Wadmalaw Island, overlooking Bohicket Creek. Large crowds of on-the water spectators come every year to celebrate the tradition of sailboat races, and to keep in touch with a nautical tradition in the South Carolina Lowcountry. It’s hard to convey the sentiment that the Rockville Regatta carries, without speaking to a local resident who grew up exposed to the sailing culture at Rockville. John Settle sailed in many of these regattas and his father was a former Commodore of the Sea Island Yacht Club. “The first weekend of August is off limits to just about anything except spending time at Rockville,” said Settle. “We don’t plan any weddings, or work days at the hunt club, or family vacations for the first weekend in August." The spectator fleet literally takes up one-half of Bohicket Creek, and the Race Committee cordons off the racing area with a series of buoys. The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources is on hand along with a heavy law enforcement presence to keep the sailing lanes open. Swift currents in the Lowcountry and the narrow course make the Rockville regatta a good challenge for the sailors. To stroll under the live oaks along the shoreline at Rockville, and watch the fleet pass back and forth up and down Bohicket Creek, is to embrace a part of sailing history.

Rockville Regatta Race Committee's Brad Rumph and I

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To view past blog entries about Rockville Regatta click here.
To view past blog entries about classic wooden boats click here.

You see ALOT while at Rockville Regatta