Happy New Year from Charleston Race Week!
Registration is now live for our 25th Anniversary event to be held April 8-11, 2021. After a lot of thought, research, and meetings with appropriate officials, we are confident that we can host this event safely and still deliver the professional, competitive, and fun event that Race Week is known for. The Notice of Race is officially posted and you will find it to be very similar to our past events, but, please realize, it may need to be amended based on registration numbers and potential restrictions that may still be required.
We will communicate updates, and any new protocols that may come up, to the registrants through Yacht Scoring via email. It is essential to sign up to receive these emails. And, don’t forget to pay your registration by January 31st to receive a $100.00 early registration discount!
Please know that, given these uncertain times, entry fees are completely refundable with no cancellation fees should your plans change. If you previously paid a registration fee for 2020 and didn’t receive a refund, we will apply your payment for the 2021 event. WE ENCOURAGE you to register as early as possible so we can plan accordingly. We look forward to seeing you on our scratch sheet and welcoming you back to a regatta unlike any other and great racing in April!
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
Your Charleston Race Week Crew
Welcome to Charleston Race Week 2021 - Registration is NOW OPEN!
While our event's tag line has long been A Regatta Unlike Any Other, this year's event will undoubtedly live up to it. We will be celebrating 25 years, but also want to reassure you that this event will be run safely and responsibly by adhering to safety protocols set forth by health officials and local governments. It is difficult to say where we will be in April, and we will communicate our plans as we get closer to the event. Due to levels of uncertainty, the entry fees will be fully refundable, and you can also sign up for the event without payment. However, it's important to us for you to sign up so that we can plan accordingly. The $100.00 early registration discount is applicable if you register by January 31st. The Registration link and NOR are posted on Yacht Scoring. We have left the NOR similar to our past years' NOR, intending to keep our offerings open.
To help you get back up to speed, we will be providing trackers and race tracking along with course coaches who will observe and commentate. And, as in the past, there will be many new learning opportunities, virtually and/or live. We will of course offer refreshments and food, although it might look a little different than in the past. If we are required to limit group size, we will have smaller groups and have virtual experiences where and when we can.
We look forward to seeing everyone in April, even if we have to keep socially distant! More importantly, we'll be getting back to the sport, event and competition we love!
Just so darn good (and every single time)
Pinnacle regatta, marquee event, premier race series, you choose... but Charleston Race Week sort of crept up on the international racing scene and now it's impossible to overlook
When you put a boast out there, you'd better back it up. And that's just what the people who are behind Charleston Race Week, the largest multiclass gathering in North America, do. For the better part of the past decade, they've billed their event as "a regatta unlike any other." Fortunately, the claim rings true.
Race Week, as locals refer to it, has evolved to become a fixture on the US sailing scene. For four days in early spring. Competitors from throughout the US and around the globe make an annual pilgrimage to this coastal city in the southeast. During the day, it's top-level competition with some of the world's best racers competing. Off the water, it's equal parts mad party and sailing industry conference. Think Mardi Gras meets Dussel-Boot meets Cowes Week, but on an intimate scale.
Next April, Race Week will celebrate its 25th edition, and the organisers have every intention of commemorating their silver anniversary in fitting style. In part, that means living up to the reputation they've established for regatta innovation.
Spectacular Day on Charleston Harbor
Charleston Race Week concluded in spectacular fashion with strong winds producing exciting action and several classes being decided during the last race. VX One, J/88, Viper 640, Melges 24 and ORC C were the windward-leeward classes that went down to the wire. Winners for five of the six Pursuit Hybrid and Pursuit Race, which were unable to complete any racing on Saturday, were also determined on Sunday.
Mike Bruno said following Friday’s racing that he’s been jinxed at Charleston Race Week, suffering problems that prevented podium finishes in 2018 and 2017. The Armonk, New York resident thought his bad luck would be extended when Wings was ruled on-course-side in Race 9 and had to restart.
“We came into the day saying we were going to be conservative and not make any mistakes then we got tangled up with another boat at the start and right out of the gate we were over early,” said Bruno, who did manage to battle back to finish sixth in the 10-boat fleet. “We were pretty glum going into the last race. I thought we’d blown it again.”
However, there was a happy ending as Wings redeemed itself big-time in Race 10, which was held in 20-22 knot south-southwesterly winds with gusts approaching 30. Wings rounded the first weather mark in sixth then moved up a couple places by the downwind rounding. Bruno and crew turned it on from there, passing the remaining three boats to get the gun.
That victory in the final start of the three-day regatta gave Wings a two-point victory over Albondigas (Justin Scagnelli, West Nyack, NY), leading Bruno to breathe a huge sigh of relief...
Dr. Willy Schwenzfeier: the only sailor to compete in all 24 Race Weeks
When Willy Schwenzfeier first competed in Sperry Charleston Race Week, there were about 15 boats entered and nightly awards parties were held at Carolina Yacht Club.
It was 1996 and Schwenzfeier, as one of the original members of the Charleston Ocean Racing Association (CORA), played a role in establishing the fledgling regatta.
Schwenzfeier has watched the event grow and develop significantly since then and has been a loyal supporter throughout. The longtime Charleston resident has competed in all 24 editions of Sperry Charleston Race Week, the only boat owner to do so.
“I remember the very first year there was this new sport-boat called a Melges 24 and it raced in PHRF and the skipper had to put a bow pulpit on it,” Schwenzfeier said with a laugh.
Schwenzfeier has always campaigned a J/35 named Arrow and has done quite well in Sperry Charleston Race Week over the years, capturing class honors numerous times and finishing on the podium more often than he can count. Perhaps his most notable victory came onshore.
“Beneteau sponsored Charleston Race Week during the early years and held a raffle for a five-day, four-night trip to Nautic Paris Boat Show,” Schwenzfeier said. “My wife bought the winning ticket and we got to go to Paris for a great vacation courtesy of Beneteau.”