Continuing the tradition of CRW with use of the entire Yorktown.
Dozens of Chesapeake sailors will flock to South Carolina for Charleston Race Week at Patriots Point April 18-21 in Charleston, SC. At print time, a month before the event, 170 teams had registered. Among the one-design fleets there were 41 J/70s, 24 VX:Ones, and 16 Melges 24s.
Building upon 2023 and the regatta’s first event aboard the Yorktown at Patriots Point, this year Charleston Race Week (CRW) is excited to have use of the entire ship for its post-race events. Competitors and attendees will receive wristbands granting unlimited access to the Yorktown, including the flight deck which will be open each night.
The regatta has worked hard this past year to ensure that its famed post-race events will be at their usual high standard with great food and beverages and live music every night. Continuing in the tradition of CRW, post-racing debriefs will be held daily in the Yorktown’s 280-seat movie theater.
A Pro/Am event is scheduled for Saturday evening (conditions permitting) in which local high school sailors will get to race with the best in J/22s.
With some 1200 people visiting the Yorktown daily, the ship offers the sailing community a great opportunity to share the sport with a new audience. All of the organizations in Charleston involved with access to the sport will have booths to share information about sailing, including STEM stations set up throughout the ship to promote sailing related activities.
Among the Chesapeake-based boats on the racecourse will be: Rob Marsh on the J/105 Blow Boat!, Ben Capuco on the RS21 Boat2, and US Patriot Sailing on the Farr 40 Patriot.
The large J/70 fleet will include: Jason and Donna Aulds’ Celerity, Allan Terhune’s Casting Couch, Isaac and Nic Breen-Franklin’s Foreign Affairs, Rick Pfarr’s Little Rascal, Pete Firey’s Phoenix, Paul Green’s Progress, Jib Edwards’s Wicked, and Spencer Wait’s WooHoo!
Edwards says, “Charleston is like a magnet for me. There’s good food, a large fleet, great competition. It’s relatively easy for me to get to… and I love the venue.”
Southern Bay competitors in the Melges 32 class include David and Jacki Meiser on One Trick Pony, Ian Hill on Sitella, and Clarke McKinney and Hawk Caldwell on Wild Horses.
It will be the Solomons-based One Trick Pony team’s first CRW. David Meiser says, “What convinced me to sign up was that we have our boat, sails, and crew all in great shape, and there will be 10 Melges 32s racing together. It has always been on our list of regattas to do, and this was the year that it all came together.”
Racing in the J/88 fleet will be Ben and Briana Jatlow on Wild Thing and Chris and Liz Chadwick on Church Key; and in the Melges 24 fleet Chris Helmkamp of US Patriot Sailing on Patriot IV, Sandra Askew on Flying Jenny, and Max Plarr on Wild Child.
Plarr says, “I have found myself in the fortunate position to not be coaching sailing on a weekend in April, so I am very excited to compete in my first official CRW. I have sailed and coached in these waters, and the sailing is epic, even when you are going sideways with the current.”
Henry Filter, a CRW regular, says, “This year I will be crewing on a J/88 (Church Key), calling tactics and trimming main with my good friend Chris Chadwick. We are looking forward to warm weather, good breeze, and lots of current to spice up the tactical side… Oh yeah, we might enjoy a cocktail or two as well!”
