Charleston Race Week at Patriots Point - Overall
by Charleston Race Week 14 Apr 13:09 AEST
April 10-13, 2025
2025 Charleston Race Week © Charleston Race Week
Darby Smith thought his chances of winning the J/22 class at Charleston Race Week at Patriots Point were derailed during the third race held Friday. That's because the main halyard aboard Tasmanian Devil snapped and the boat was unable to finish.
Tasmanian Devil could not compete in Race 4 and those two alphabet results (DNF, DNC) seemed like too much to overcome.
However, Smith and his family-based crew stayed focused despite their disappointment and finished the three-day regatta strong. After repairing the halyard, Tasmanian Devil went out and won two of three races on Saturday to get back into contention.
Smith and company completed an impressive comeback by placing second and third in Sunday's races. They were able to drop one of the 11ths absorbed on Friday and managed to squeak out an incredibly close victory.
Tasmanian Devil won three races and finished second or third in four others in posting a low score of 24 points, a mere three-tenths better than runner-up James Pine and the Velocity team.
"Having the breakdown on Friday and taking two big numbers was a real bummer. I was shocked that we were able to come back from that," said Smith, who started the regatta strong by winning Race 1 and placing second in Race 2. "We knew we had a good boat and a solid team. We went back out there the next day and put up some good results, which gave us a chance going into today."
Smith is a 19-year-old member of the Jacksonville University intercollegiate sailing team. The Birmingham, Alabama native enjoyed a strong junior career in Optimist, Club 420 and Laser. He served as helmsman aboard Tasmanian Devil with father Fred, sister Isabel and her boyfriend Scott Busey aboard as crew.
"I think we had a great team that worked really well together. There was lots of good communication on the boat," Smith said.
Smith and team were rewarded for their perseverance by being presented the Charleston Race Week Cup as one-design Boat of the Week. "That was awesome and a real surprise," Darby Smith said.
Darby and Isabel Smith had competed in Charleston Race Week at Patriots Point last year in J/70 class and did not do so well. They returned this year in J/22 class and Darby credited his father for handling all the pre-regatta preparation. "My dad made this all happen by working for days getting the boat ready," he said.
Charleston Race Week at Patriots Point concluded with two races on Sunday with winners crowned in 18 classes. It was an action-packed regatta with the three circles located on Charleston Harbor completing between seven and 10 races.
Relative Obscurity closed out a wire-to-wire win in J/70 class, largest of the regatta with 25 boats. Owner-driver Peter Duncan could not attend Charleston Race Week due to business commitments. Marcus Egan, a talented amateur skipper from New Orleans, was tabbed as a last-minute replacement and did a superb job.
Of course, Egan was supported by a world-class team of professionals in tactician Victor Diaz de Leon, headsail trimmer Willem Van Waay and bowman Jud Smith. Relative Obscurity counted all top five finishes in totaling 22 points — four better than runner-up Progress, skippered by Annapolis resident Paul Green.
Egan is a former College of Charleston sailor and showed his local knowledge by winning Race 1. Relative Obscurity also posted a second and a trio of thirds.
"Marcus hasn't driven a boat in a while, but he caught on quickly," Van Waay said. "We're a very competitive team that never lets off the gas. We're always fighting for every single point."
Van Waay praised Duncan's commitment to fielding a high-level program and praised the support of coach Chris Larson. "Nothing gets overlooked with our program — the rig, the tuning, the sails... everything is top-notch."
Progress, which has taken a huge leap forward since bringing five-time Olympian Stuart McNay aboard, won a race and placed second in four others.
"The Progress team sailed beautifully and pushed us to the very last race. They've been improving with every event," Van Waay said. "Charleston is always a super-tricky place and you have to be disciplined and patient. I thought we did a real good job of handling the variable conditions we were dealt."
Full Throttle is one of the most legendary programs in Melges 24 class history and skipper Brian Porter added to his legacy by winning yet another Charleston Race Week. He had sons RJ (tactician) and Bri (headsail trimmer) onboard along with longtime crew Matt Woodworth (bow).
Their consistency was impressive with Full Throttle winning three races and placing second in two others in totaling 15 points — three fewer than runner-up Gamecock, skippered by Peter McClennen.
"We sailed conservatively and tried to stay attached to the leaders. Getting good starts sets you up for success and we did pretty well in that area. We were very particular about where we wanted to be on the start line, so we could take when we wanted," Bri Porter said. "It was really tough out there and we had one race in which Charleston got the best of us."
Jack Jorgensen and his crew aboard SDR repeated as Charleston Race Week champions in VX One class. Ryan Davidson worked the middle for his former College of Charleston teammate, while Mount Pleasant local JoAnn Fisher handled the bow.
SDR placed fourth or better in six of eight races in totaling 20 points, just one better than skipper Tej Trevor Parekh and his Bro Safari squad.
"I thought the conditions were a little abnormal for this time of year in Charleston. It was really challenging with the wind being so shifty and the velocity so up and down," Jorgensen said. "Brian and JoAnn kept their heads out of the boat and did a good job of keeping us going in the right direction. We had the ability to claw back whenever we got, which was huge."
That was evident in the final race that decided the regatta. At one point, Bro Safari was in second place and SDR was in 10th, but they wound up fifth and sixth, respectively.
"In the last race, we were able to climb back. We just didn't give up and kept playing the shifts," Jorgensen said. "Bro Safari is a strong boat and we've been sailing against them for a long time. This regatta could have gone either way."
Jasper Van Vliet skippered Evil Twin to a wire-to-wire victory in J/24 class, which had 14 entries. Robin Van Vliet called tactics for her husband of more than three decades as Evil Twin got the gun in five of 10 races in totaling 18 points. J-Magikk, skippered by Amy Woodard, was a distant second with 33 points.
"It feels great to win such a prestigious regatta. This is a really big boost for our program," Jasper Van Vliet said. "We're all a little surprised by how well we did. We've all sailed together a long time and that helps a lot. Our crew work was really good. I've gotten some coaching this year and it has really improved my driving."
Van Vliet, who hails from Mill Valley, California and calls San Francisco Bay home waters, said Evil Twin "went to school" on the local boats in the class. "They seemed to go left a lot so we just followed them," he said.
Skipper Ian Hill and the Sitella team came out on top in a tight battle with Flat Stanley Racing in Melges 32 class, which had 10 boats. Quantum professional Jason Currie called tactics as Sitella won two races and placed second in three others in posting 11 points, three clear of Flat Stanley, which won both races on Sunday.
Flat Stanley, co-owned by Trey Sheehan and Terry McSweeney, were the defending champions and were not going to go down easily. "It was a real nailbiter. Flat Stanley was ready to roll today," said Hill, a Hampton, Virginia resident.
Hill previously won Charleston Race Week with an XP44 in ORC and a Cape 31 in ORC Sport Boat. He praised the performance of Currie and fellow crew members Martin Casey (floater), Keiran Searle (headsail trimmer), Harry Scott (mast), Shawn Burke (offside trimmer), Sean Henry (bow) and Alan "Buddha" Nashiki (pit).
"In Charleston it's all about the shifts and the current and Jason nailed both. We made a plan and stuck with it," Hill said.
Skipper John Polek and his crew of College of Charleston offshore sailing team members aboard Zephyr absorbed a real body blow on Saturday as a protest changed a second place result to a 16th. Zephyr was disqualified for pulling its spinnaker pole out too early, dropping out of the lead and down to fourth in the standings.
"We got together as a team at 8:30 this morning to discuss what happened and put it behind. We said 'let's keep our spirits up' then talked about what we needed to do today," Polek said. "We had a clear picture of what boats we needed to keep an eye on. That brought it down to a four-boat regatta and changed our approach."
Zephyr finished fourth in Sunday's opening race and was able to throw out the DSQ then closed the regatta in style by getting the gun in the last race.
"They say boat speed is a tactician's best friend and that was our foundation. If we had a bad maneuver or got caught on the wrong side of a shift we knew we could always make up ground," Polek said.
This was a J/105 brand new to the College of Charleston and this particular crew had never sailed together. Polek the helmsman, headsail trimmer John McCarthy and mainsail trimmer Miles Wolff collaborated on tactics. Anna Galli (bow), EJ Boilek (pit), Savannah Hudson (mast) and Thalia Mancini (floater) completed the crew.
Rounding out the one-design winners was skipper Andrew Graff and Exile, which won three races and placed second in three others to top J/88. Graff had the luxury of throwing out a third and finished with nine points, six less than veteran skipper Iris Vogel and Deviation.
This was the first class victory in seven attempts at Charleston Race Week for Graff, a Chicago resident. Exile had finished second several times.
"We got great starts and did a good job of changing gears. The shifts were really quick so you had to change gears a lot in terms of trimming, steering and crew weight," Graff said. "This team has been together for quite a while and that helps. Everyone knows their job."
Kris Werner trimmed the main and called tactics on Exile with Miranda Madden (bow), Luke LeCoche (bow), Graham Eger (spinnaker trimmer), Scott Eisenhardt (jib trimmer) making up the rest of the crew.
Will Monts and his family-based team on Kirby 25 Stella posted an impressive victory in the PHRF Inshore class. Monts had his father and three brothers aboard as Stella won four races and placed either second or third in the others.
"Charleston Race Week is always a fantastic regatta. I've competed many times, but this is my first time winning, which makes it very special," Monts said. "We had a great time and are super-pleased by how well we sailed. We were in a very competitive fleet with a great mix of boats and sailors. It was a fantastic event and we're already looking forward to coming back next year."
Monts lives downtown and works for Charleston Harbor Sailing as skipper of a Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 349 charter boat. He has plenty of time each day to learn the local conditions. That knowledge paid dividends Sunday when there was a big current line at the confluence of the Ashley and Cooper Rivers.
"You had to stay left of all costs, even if that meant reaching instead of sailing upwind. We were sailing 10 to 15 boat-lengths past the lay line before tacking because we knew the current would sweep us down. We passed boats at every weather mark by doing that," Monts said. "Today, we were ignoring wind shifts and focusing instead on playing the current."
No boat put forth a more dominant performance than Teamwork, the J/122 skippered by Robin Team of Lexington, North Carolina. North Sails pro Jonathan Bartlett was tactician aboard Teamwork, which won six straight races before finishing second in Sunday's lone start.
Teamwork was rewarded for its dominance by being awarded the Palmetto Cup as winner of the most competitive handicap fleet. This marked the sixth time Team has taken home the Palmetto Cup.
"It was a great week for Teamwork and we really enjoyed everything about the regatta," Team said. "We've been sailing together for so long that everyone knows their role and does it well. Jonathan put us in the right place all the time and crew work and boat speed were really good."
Cheers, a Santana 30 skippered by Charleston resident Jim Smith, secured the Palmetto Cup for PHRF entries after winning both races in Pursuit Spinnaker B. Smith co-owns the boat with Tom Mackin and they have been competing in Charleston Race Week since its inception. Remarkably, this was their first class victory after many close calls.
"It feels wonderful to finally win and the crew is really rejoicing," Smith said. "We executed everything as best we could. Our overall communication was great."
Hilton Head skipper Denny Manrique led Island Flyer, a Wauquiez 40, to overall victory in Pursuit Spinnaker A. Manrique started off with a fifth place finish, but was victorious in Races 2 and 3 to top the fleet by three points over the J/120 Emocean (Bill Hanckel).
"It all came down to today's race and we had a decent start and played the shifts pretty well. I think the biggest thing was figuring out the current," Manrique said. "We gradually picked off boats going out and took the lead coming back in."
Mo Regnier steered, while Wilson Hatchett called tactics aboard Island Flyer, which has won the pursuit class multiple times now. "Our boat was in great shape and we were just dialed in," Manrique said.
Chicago skipper Chris Duhon and the Tequila Mockingbird team defended its title in ORC D Sport Boat, which consisted of three Cape Fear 31s. Duhon and crew won four races and placed second in the other three in totaling eight points, one better than Cool Breeze (John Cooper).
"My guys kept the boat moving forward in very tough, challenging conditions. We never got down or frustrated," Duhon said. "Ben Lamb is a fantastic tactician and he was right three-fourths of the time, which is a darn good batting average. It takes a whole team and everyone from the bowman to the guys doing runners executed at a high level."
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