Charleston Race Week ready for action

by Charleston Race Week on 20 Apr 2012 Charleston Race Week will get underway tomorrow with marinas, docks, yacht clubs, and launch ramps surrounding Charleston Harbor a hive of activity as 250 sailboat racing teams rig and ready their craft for the first day of competition.

'We’re so glad to be back here in Charleston for another year,' said Melges 24 skipper Jens Wathne, from Loddefjord, Norway. 'This is the ultimate sailing destination, and we hope to keep coming back every year.'

Wathne’s Party Girl will sail in the ultra-competitive Melges 24 fleet, which has designated Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week as its prestigious Gold Cup Regatta. 'With the level of competition we see every year in Charleston, it was only natural to make it our Gold Cup for 2012,' said Class Secretary Cary Siegler, who will race on his Melges 24 Rock Steady.

2012 Charleston Race Week will also serve as Class Championships for the Tartan 10 and Viper 640 Classes.

Charleston's famous sea breeze might not pay a visit on day 1 of the regatta with an offshore pressure trough providing shifty and unpredictable air that is likely to stall the thermal until afternoon.

Saturday’s early forecast calls for more typical wind patterns, with sea breeze filling in by noon, building to the strong afternoon Southeasterly this town is so well known for.

Sunday is apt to bring the possibility of rain and a springtime frontal breeze out of the North, the kind racers look forward to all year long.

2012 Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week brings the most packed schedule of racing and shoreside activities ever to grace Charleston Harbor.

Charleston Race Week website