(Charleston, SC)- It seems unlikely that any of the competitors at the
first edition of Charleston Race Week in 1996 would have expected that a
small, local event started by a few friends would become one of the
world’s most celebrated and influential regattas. This year’s edition
of Sperry Charleston Race Week caps off an incredible 20 years of change
– change that has seen the regatta evolve from an old-school handicap
yacht race to the most modern and vibrant regatta of its kind.On April 17-19, Sperry Charleston Race Week takes the crown as the biggest keelboat regatta in the Americas with 286 boats registered. CRW is also the largest gathering of modern sportboats in the entire world, especially the gigantic eighty-four boat J/70 class.
To celebrate this 20th anniversary, the organizers have planned a few special offerings. Renowned America’s Cup veteran and TP52 Champion Ed Baird will be on hand as a guest expert to offer post race analysis each day on the Jumbotron at the Regatta Village. He’ll be assisted by the work of aerial videographer Keith Brash. Also on tap is Volvo Ocean Race veteran Brian Carlin of Team Vestas Wind, who will present his firsthand take on the grounding Vestas Wind suffered in the Indian Ocean earlier this year on Leg II of that race. In addition, America’s Cup commentator Tucker Thompson will be joined on stage by Andrew Campbell of Oracle Team USA to offer a presentation on the 35th America’s Cup.
Celebrating this milestone are 150 J’s sailing in this huge fleet (52% of the total). In the one-design world, there will be 9 J/22s, 21 J/24s, 84 J/70s, 8 J/80s, 4 J/88s and 7 J/111s. Amongst those fleets are a cross-section of every imaginable type of sailor, from weekend wizards to evening beer-can experts to world and Olympic champions.
As
the largest one-design class ever assembled for CRW, the J/70s will be
sailing in split fleets of 42 boats, with four flights rotating after
every race to ensure fair and balanced competition. Many of the top USA
and international teams that sailed Key West Race Week, Quantum Winter
Series and Bacardi Miami Sailing Week will be present, plus many new
faces that are just getting their “mojo” going for the 2015 summer of
sailing. Some of the class veterans include Jud Smith (AFRICA),
Mauricio Santa Cruz from Brazil (BRUSCHETTA), Joel Ronning (CATAPULT),
John Heaton (EMPEIRIA), Julian Fernandez Neckelmann from Valle de Bravo,
Mexico (FLOJITO Y COOPERANDO), Rob Britts (HOT MESS), Tim Molony
(JOUST), Jim Cunningham (LIFTED), Kerry Klingler (MENACE), Cole Allsopp
(MOXIE), Dan & Gannon Troutman (PIED PIPER), John Brim (RIMETTE),
Tom Bowen (REACH AROUND), Andy Lovell (ROUGAROU), Brian Keane
(SAVASANA), Will Welles (SEA BAGS SAILING TEAM), Dave Franzel (SPRING),
Bruno Pasquinelli (STAMPEDE), Alex Meleny (TRUCKIN), Doug McLean/ David
Ullman (ULLMAN SAILS), and Jack Franco on USA 3.Thirty-three of the 84 teams are sailing in the Corinthians class, a healthy sign of strong amateur teams that compete at the highest levels. Also, there will be a number of top women skippers competing for honors, including Catherine Evans on MOJITO from Annapolis, Amy Neill sailing NITEMARE from Chicago, Stephanie Sipos on USELESS from Edgewater YC in Ohio and Kristen Robinson on ZOMBIE from Annapolis YC.
The
J/24s have a cross-section of veterans and new teams participating.
Tops amongst this group should be last year’s winner, Mike Marshall
skippering PIPE DREAM from Jamestown, RI; Tony & Peter Parker
sailing the famously-named series of boats called BANGOR PACKET from
Annapolis YC; Aidan Glackin leading MENTAL FLOSS; and Chris Stone
sailing VELOCIDAD from Atlantic Highlands YC. Top locals include Mile
Palazzo’s JO MAMMA, Scott McCormack’s GIGGITY and Tommy Smith’s PUFF
DADDY.The J/22s have a nice turnout with strong support from the local Charleston fleet as well as visitors from the Ohio and Pennsylvania fleets. The College of Charleston is fielding three teams led by skippers Allyson Plessner on CATCH 22, Jacob Raymond on LETS GET KNOTTY, and Chase Shaw on LOS TRES BIGOTES.
A high-quality group of J/80s are participating, including class leaders like Chris & Liz Chadwick’s CHURCH KEY, Gary Panariello’s COURAGEOUS, Ken Mangano’s MANGO and Ramzi Bannura’s STACKED.
In
the J/111 class, the seven-boat fleet has a number of teams that are
preparing for the upcoming J/111 World Championship in mid-June at
Newport, RI. Those teams include the top boats at the J/111 Midwinters
in Key West, George Gamble’s MY SHARONA from Pensacola, FL; Rob
Ruhlman’s SPACEMAN SPIFF team from Cleveland OH; and Bill Smith’s WOOTON
from Chicago, IL. Other champion teams from the Midwest and the East
Coast include Gary Weisberg’s HEAT WAVE from Gloucester, MA; Robert
Stein’s KINETIC from Charleston, SC; Marty Roesch’s VELOCITY from
Annapolis YC; and Doug Curtiss’ WICKED 2.0 from New Bedford YC.Sailing as a one-design class for the first time at CRW are the J/88s. Teams are having fun trailering their boats to events and taking advantage of the simple, single-point lift system to launch anywhere they wish using a “cherry picker” machine. Like their J/111 colleagues, a number of the top teams from the first J/88 Midwinters at Key West Race Week are in attendance, including Rob and Sandy Butler’s TOUCH2PLAY RACING from Hamilton Harbor YC in Canada; Iris Vogel’s DEVIATION from Huguenot YC; Terry Mckenna’s DOG PARTY from Prince Edward Island in far east Canada; and Joe & Jeff Pawlowski’s EASY EIGHTS from Youngstown YC in New York.
In the world of handicap racing, there are two versions for sailors- the traditional around-the-buoys racing and the fun-loving pursuit racing format favored by so many daysailing and cruising sailors.
In the around the cans scenario, three PHRF classes are sailing offshore in the Atlantic Ocean on either side of the Charleston channel. In the PHRF A class, there are six J teams sailing. Two perennial contenders include the two J/122s, Robin Team’s TEAMWORK from North Carolina and Paul Milo’s frequent flyers on ORION from Leesburg, VA. They are joined by two J/120s- John Keenan’s IILYRIA from Mt Pleasant, SC and Rick Moore’s MOOSE DOWN.
Sailing in PHRF B is the offshore classic, the J/35 ARROW sailed by Willy Schwenzfeier from Charleston, SC. In PHRF C class are three very well-sailed boats, including Dave Pritchard’s J/92 AMIGOS from Atlanta, GA; Robert Key’s J/27 AUDACIOUS from Columbia, SC; and Steve Thurston’s J/29 MIGHTY PUFFIN from Bristol, RI.
In the world of pursuit racing, we find the College of Charleston’s J/36 SOLE up against Bill Hanckel’s J/120 EMOCEAN in PHRF Spinnaker. In PHRF Non-Spin is Mark Swatta’s J/30 LAS BRISAS from Mt Pleasant, SC.
In addition to the standard trophies, TORQEEDO is sponsoring the newly created Dynasty Division. Torqeedo initiated this division for the inaugural J/70 World Championship in Rhode Island last year. The Dynasty Division is designed to further encourage families to compete in the J70 Fleet. The division is open to all boats that have a family member on-board for the regatta. For more Charleston Race Week sailing information
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