Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week Day 3 finale

Viper 640s and Melges 20s line up on their way toward the city front. Meredith Block/ Charleston Race Week http://www.charlestonraceweek.com/

Another crystal-clear day dawns over the 2014 2014 Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week racing fleet at Patriot’s Point. © Meredith Block/ Charleston Race Week http://www.charlestonraceweek.com/

One exception was Rochester-based skipper and professional sailing coach Mike Ingham, who came into today one point behind legendary Toledo, Ohio small-boat sailor Skip Dieball despite the Ingham winning four of the first six races.

'Skip did a better job of staying conservative, and that almost gave him the win even though we felt like we were quite a bit faster than him,' said Ingham. 'With that boatspeed advantage, we probably should have been more conservative, but fortunately it worked out OK.' By 'OK', the longtime J/24 master meant that his crew came out on top in a two-way tie with Dieball, with Ingham’s first place finish in the final race making the difference, and giving Ingham his third Charleston Race Week Championship in four tries. Like many of his Midwestern counterparts, Ingham says he’ll be back to Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week for as long as it goes on. 'There is no place quite like Charleston in April, and I’ll see you next year,' said Ingham.

Chris Carroll’s J/70 Torqeedo (Vancouver Canada) tries to sneak inside a huge crowd of boats at the J/70 gate. © Meredith Block/ Charleston Race Week http://www.charlestonraceweek.com/

Rob Britts (Davis Island, FL) moved up considerably after an extremely tough final day across the J/70 fleet. Britts went from fifth overall Corinthian (Amateur) trophy. 'We’ve been sailing together for ten years, and as most sailors know, that’s one of the keys to sailing well,' said Britts. James Barnash, another Rochester sailor, won the J/70 Class.

High-speed trimarans like David Saint’s Flight Simulator (Tallahasee FL) competed for the first time at Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week while they hit 20 knots in Friday’s fresh breeze today’s zephyrs were a different story. © Meredith Block/ Charleston Race Week http://www.charlestonraceweek.com/

The Viper Class continued a long tradition of breaking in new skippers at Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week; Four of the 21 teams featured brand new Viper owners sailing their first regattas IN the Class: Carson Reynolds from Newport Beach, CA placed as high as fourth before shuffling back to seventh, while Phil and Wendy Lotz, sailing with Olympic Finn sailor and US Sailing Team member Luke Lawrence aboard Arethusa, took a second place in their single race of the day, clinching the win over reigning Melges 32 World Champion Jason Carroll on Argo. Carroll’s crew didn’t mind taking second – he’s already won this event before. 'Our first trip down gave us a Class win, and we had so much fun that we made our reservations for the next year even before we left Charleston,' said trimmer Chad Corning. 'We've done that ever since, and that's what we're doing again today.'

Light air meant crowded mark roundings across the inshore course here five Melges 24s stack up in the current as they round the bottom mark. © Meredith Block/ Charleston Race Week http://www.charlestonraceweek.com/

Midwesterners also took the Tartan 10 Midwinters Championship on the offshore course; Leif Sigmond’s crew on Norboy (Chicago, IL) nipped their Great Lakes rivals on Scott Irwin’s Team 'Iball' (Toledo, OH) by one point. 'It was only fair' said Irwin, because 'last year, we beat them by a single point when too much wind cancelled the final day. This year, they did the same to us.' Norboy crew Jeff Olshevki said they were upbeat despite the abandonment for the offshore circle. 'The committee was really good about keeping all of us enthused and informed and trying to do the best they could with the conditions. We all think it's a really well run event, and it's great to be here after the winter we've had in Chicago this year.'

Family and friends make the most of the summer-like temperatures as cruising yachts from the Pursuit Class sail through the jetties. © Meredith Block/ Charleston Race Week http://www.charlestonraceweek.com/

Denny Manrique’s Minnesota-based crew crushed the competition in PHRF D with an all-bullet performance aboard Island Flyer; it was their third try at Race Week, and a solid progression from fourth in 2012 to second last year to first this year. 'It’s really coming together with Denny and the crew, and what a great feeling to finally win this prestigious trophy by such a big margin,' said crew Sean Hendrickson.

Many competitors at Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week hail from the cold Midwest, and Todd and Ryan Howe from Rochester, NY are no exception the experienced multihull racers and their Farrier F-25C Panic Button won their class with all bullets. Here they pass the historic Sullivan’s Island landmark Stella Maris Church. © Meredith Block/ Charleston Race Week http://www.charlestonraceweek.com/

Rochester’s Todd and Ryan Howe – longtime racers aboard the ultra-fast 60’ trimaran 'Earth Voyager' and multiple Great Lakes record holders – took the inaugural Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week multihull championship. It’s fitting that two of the fastest sailors in Great Lakes history should break new ground in Charleston.

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Overall Awards
Every year, the organizers of Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week hand out two of the most sought-after awards in American sailing, and this year, the Palmetto Cup (the award for the best overall performance by a boat in the handicap classes) went to 'Cool Breeze,' John Cooper’s custom Mills 43 out of Lake Stockton, Missouri. Cooper’s performance stood out in the very tough PHRF A fleet, which put him up against three-time Charleston Race Week winner Robin Team’s J/122 'Teamwork' and the Chesapeake Bay light-air specialists aboard the J/111 'Spaceman Spiff.' Breeze edged out Spiff by just a point, with one point further back to Team.

Multiple Melges 24 Corinthian World Champ and longtime sportboat racer Bruce Bruiser Ayres and crew kept their cool in the hot sun to take the Melges 24 class win as well as the overall title for Charleston’s top one-design performance of the week - the Charleston Race Week Perpetual Trophy. © Meredith Block/ Charleston Race Week http://www.charlestonraceweek.com/

The Charleston Race Week Trophy, awarded for the best overall one-design performance, was awarded to multiple Melges 24 Corinthian World Champion Bruce Ayres (Newport Beach, CA) aboard Monsoon. 'Light air or heavy air, the group that I had with me just dealt with whatever we saw without drama,' said Ayres.

Overall winner of the Pursuit Non-Spinnaker Class, Scott Strother’s Destiny of Charleston, SC accepts their trophy at 2014 Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week’s awards ceremony. © Karen Ryan

Overall winner of the Pursuit Spinnaker Class, Bill Hankle’s (blue shirt) Emocean crew from Wadmalaw Island, SC accepts their trophy at the Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week 2014 awards ceremony. © Karen Ryan

Wadmalaw Island’s Bill Hanckel’s and his Emocean crew took first-place in Pursuit - Spinnaker Class today, his second of the regatta and enough to easily win the week. © Meredith Block/ Charleston Race Week http://www.charlestonraceweek.com/

Complete results:
 2014 Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week Preliminary Cumulative Results