Charleston Race Week 2010 - Big breeze, gear failure and tired crews

by South Carolina Maritime Foundation on 10 Apr 2010 Chilly temperatures greeted a record fleet of racing sailboats this morning for the first day of 2010 Charleston Race Week. Over 185 boats braved 55 degree-morning temperatures today as they sailed to the race course, but their reward was a surprise 20-knot breeze that made racing today 'a serious adrenalin rush' as Melges 20 competitor Peter Crawford put it.

Temperatures reached the 70s by noon, providing picture perfect sailing conditions to start race week off with a bang. 'I don't know if conditions could be any more perfect than today,' said Christof Wieland, who traveled all the way from Germany to compete in his second Charleston Race Week. 'The competition was stiff, and the breeze stiffer - we hope we get more!'

Jam-packed inshore courses saw plenty of heated action and tight racing across the one-design fleets, and major drama as skippers struggled to control their overpowered boats in gusty breeze.

British-based Viper 640 Hijackfound their pre-regatta practices to be invaluable to their performance today. 'Both Wednesday and Thursday were plenty breezy, so we really got the practice we needed to keep the boat from going over,' said owner Matt Sole. Like many of the racers here, Sole 'wasn't overly concerned with results,' instead focusing on the fun that fast sailing brings.

While many of the ultra-light Vipers broached and capsized in strong wind, smiles were frequently seen on crews hanging on for dear life until their boats righted themselves. The Michigan-based Viper 640 Jackpot leads this hot class with three first places out of four races.

International Melges 32 Class President Jeff Ecklund is taking a break from his usual thirty-two foot raceboat to sail the smaller Melges 20 for the weekend, and couldn't be happier about the racing. 'I call it a 'pocket 32' because it acts just like the big boat, only it seems faster in these conditions.' Ecklund was also excited to see the two Melges 32s scoring big in PHRF C, with Roxanne and Black Ice in first and second place. 'We had a fine day, and we're going to rock it tomorrow' said Black Ice crew Erica Bush, despite their team breaking a jib halyard, forcing some rapid on-the-water repairs.

The professionally-run Race Committees squeezed in a fourth race inshore after competitors thought the day was over, with reactions split across the tired but exhilarated teams. 'Races were only about a half hour long, so we ended up coming in earlier than we liked,' said local Melges 24 racer Dave O' Reilly. 'We're worried we won't have these great winter winds tomorrow, and we always want to get in as much big-wind racing in as we can. We wanted to sail even more than four.'

Unlike O'Reilly, top international Match Racing champion Simon Minoprio was 'wiped out after the first race day' - and rightfully so - the Kiwi match racing champion helped his team to three first-place finishes today to lead the IRC fleet aboard the 52 foot Vincitore. 'The seminar on tides and currents offered by the event was very helpful, and today it offered some explanation to the strange wave and current conditions we experienced at the top of the course.'

Local competitor Cal Huge on Jubilee was able to maneuver well through the all-too-familiar currents, though they attribute their strong second-place position in IRC to more than just 'local knowledge.' 'Good crew, quick sets, quick douses and lots of practice gave us the tools to do well today,' said Ned Goss, the crew boss of Jubilee. 'The wind was just ripping and we were able to keep up with it.'

Tomorrow's racing begins at 10 AM offshore and 11 AM inshore, and Sunday will conclude this premier regatta.

Top three places:
Viper 640 (One Design - 30 Boats)
1. Jackpot, Brad Boston, CAN - 1, 1, 8, 1, ; 11
2. 3 Grins, Dave Nickerson / Moise Solomon, USA - 2, 3, 4, 5, ; 14
3. Who Dat?, Justin Scott, USA - 7, 2, 3, 3, ; 15

Melges 20 (One Design - 14 Boats)
1. Bacio, Michael Kiss, USA - 4, 3, 2, 2, ; 11
2. STAR, Jeff Ecklund, USA - 3, 1, 9, 1, ; 14
3. C-4, Joel Ronning, USA - 2, 5, 1, 7, ; 15

Melges 24 (One Design - 31 Boats)
1. Flying Elvis, Bora Gulari, USA - 4, 4, 1, 1, ; 10
2. Conejo Racing, David Dabney, USA - 1, 3, 4, 5, ; 13
3. Blur - Pacific Energy Ventures, Steve Kopf, USA - 8, 1, 6, 3, ; 18

J 80 (One Design - 20 Boats)
1. Tiamo, Bruno Pasquinelli, USA - 2, 4, 3, 5, ; 14
2. Le Tigre, Glenn Darden Reese Hillard, USA - 4, 5, 8/SCP, 1, ; 18
3. Lifted, Kerry Klingler, USA - 3, 2, 1, 13, ; 19

J 24 (One Design - 17 Boats)
1. USA2918, Chris Jankowski, USA - 4, 1, 1, 5, ; 11
2. Murder Incorporated, Chip Till, USA - 1, 4, 4, 4, ; 13
3. Tutakrnaut, Roger Dougal, USA - 2, 3, 2, 6, ; 13

IRC (IRC - 6 Boats)
1. Vincitore, Jim Mitchell, Switzerland - 1, 1, 1, ; 3
2. Jubilee, Cal Huge, USA - 3, 3, 2, ; 8
3. Cool Breeze, John Cooper, USA - 4, 2/RDG, 4, ; 10

J 105 (One Design - 6 Boats)
1. Little Booty, Jackson Benvenutti , USA - 1, 1, 3, ; 5
2. Eclipse, Damian Emery, USA - 2, 2, 1, ; 5
3. Solaris, William Zartler, USA - 3, 3, 2, ; 8

PHRF A (PHRF - 6 Boats)
1. Dauntless, Don Terwilliger, USA - 1, 1, 1, ; 3
2. Emocean, Will Hanckel, USA - 2, 3, 2, ; 7
3. Illyria, John Keenan, USA - 3, 2, 3, ; 8

PHRF B (PHRF - 7 Boats)
1. Tangent, Gerry Taylor, USA - 1, 1, 2, ; 4
2. Primal Scream, Steven M Stollman, USA - 2, 5.5, 1, ; 8.5
3. Velocity, Kent Mitchell, USA - 3, 2, 5, ; 10

PHRF C Sport (PHRF - 7 Boats)
1. Roxanne, Kip Meadows, USA - 1, 1, 1, ; 3
2. Black Ice, John Knoll, USA - 2, 2, 2, ; 6
3. Rented Mule, Bryan Taylor, USA - 3, 3, 3, ; 9

Tripp 26 (One Design - 7 Boats)
1. A Parent Tripp, Harrison/ Yeigh, USA - 1, 1, 3, ; 5
2. Slapshot, Tom Freeman, CAN - 2, 2, 2, ; 6
3. Radio Flyer, McMillan / Melville, USA - 4, 3, 1, ; 8

PHRF D (PHRF - 6 Boats)
1. For Sail, Jim Mackevich, USA - 1, 1, 2, ; 4
2. Remedy, Bert Carp, USA - 3, 2, 1, ; 6
3. Mighty Puffin, Steve Thurston, USA - 2, 3, 3, ; 8

PHRF E (PHRF - 7 Boats)
1. Horizon, Bob Fleck, USA - 3, 2, 1, ; 6
2. Wild Norwegian, Arvid Eiesland, USA - 2, 1, 3, ; 6
3. Silver Surfer, Simon Beemsterboer, USA - 1, 3, 6, ; 10

PHRF F HDC (PHRF - 10 Boats)
1. Buena Vida, David Rodarte, USA - 1, 4, 1, ; 6
2. Quintette, Kenneth King, USA - 2, 2, 2, ; 6
3. Kindred Spirit, David McSweeney, USA - 5, 1, 3, ; 9

PHRF G Non-Spinnaker (PHRF - 10 Boats)
1. Bliss, Randy Brooks, USA - 2, 3, 1, ; 6
2. Pied-'a-Mer, Bernard M Schapiro, USA - 1, 5, 2, ; 8
3. Suwannee, Donald Michael, USA - 6, 1, 3, ; 10

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