Family Teams at Charleston Race Week
If there has been one constant about Charleston Race Week over the years it’s the family dynamic that has become a hallmark of the regatta.
The event and venue, with all the onshore fun, that attracts sailors to combine high-level racing with quality family time.
As usual, there are plenty of family programs competing in Charleston Race Week 2018. In fact, family members comprise the entire crew of the J/70 Old School with Brandon Flack sailing with his wife, 15-year-old daughter and 13-year-old son.
“It couldn’t be better when you can mix sailing at a great regatta like this and being with your family,”Flack said. “I was so psyched coming down here because I couldn’t imagine a more fun thing to do.”
The Flack family hails from Stonington, Connecticut, where they regularly race in the Melges 24 fleet. They travel to major regattas to compete in the J/70 class and Brandon borrows a friend’s boat for Charleston Race Week.
“We’ve been sailing the J/70 for almost five years as a family team so we’ve kind of grown up with the boat,” he said.
An extra race on Saturday due to Sunday forecast
Concern about what Sunday might bring made Saturday all the more important at Sperry Charleston Race Week 2018. Forecasts call for a front to move through town and there is no way to predict how much racing will be completed on the final day. As the skies darkened over Charleston Harbor on Saturday evening, the leaders had to feel good about their position while the followers were hoping for an opportunity to change the final standings.
“We’re still in the hunt. Hopefully, we’ll get two or three more races tomorrow and be able to improve our position,” said Savasana skipper Brian Keane, who holds fourth place in J/70 class.
Plans had called for the J/70 fleet to conduct three races per day, but the prospect of thunderstorms on Sunday prompted the class leadership to ask regatta organizers to run four on Saturday while the weather was clear and the wind was blowing between 8 and 15 knots.
Peter Duncan and his crew on Relative Obscurity had another solid day on the water and were able to maintain their lead. Relative Obscurity finished 10th in Race 4, but came back with results of 1-3-4 and has a low score of 22 points. John Brim and the Rimette team are seven points behind Duncan and two points ahead of Joel Ronning and the Catapult crew.
Sailor Spotlight: Paris Henken
Paris Henken has already become a part of the storied legacy of the College of Charleston – she is the first female Olympian (in any sport) in school history.
Henken achieved that status before she even competed for the powerful College of Charleston sailing team. After attending the school for the fall semester as a freshman in 2014, the California native took a year and a half off to focus on her Olympic campaign in the 49erFX.
Henken and teammate Helena Scutt achieved their dreams by earning the lone United States berth in that skiff class to the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Henken, a San Diego resident, was only 20 years old at the time – far younger than the average American Olympic sailor.
“The (U.S. Olympic) Trials were definitely a stressful moment, but once it was over and we had won it was the greatest feeling,” Henken said. “We were super excited and so proud of ourselves for what we had accomplished. It was a long process, but in the end it really paid off.”
Champagne Conditions on Day One
J/24 skipper Tony Parker called it “champagne conditions” and it would be hard to argue with that assessment.
Mother Nature delivered in a big way on the first day of Sperry Charleston Race Week with action getting underway in strong winds, sunny skies and warm temperatures.
Ten of the 11 classes competing on the four inshore circles were able to complete four races in winds that ranged from 12 to 16 knots and swung from south to slightly southwest. The lone exception was the highly competitive J/70 class, which did three races at the request of the sailors.
Because there are 66 boats in J/70, the class is so large that it is split for reseeding after each day of racing. Class organizers felt three races would make for better round-robin competition.
Winds were lighter for the five classes racing on Circle 5 and Course 6 outside the jetties on the Atlantic. ORC A and B along with the J/105 one-design fleet all finished two races.
Fleet of 246 boats makes final preparations on eve of Charleston Race Week
Charleston Harbor was a bustle of activity on Thursday morning
Competitors in Charleston Race Week 2018 were hurriedly carrying equipment, sail bags and other gear down to the docks while the various vendors were busily setting up shop.
Event director Randy Draftz and other organizers with Charleston Ocean Racing Association were huddled in a conference room going over last-minute details while volunteers were working furiously to install the infrastructure that transforms the beach area into a thriving party venue.
By mid-afternoon, a large contingent of boats was out on the water testing sails and tuning rigs. Most of the J/70 and Melges 24 fleets conducted a series of practice races mid Charleston Harbor. A significant number of VX One and Flying Tiger 7.5 entries filled the racing area in the Cooper River located closer to the Arthur Ravenel Bridge.
Thursday was all about final preparations and practice in advance of Charleston Race Week 2018. It will be go time on Friday as 246 boats in 16 classes take to the waters off this historic coastal city during the 23rd edition of this renowned regatta.