2012 Charleston Race Week - Racing

The On Deck boat has its wind stolen briefly

This team hikes out for best possible speed

American flag flies in the Charleston Harbor again

The first two days of competition saw changing weather conditions that included sun, clouds, light rain and most importantly steady breezes. Warm temperatures persisted while racing was underway while the threat of heavy rain looms for Sunday, the final racing day which culminates with a 2 p.m. beach party and a 4 p.m. CRW awards ceremony. During Saturday's sailing I was glad to be aboard the 42-foot cabin cruiser named Arque (sounds like Ark) which is flagged out of Rhode Island. In the outside racing circles we saw calm ocean condition and light winds, which called for one of the races to be shortened. Altogether though, a full day of races were completed on Saturday in the offshore class. Later riding on a rib-type boat in the inshore circles with CRW media director Dan Dickison, I was able to see that the conditions were crowded as racers tacked and rounded buoys. One race from Friday had to be disqualified after a buoy had drifted, causing some racers to improperly round it. All the inshore races for Saturday were completed and sportsmanship was on display as each of the inshore teams faced the same conditions as everyone else. One sailor here from Toledo, Ohio shouted out - Charleston Rocks! Another skipper said that this was his fifth trip to CRW and that he hoped for speedier conditions on Sunday. With feedback like this it's no wonder that Charleston Race Week is forecast to grow again next year, and their host facility, the Charleston Harbor Marina is doing a great job on both the marina side and the resort side to make the event a big success.

Melges class starting line

Dan Dickison knows sailing like few do

For past blog entries about Charleston Race Week click here.