2021 Charleston Race Week - Saturday Sailing

Don't Worry Be Happy Spinnaker

 The sailing fleet enjoyed better wind conditions on Saturday at the 2021 edition of Charleston Race Week, and the slight chance of rain forecast did not materialize. Five youth teams are competing, and though I failed to make their photo, it is important to mention them because it underscores how the sport of sailing still appeals to the younger generation. Other outdoor traditions con only wish they had the same enthusiasm. 

Beware the Blue Scorpion on the water

For a detailed report on the sailing results from Saturday click on CRW's Moving Day Report. And don't forget you can track the 2021 CRW action live on the water using the TracTrac link. A Sunday morning sailing race will help determine the final winners of the 2021 CRW, with an awards ceremony at 5 p.m. - which is only open for the winners to attend due to Covid protocols.

Hang Loose at the Bot Buoy

To view past blog entries from Charleston Race Week click on 2021 - 2018- 2017 - 2016 - 2015 - 2014 - 2013 - 2012 - 2011 - 2010 - 2009 

Getting Bullish on Charleston Race Week

2021 Charleston Race Week - 25th Anniversary Sailing Begins

Race starts are always exciting

 A Lowcountry regatta unlike any other has been 26 years in the making. The 25th anniversary celebration was put on hold in 2020 due to the covid shutdown, but Charleston Race Week is rebounding nicely in 2021. Every participant must sign a daily Covid waiver, and the overall weekend activities are greatly reduced. But the sailboat racing will proceed as usual, over Friday, Saturday and finishing up after Sunday morning races. Quantum Sails stepped up as the title sponsor in 2021 and is filming much of the regatta for sailing fans to view.

Traffic jam rounding the mark on Friday at CRW

On Friday morning at Charleston Harbor Marina the winds were calm in the early morning, which caused some slight delays on race starts until a breeze filled in late morning. Water conditions went from flat calm to a light chop in the afternoon after the tide turned. Winds ranged went from 8 to 15-knots, but were a little inconsistent during longer races, but in general I can report good conditions - click for CRW's Day One Report.

Sailors happy that the 25th CRW is underway!

A couple of things that are new for the 2021 Charleston Race Week involve technology. The CRW website offers a live tracking service during races now, using the TracTrac service. So even if you are on the water in Circle One, you can check in on racing on the other four circles. And while traditional buoys are still being deployed for gates, a new automated bot is on the water that can be left in place without anchoring. The bot marker has a GPS unit and a trolling motor that work in unison to keep it in place, for sailors to aim for and round during racing. From what I could see the bots worked great!

To view past blog entries from Charleston Race Week click on 2018 - 2017 - 2016 - 2015 - 2014 - 2013 - 2012 - 2011 - 2010 - 2009 

 

25th Anniversary coolers on site

GPS automated BOT marker with trolling motor

2021 Volvo Car Open - Thursday Tennis

Muguruza of Spain has won two majors,
 Wimbledon and the French Open

 The Thursday matches at the Volvo Car Open began with breaking news from the French Open. Due to a covid outbreak in France, the tournament on the red clay at Roland Garros will be delayed by one week. The green clay courts at the Volvo Car Open, and the first stop on the road to Paris. 

The Thursday matches on Althea Gibson Court began with 6-seed Spaniard Carbine Muguruza, a past French Open Champ, versus 11-seed Yulia Putintseva. Muguruza blanked Putintseva in the first set, 6 - 0. However, after only two games in the second set, Muguruza retired from the match, and Putinitseva advances to the next round of play. To read more about Muguruza click here.

Emma Navarro of Mt. Pleasant

Australia's Ashleigh Barty is the Number One player in the World and she plays Daniel Island native Shelby Rogers at 7 p.m. on Thursday in the night session. That singles match will be followed up by a doubles match that features Mt. Pleasant's Emma Navarro. It will be a good night for the 'home town support,' All matches are televised on the Tennis Channel.

To view past blog entries from the Volvo Car Open click on 2019- 2018- 2017 -  2016- 2015- 2014- 2013 - 2012 - 2011 - 2010 - 2009 

Shelby Rogers of Daniel Island

2021 Volvo Car Open - Clay Court Season Begins

Yulia Putintseva advances on Monday

 The 2021 Volvo Car Open on Daniel Island is the first clay court tourney of the year. The VCO and other clay court matches will be on the road to Roland Garros when the French Open is held in May. The 2021 edition of the VCO is unique because it will not be open for fans to attend due to Covid-19 protocol. The entire tournament will be televised on the Tennis Channel again in 2021. The tournament is under new ownership and the stadium court is undergoing a major renovation

Volvo Car Open Trophy

presently, and promises to be a more modern facility for the future.

The weather in Charleston for the weekend qualifying matches and the rounds played on Monday and Tuesday was nothing short of 'Chamber of Commerce' days. The promos on the Tennis Channel between matches depict Charleston as a delightful city to visit, and when spring brings warm temps with low humidity, it certainly lives up to that billing. Four past champions were signed up to play in 2021, but two of them had to withdraw with injury at the last minute. 2014 Champ Andrea Petkovic and 2018 Champ Kiki Bertens withdrew, leaving 2016 Champ Sloane Stephens and 2019 Champ Madison Keys in it.

This year 17-year old Coco Gauff will make her VCO debut, and has been living up to expectations ever since she beat Venus Williams at Wimbledon in 2017. To read more about Gauff and her experience thus far in the Women's Tennis Association click here.

The 2021 VCO will partner with the Shawn Jenkins Children's Hospital at MUSC. To raise money they will let players Swing With a Cause at a target at the Althea Gibson Court.

Coco Gauff makes her VCO debut in 2021

Finally, the WTA 250 'Funament' will be held on Daniel Island the week after the VCO. This 32-player event will showcase tennis for fun, and likely is going to be unique to 2021. 

To view past blog entries from the Volvo Car Open click on 2019 - 2018- 2017 -  2016- 2015- 2014- 2013 - 2012 - 2011 - 2010 - 2009 

2021 Birding Journal Observations - January / February

Upside Down Thistle Feeder Fun

 A return to cooler temperatures the first two months of 2021 kept bird feeders full, but the cloudy and wet weather in February had feeding behavior going full tilt. A polar vortex affected much of the US with frigid temps, while the Lowcountry stayed in the normal temp range. I believe this climactic set up made 2021 the best ever year for goldfinches visiting my feeders that I have ever seen. Just to clarify the number of goldfinches I am reporting, in past years I have set up one finch feeder and had a few birds on it for a short time. For 2021 I had to run four finch feeders, each mobbed by a cloud of goldfinches and pine siskins, requiring me to refill the feeders daily. The nirdseed bill for thistle went up in 2021, but the joy from seeing so much gold plumage makes one richer for the experience.

To view past Birding Journal Observations from January / February click 2020 - 2017 -  2016- 2015- 2014 - 2013 - 2012 - 2011 - 2010 - 2009 

To view the most recent Birding Journal Observations click on November / December 2020 

A six-seater feeder was not near enough in 2021

2021 Rabbit Hunt - Small Game Season Finale

Happy hunters with a nice rabbit harvest.

 A group of Lowcountry rabbit hunting enthusiasts gathered on the last Saturday of February for a small game season sendoff. The winter months allow for small game hunting of dove, duck, squirrel, rabbit, quail, woodcock and snipe - but each season closes in succession during January and February. While there will  be hunting in late March and April for the wild turkey, that is considered to be a large game category. 

Beagles and hunters between rabbit chases.

Even though the calendar read February 27, the thermometer read 80-degrees after lunch time, and so the beagle pack and the hunting party that follows them were feeling the heat. A game plan of beginning the hunt at 7:30 a.m. was essential to the success of our hunt. The first rabbit of the day completely broke cover and ran down the side of a greenfield, causing two standers to whirl and shoot. Five shots rang out, and the rabbit completed its perfectly-planned semi-circle escape route around the hunters and back into the safety of thick cover. The first rabbit chase of the day was in the books, lifting everyone's spirits.

2021 Small Game Season Finale

I have visited duck ponds after duck season in the past to hunt snipe, and to watch shorebirds, but this time it was to rabbit hunt along the ditch system that drains waterfowl impoundments. Brambles and briars are the chief components of rabbit habitat, and the ditches and areas in-between grow thick with them. The rabbit master and his pack of beagles must penetrate these thick areas in order to rouse the rabbit. Thick brush pants guard the hunter, while the beagle can successfully navigate the cover by going underneath. When a beagle cries out, everyone knows that a rabbit is now on the move. By our lunch break at noon, ten rabbits had been harvested, giving all a feeling of accomplishment.

To view past blog entries about rabbit hunting click on 2017 - 2016 - 2012 - 2009 

2021 Wood Duck Box - Spring Maintenance

A close call from a fallen oak tree

 Wood ducks are among the first creatures to pair up in order to begin nesting, and they often getting a jump start on Spring by setting up shop in February. All veteran gamekeepers and landowners that are in the habit of maintaining wood duck boxes understand that these annual chores begin almost right after duck season ends. The commitment to keep the wood duck boxes in a clean condition is a way of helping woodies maintain a sustainable population. Also, these hands on chores often produce memorable encounters with other wildlife species that are memorable and 2021 was no different.

I finished the spring maintenance on seven wood ducks boxes by February 5. This is accomplished by purchasing pine chips for nest box bedding, donning hip boots, and wading out into the swamp with a step ladder to access the top of the box which opens. At my first stop I found a dead and dried up wood duck hen inside the wood duck box. It was a startling find, and its a mystery to me how she ended up deceased inside a box with a predator guard on it, but that it part of the mystery of nature. I cleaned out the bedding and found three unhatched eggs too, and it is very common to find a few eggs to remove. 

A dead wood duck hen I found inside box

The last box I cleaned out seems to be full of pine straw, which is not uncommon as birds may nest in these boxes after the wood ducks vacate them in early Spring. However, another surprise crawled out from under the straw when a Southern flying squirrel emerged and hurled himself towards a nearby tree. This nocturnal creature looked sluggish but I deemed it to be in no danger, and decided to shut the box lid and did not disturb the contents anymore. At then end of these chores it was time to head to the house and change clothes since my pants were muddy and a little wet too from the slogging through the swamp in the name of wildlife stewardship.

To view past blog entries on wood duck boxes click 2020 - 2016 - 2015 - 2014 

Fresh Bedding applied inside box

Typical wood duck box maintenance set up