Wind, Sun, Waves Propel Charleston Racers

Picture-perfect conditions smile on Charleston Race Week as results narrow.

Fortune smiled on more than 1,500 sailors, with up to 20 knots of wind propelling their sleek race boats across all four courses of 2010 Charleston Race Week. Slightly lighter than yesterday's gear-busting conditions, teams still returned to the Charleston Harbor Resort & Marina with huge smiles on their faces and sore bodies. One of the most excited was nine year-old Charlestonian Willy Comerford, who sailed on the new 40 foot racer Jubilee. "I really like the big waves, and I love sailing the big boat," Willy said. "And today was really fun!" Jubilee holds a narrow two point lead for third place in IRC Class over overall 2009 Charleston Race Week 2009 Champion Teamwork, while the gorgeous 52-foot Vincitore has clinched first place in class with six straight victories in six races. "We don't need to sail any more races," said Vincitore crew Rodney Keenan. "But of course we're going out anyway - why would we give up the chance to go racing in Charleston?" Slightly lighter than yesterday, the solid breeze still separated the experts from the rest. "Today was great, but not easy at all," said Lee Shuckerow, leading the 28-boat Viper 640 fleet with his Midwest-based Jackpot. "But the big factor out there was the current - it shifted from outgoing to incoming with no warning and no hesitation - like a valve was opened." First-time Viper sailor Katie Burns said racing was "as tough as anything I've done," and she's an Army veteran! "The boat is full of newcomers to the fleet, and it's going to take a while to get the hang of it in this kind of wind." Jackpot has a strong lock on first place in the high-performance Viper class. Race Committees took advantage of the unexpectedly brisk winds to run four full races for all classes inside the harbor,

while the larger offshore-capable boats sailed three tough races in much bigger seas. "Conditions were certainly challenging offshore for us," said Viper 830 owner Christian Jensen. "These lightly-built boats are not really made for this much lump. His main competition in the PHRF Sportboat fleet is sister ship Rented Mule, which had damage to its mast from big waves. "We're getting our mast track sorted out now, and we'll be back out there tomorrow," said owner Brian Taylor as he drove pop rivets through the back of his feather-light carbon fiber mast. The PHRF Sport class has two Melges 32s in strong position for top honors in class, while Rented Mule held third place despite missing two races after their mast problem. The Tripp 26 class, seven boats strong, stood up to the steep waves better than the V830s. "These are really tough boats, and they rarely get damaged from the weather," said Treez Decker, who has owned her boat Hunting Tripp since 1993. "The 26 will plane downwind - today we were hitting 13 knots - it's just awesome!," she said. A Parent Tripp leads the punloving fleet by a four point margin in the regatta, which is the first one-design start for the class in over two years. Boats across all 15 racing fleets will put it on the line tomorrow to try to gain places. Current forecasts indicate moderate breezes at the start, building throughout the day until long after the 2 PM time limit expires and the winners have picked up their trophies. Fleets are expecting great breeze for the third straight day. "That's certainly what we want to see," said winning Melges 24 sailor Bora Gulari. "That's what we're here for."

Cumulative results
Viper 640 (One Design - 30 Boats)
1. Jackpot, Brad Boston, CAN - 1, 1, 8, 1, 3, 1, 2, 2, [8] ; 11
2. Bliksem, Pieter Taselaar, USA - 5, 4, 2, 6, 11, 2, 1, 1, [11] ; 21
3. Who Dat?, Justin Scott, USA - 7, 2, 3, 3, 2, 5, 10, 7, [10] ; 29
Melges 20 (One Design - 14 Boats)
1. Bacio, Michael Kiss, USA - 4, 3, 2, 2, 1, 1, 2, 1, [4] ; 12
2. C-4, Joel Ronning, USA - 2, 5, 1, 7, 5, 3, 1, 5, [7] ; 22
3. Cinghiale, Robert Wilber, USA - 7, 2, 6, 4, 2, 11, 3, 2, [11] ; 26
Melges 24 (One Design - 31 Boats)
1. Flying Elvis, Bora Gulari, USA - 4, 4, 1, 1, 1, 3, 7, 5, [7] ; 19
2. Conejo Racing, David Dabney, USA - 1, 3, 4, 5, 3, 7, 4, 4, [7] ; 24
3. LAYLINE, Travis Weisleder, USA - 32/DNF, 7, 2, 2, 10, 8, 2, 2, [32] ; 33
J 80 (One Design - 20 Boats)
1. Lifted, Kerry Klingler, USA - 3, 2, 1, 13, 6, 1, 1, 3, [13] ; 17
2. B-Team, Rogers / Welan, USA - 12, 1, 5, 2, 1, 2, 6, 2, [12] ; 19
3. Tiamo, Bruno Pasquinelli, USA - 2, 4, 7/SCP, 5, 3, 6, 2, 4, [7] ; 26
J 24 (One Design - 17 Boats)
1. Murder Incorporated, Chip Till, USA - 1, 4, 4, 4, 1, 3, 1, 1, [4] ; 15
2. USA2918, Chris Jankowski, USA - 4, 1, 1, 5, 4, 2, 2, 2, [5] ; 16
3. REX, Joe Macdonald, CAN - 18/DNF, 2, 3, 1, 2, 1, 3, 4, [18] ; 16
IRC (IRC - 6 Boats)
1. Vincitore, Jim Mitchell, Switzerland - 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, [1] ; 5
2. Cool Breeze, John Cooper, USA - 4, 2/RDG, 4, 2, 2, 3, [4] ; 13
3. Jubilee, Cal Huge, USA - 3, 3, 2, 3, 3, 5, [5] ; 14
J 105 (One Design - 6 Boats)
1. Little Booty, Jackson Benvenutti , USA - 1, 1, 3, 3, 1, 1, [3] ; 7
2. Eclipse, Damian Emery, USA - 2, 2, 1, 1, 2, 2, [2] ; 8
3. Solaris, William Zartler, USA - 3, 3, 2, 2, 3, 4, [4] ; 13
PHRF A (PHRF - 6 Boats)
1. Dauntless, Don Terwilliger, USA - 1, 1, 1, 2, 3, 1, [3] ; 6
2. Emocean, Will Hanckel, USA - 2, 3, 2, 1, 1, 2, [3] ; 8
3. Illyria, John Keenan, USA - 3, 2, 3, 3, 5, 4, [5] ; 15
PHRF B (PHRF - 7 Boats)
1. Tangent, Gerry Taylor, USA - 1, 1, 2, 1, 3, 3, [3] ; 8
2. Velocity, Kent Mitchell, USA - 3, 2, 5, 3, 1, 1, [5] ; 10
3. Primal Scream, Steven M Stollman, USA - 2, 5.5, 1, 2, 4, 2, [5.5] ; 11
PHRF C Sport (PHRF - 7 Boats)
1. Roxanne, Kip Meadows, USA - 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, [1] ; 5
2. Black Ice, John Knoll, USA - 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, [2] ; 10
3. Rented Mule, Bryan Taylor, USA - 3, 3, 3, 3, 8/DNS, 8/DNC, [8] ; 20
Tripp 26 (One Design - 7 Boats)
1. A Parent Tripp, Harrison/ Yeigh, USA - 1, 1, 3, 2, 1, 1, [3] ; 6
2. Radio Flyer, McMillan / Melville, USA - 4, 3, 1, 1, 3, 2, [4] ; 10
3. Slapshot, Tom Freeman, CAN - 2, 2, 2, 3, 2, 3, [3] ; 11
PHRF D (PHRF - 6 Boats)
1. For Sail, Jim Mackevich, USA - 1, 1, 2, 1, 2, 2, [2] ; 7
2. Mighty Puffin, Steve Thurston, USA - 2, 3, 3, 2, 1, 1, [3] ; 9
3. Remedy, Bert Carp, USA - 3, 2, 1, 3, 4, 4, [4] ; 13
PHRF E (PHRF - 7 Boats)
1. Wild Norwegian, Arvid Eiesland, USA - 2, 1, 3, 1, 2, 1, [3] ; 7
2. Silver Surfer, Simon Beemsterboer, USA - 1, 3, 6, 3, 1, 3, [6] ; 11
3. Horizon, Bob Fleck, USA - 3, 2, 1, 2, 4, 5, [5] ; 12
PHRF F HDC (PHRF - 10 Boats)
1. Kindred Spirit, David McSweeney, USA - 5, 1, 3, 2, 1, 1, [5] ; 8
2. Quintette, Kenneth King, USA - 2, 2, 2, 1, 2, 2, [2] ; 9
3. Buena Vida, David Rodarte, USA - 1, 4, 1, 11/DNF, 4, 11/DNS, [11] ; 21
PHRF G Non-Spinnaker (PHRF - 10 Boats)
1. Bliss, Randy Brooks, USA - 2, 3, 1, 4, 1, 1, [4] ; 8
2. Suwannee, Donald Michael, USA - 6, 1, 3, 1, 2, 2, [6] ; 9
3. Ibis, Michael Kapp, USA - 9/SCP, 2, 5, 2, 3, 4, [9] ; 16

Source: Charleston Race Week/