Charleston, SC (12 April, 2007) – Registration Day dawned with the kind of weather that brings sailors to South Carolina every April for Charleston Race Week, an event that continues to grow despite shrinking fleets at so many other big U.S. events. Twenty-knot winds and 80-degree temperatures made boat set-up enjoyable, especially for those who had to dig themselves and their boats out from last week’s snow, sleet and other nastiness up in the Midwest and Northeast.

Nearly three-quarters of the 150 crews competing have driven, sailed and flown in from somewhere else, and teams from San Francisco, Chicago, New Orleans, Great Britain and a dozen other cities and states will try to overcome the locals’ knowledge of the tricky tides and wind shifts that make Charleston such a challenging place to race. Boats as slow as a Capri 25 and as fast as a Transpac 52 will battle those currents in their quest to win trophies and prizes, including top-shelf Raymarine radar and chartplotting gear.

“We just can’t think of a better place to sail in April than Charleston,” said Bill Shellhorse, owner of the super-fast Farr 36 Meridian. “It’s our first Charleston Race Week, but everyone kept telling us that the competition, venue, and hospitality can’t be beaten. Key West takes up so much time and money that we decided to truck the boat to Charleston from Virginia Beach instead.”

With another record number of entries, PHRF and One Design sailors have found Charleston as a real refuge for end-of-winter racing. The Melges 24 and J/24 Classes have shown the biggest growth with 40 boats between both classes, and the competition in the Melges class should be the best ever, with a number of teams gearing up for their World Championship next month in Santa Cruz.

Sailors are constantly commenting about the hospitality and generosity of the event staff, but that’s just a way of life here. While the Florida regattas continue to get more expensive and inaccessible, CRW offers free dockage to nearly a hundred boats, and generous sponsors like Gosling’s guarantee some truly “Dark N’ Stormy” evenings on the lawn at the Charleston Harbor Resort and Marina.

According to Ned Goss, owner of Charleston-based Ocean Sailing Academy and a competitor in the Melges 24 Class, “Charleston is such a remarkable venue, not only because of the great attitude of the folks that live and sail here, but also because of the incredibly tough sailing conditions here. The College of Charleston’s top NCAA ranking isn’t rocket
science – if you sail on tough water and tricky breeze, you learn to be a good sailor. Throw in a community that’s truly happy to help another sailor, and there’s no better place on earth to sail. Of course, I may be biased.”

Racing starts tomorrow at 10:00 AM, and for the first time, the action will be broadcast in real-time on the web. Results will be available in near real-time as well, long before the sailors get in from the course.

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