“When we first got our anchor down, it was blowing 15 and looked fine, but as soon as the tide began to flood, the breeze just jumped up to 25 knots and was quickly going beyond our limit. I knew when I held my anemometer up and the wind nearly blew me over it was time to cancel…The whole idea of going out this morning was to try and sneak in one race, but it pretty quickly became clear that it wouldn’t be feasible.”

Stewart’s decision, along with those of his fellow PROs, was met with near universal endorsement across the fleet. Local racer Jeff Irvine, who was crewing aboard John Lucas and Marcus Durlach’s Charleston-based 1 Design 35 Fearless, called the conditions offshore and in the harbor “insane.” Adding,”we came in after the cancellation and just motored around the harbor. We saw some crazy action, Viper 640s flipping over and all kinds stuff like that. It was definitely hairy and I don’t think you’ll find one racer who’ll say cancelling was a bad decision.”

Despite the intensifying winds, it was just another day on the water for the competitors in the Pursuit Class whose action began on a fetch when the crew on board Francisco Davila’s Soverel 36 Houzee crossed the line with main, mizzen and headsail flying. The buffeting breezes were so strong that half the Pursuit Class entrants ended up dropping out. Among them was Jaime Walker’s Swan 56, which started with only its blade jib flying and made it out to Fort Sumter before retiring.

As the day wore on, the breeze continued to build out of the East, white-capping the harbor and effectively driving all marine traffic off the water. By mid afternoon, the winds surpassed 40 knots, which was just about when the final awards were starting to take place.

Individual awards in all classes can be found on the event website: www.charlestonraceweek.com, but there are some special awards: The Palmetto Cup, which is annually awarded to the best performer under PHRF went to Robin Team and his crew aboard Team’s J/122 Teamwork. The Charleston Race Week Trophy, which is awarded each year to the top boat in the most competitive one-design class went to J/24 Class winner Kris Werner and his Rochester, NY-based crew on board Superfecta. And a new honor this year – the Jubilee Perpetual Sportsmanship Trophy – went to local J/24 racer and the Commodore of CORA, Mike Palazzo. Palazzo and his Jo Mamma crew rescued a man overboard in Friday’s heated action and never approached the jury for redress. In fact, the skipper of the boat that lost the man overboard tried to do that on Palazzo’s behalf. And the winner of the 2013 Melges 24 National Championship is Melges 24 Class victor Alec Cutler’s Bermuda-based team on Hedgehog.

Even with the lack of competition Sunday, most competitors were more than pleased with the overall experience in Charleston. Annapolitan Terry Hutchinson, who was in a jovial mood even after a 9th place finish in the Melges 20 Class, offered a widely shared sentiment: “This was a rockin’ event. We’re definitely putting this on the schedule for next year, so see you then.”

“When we first got our anchor down, it was blowing 15 and looked fine, but as soon as the tide began to flood, the breeze just jumped up to 25 knots and was quickly going beyond our limit. I knew when I held my anemometer up and the wind nearly blew me over it was time to cancel…The whole idea of going out this morning was to try and sneak in one race, but it pretty quickly became clear that it wouldn’t be feasible.”

Stewart’s decision, along with those of his fellow PROs, was met with near universal endorsement across the fleet. Local racer Jeff Irvine, who was crewing aboard John Lucas and Marcus Durlach’s Charleston-based 1 Design 35 Fearless, called the conditions offshore and in the harbor “insane.” Adding,”we came in after the cancellation and just motored around the harbor. We saw some crazy action, Viper 640s flipping over and all kinds stuff like that. It was definitely hairy and I don’t think you’ll find one racer who’ll say cancelling was a bad decision.”

Despite the intensifying winds, it was just another day on the water for the competitors in the Pursuit Class whose action began on a fetch when the crew on board Francisco Davila’s Soverel 36 Houzee crossed the line with main, mizzen and headsail flying. The buffeting breezes were so strong that half the Pursuit Class entrants ended up dropping out. Among them was Jaime Walker’s Swan 56, which started with only its blade jib flying and made it out to Fort Sumter before retiring.

As the day wore on, the breeze continued to build out of the East, white-capping the harbor and effectively driving all marine traffic off the water. By mid afternoon, the winds surpassed 40 knots, which was just about when the final awards were starting to take place.

Individual awards in all classes can be found on the event website: www.charlestonraceweek.com, but there are some special awards: The Palmetto Cup, which is annually awarded to the best performer under PHRF went to Robin Team and his crew aboard Team’s J/122 Teamwork. The Charleston Race Week Trophy, which is awarded each year to the top boat in the most competitive one-design class went to J/24 Class winner Kris Werner and his Rochester, NY-based crew on board Superfecta. And a new honor this year – the Jubilee Perpetual Sportsmanship Trophy – went to local J/24 racer and the Commodore of CORA, Mike Palazzo. Palazzo and his Jo Mamma crew rescued a man overboard in Friday’s heated action and never approached the jury for redress. In fact, the skipper of the boat that lost the man overboard tried to do that on Palazzo’s behalf. And the winner of the 2013 Melges 24 National Championship is Melges 24 Class victor Alec Cutler’s Bermuda-based team on Hedgehog.

Even with the lack of competition Sunday, most competitors were more than pleased with the overall experience in Charleston. Annapolitan Terry Hutchinson, who was in a jovial mood even after a 9th place finish in the Melges 20 Class, offered a widely shared sentiment: “This was arockin’ event. We’re definitely putting this on the schedule for next year, so see you then.”

Northeasterly winds diminished throughout the day, shifting toward the east in the wake of the strong frontal system that moved across the Carolina Lowcountry late Friday night. Offshore, the racers enjoyed stronger winds in the low teens with calmer seas – but not calm enough to eliminate one catastrophe.

In the four-boat High Performance Class, Stephen Murray’s Carkeek 40 Decision attempted to duck Pat Eudy’s Lutra 42 Big Booty on the upwind leg of Race 4 (today’s first contest), but her three-foot bowsprit hit Decision’s topsides just forward of the transom, not far from the prominent buttocks that makes up much of Booty’s notorious emblem. It was a regatta-ending interaction for both boats given the extent of the damage, meaning that Steve and Heidi Benjamin’s Carkeek 40 Skookie only had to contend with James Grundy’s Farr 400 Grundoon.

Elsewhere offshore, the mostly favorable conditions enabled all the classes to get in three contests. Going into tomorrow, the point spread between first and second place in all but three of the offshore classes is fairly wide, meaning there may be some duels on Sunday. In PHRF Class C, Steve Thurstons J/29 Mighty Puffin holds a one-point margin over David Pritchard’s J/92 Amigos. And in the Tartan Ten Class, which is contesting its Midwinter Championships, Scott Irwin’s Team Iball holds a narrow, two-point margin over Leif Sigmund’s Norboy.

Inshore, the breezes were much lighter than yesterday, making it tough for the planing hulls to get up and go. The northerly winds coming off the land put a premium on reading the shifts and made it imperative to shift gears in order to maintain straight-line speed. On board Jeffrey Lee’s Viper 640, Non Sequitur, tactician Cyrus Buffum confessed that it was a challenge, but admitted that the conditions were a welcome break from the previous day’s blast fest.

Racing resumes Sunday for the event’s final day, with varying weather reports of increasing wind strength. Follow the action live on on our Facebook page.Check out the ongoing coverage on Facebook, as well as the videos and beaucoup images on the photo pages below.

– Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week has a reputation for consistent, solid breeze. In fact, Charleston’s great wind is one of the big reasons this event has grown so spectacularly over the past decade. Even so, today may have been a case of “too much of a good thing” for some, though it was just perfect for others. As of the end of the day, competitors throughout the fleet were working hard to repair broken boats and broken bodies, with an eye toward more mellow conditions that were forecast for Saturday.

Rolex Yachtsman of the Year and America’s Cup standout Terry Hutchinson was worn out but smiling after his first day ever racing in the Melges 20 fleet, and first ever at this event. T-Hutch sails with Jim Richardson aboard Barking Mad, and he says the class is perfect training for the bigger boats that Richardson campaigns.

“We knew Jim needed to get as much time in as possible in order to get ready for two big boat world championships this summer, and sailing a Melges 20 in Charleston certainly fit the bill,” said Hutchinson. The champion tactician says he is extremely happy that he’s spent so much time recently working out hard. “As physical as this boat is, when the wind pipes up to 20-plus like today, I feel lucky to have spent so much time in the gym.”

The final race saw gusts well into the high 20s on the inshore courses, and before the afternoon was over, two boats lost their masts; Richard Davies Section 16 was first, followed by Lake Michigan’s Bob Hughes on Heartbreaker. Hard luck for both, but especially for Hughes, who was winning the regatta at that point. “We’re putting a new mast in as we speak, and we’re going to be out there fighting for every inch tomorrow,” said Hughes.

Despite the blustery winds, every race officer managed to pull off some slick work, getting in up to four races in the Melges 20 and 24 and the Viper and J/70 Classes. Most other classes sailed three races – more than enough for most teams. “That was just about perfect for our new boat,” said Eric Vigrass, trimming aboard the winning Viper 640 Jackpot, just launched last week. “After quite a few Charleston Race Weeks, we’ve learned that the wind will almost always come in, and that there’s probably no better place to race on Earth.” A number of the Viper sailors chose to sit out the final race of the day due to the lively characteristics of these ultra-light sportboats when the wind jumps into the 20s.

In the regatta’s most numerous class, the 55-boat J/70 group, the action was tight and tumultuous. Longtime J/24 standout and sailmaker Tim Healy and his team aboard Helly Hansen rode a score line of 5,3,3,1 to end the day with a five-point lead over his nearest rival.

On the two offshore circles, the wind was slower to build and far more manageable, though the seas were big and boisterous. Among the nearly 20 boats racing in the Pursuit Class were three sexy Class 40 boats – the fastest growing offshore raceboat fleet in the world. Charleston-based young guns Tim Fetsch and Ben Poucher sailed Icarus Racing to a first place on the 18.6 nm course despite ‘seriously puffy conditions”. “We led the Class 40s the entire race, through the fetch out the jetties and out to the turning mark, where the wind moderated,” said Fetsch. The fleet stayed locked together throughout the race, with Fetsch and Poucher finishing the course in just 2 hours and 10 minutes, only a boatlength ahead of Joe Harris’ Gryphon Solo II. “Working the kinks out for double-handed maneuvers is a big part of sailing in breeze,” Poucher explained. It’s a real challenge, and the only way to do it right is with this kind of practice.”

Elsewhere on the offshore racing circles, John Hele’s Daring won the day in the five-boat Swan 42 Class with three first-place scores. The team’s tactician, Brad Read, joked about the success owing to dumb luck and local knowledge – the boat is based in Rye, N.Y. – but later attributed this success to the crew’s cohesive mechanics. “It was really quiet on board. No drama at all.” Read dug into his bag of tricks in the first race, pulling a ‘Sambuca’ gybe-set, which gave them the downwind separation they needed to launch them to victory. “I think that first race really cemented our confidence,” said Read, adding that these five boats represent the upper tier of the Swan 42 Class, and “on any given day any one of these boats can win.”

On the South course, the big local boats kept hoping for the breeze that their heavier craft need to really get going – and finally, it came. “We saw the dial start hitting the high teens and we knew we were finally in the hunt,” said Mark Thomas, trimmer on the 40,000 lb. Stevens 50 Suwannee, which started with a less-than-stellar 6,6 score. “With a strong start and good tactics, our crew pulled it together for the last race, and we ended with a win.” Thomas says his crew will need to dig deep in the lighter breeze forecast for tomorrow. “Regardless, we’re in this to enjoy ourselves, and we’re pretty sure we’ll have no problem succeeding at that.

Racing begins tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. Please be sure to visit www.facebook.com/charlestonraceweek for up-to-the-minute news, photos, and updates throughout the weekend. Full results can be found at http://www.yachtscoring.com/event_results_cumulative.cfm?eID=742.

Results (Top 3 Only)

J 80 (One Design – 4 Boats)

1. Superfluous, Richard Donn , USA – 2, 2, 2, ; 6
2. USA 11, Bert carp , USA – 1, 1, 5/DNF, ; 7
3. Rocket Dog, Bradley Bertram , USA – 3, 3, 1, ; 7

J 24 (One Design – 26 Boats)

1. Superfecta, Kris Werner , USA – 1, 1, 3, ; 5
2. Mental Floss, Aidan Glackin , USA – 6, 2, 2, ; 10
3. 5443, Mike Ingham , USA – 5, 5, 1, ; 11

J 22 (One Design – 11 Boats)

1. The Jug 4 1, Chris Doyle , USA – 1, 2, 1, ; 4
2. Blind Pig, Ryan Flack , USA – 3, 1, 4, ; 8
3. Torqeedo, Arthur Libby , USA – 4, 4, 2, ; 10

Ultimate 20 (One Design – 11 Boats)

1. Rumbullion, BJ Jones , USA – 1, 1, 1, ; 3
2. Redbeard, Brad Lawson , USA – 2, 2, 2, ; 6
3. Escape Velocity, Phillip Davis , USA – 3, 4, 12/DNF, ; 19

J 70 (One Design – 55 Boats)

1. Helly Hansen, Tim Healey , USA – 5, 3, 3, 1, ; 12
2. Catapult, Joel Ronning , USA – 1, 1, 5, 10, ; 17
3. Relative Obscurity, Peter Duncan , USA – 3, 2, 11, 4, ; 20

Viper 640 (One Design – 33 Boats)

1. Jackpot, Brad Boston/ Lee Shuckerow/Eric Vigrass , CAN – 4, 2, 5, 2, ; 13
2. Dazzler, Allan Terhune, Jr , USA – 1, 3, 1, 11, ; 16
3. Arethusa, Philip Lotz , USA – 7, 1, 3, 5, ; 16

Melges 24 (One Design – 37 Boats)

1. New England Ropes/West Marine Rigging, Bora Gulari , USA – 2, 2, 1, 2, ; 7
2. Hedgehog, Alec Cutler , BER – 1, 6, 2, 1, ; 10
3. Monsoon, Bruce Ayres , USA – 6, 1, 3, 3, ; 13

Melges 20 (One Design – 33 Boats)

1. Bacio, Michael Kiss , USA – 4, 5, 2, 3, ; 14
2. Cinghiale, Robert Wilber , USA – 6, 3, 8, 7, ; 24
3. STAR, Jeff Ecklund , USA – 2, 24, 3, 2, ; 31

High Performance Class (HPR) (HPR – 4 Boats)

1. SPOOKIE, Steve & Heidi Benjamin , USA – 1, 1, 2, ; 4
2. Decision, Stephen Murray , USA – 2, 2, 1, ; 5
3. Grundoom, James Grundy , USA – 4, 3, 3, ; 10

Swan 42 (One Design – 5 Boats)

1. Daring, John Hele , USA – 1, 1, 1, ; 3
2. Stark Raving Mad VI, James Madden , USA – 3, 4, 2, ; 9
3. Apparition, Ken Colburn , USA – 2, 5, 3, ; 10

PHRF A (PHRF – 13 Boats)

1. Teamwork, Robin Team , USA – 2, 1, 1, ; 4
2. Rebecca, Glenn Gault , USA – 4, 3, 2, ; 9
3. Dauntless, Don Terwilliger , USA – 1, 6, 4, ; 11

PHRF B (PHRF – 10 Boats)

1. Tangent, Gerry Taylor , USA – 1, 1, 1, ; 3
2. Line Honors Racing, Bob Hillier , USA – 2, 2, 3, ; 7
3. Heat Wave, Gary Weisberg , USA – 4, 3, 4, ; 11

Tartan 10 (One Design – 7 Boats)

1. Team Iball, Scott Irwin , USA – 1, 1, 1, ; 3
2. Norboy, Leif Sigmond , USA – 3, 2, 2, ; 7
3. Silver Surfer, Simon Beemsterboer , USA – 4, 3, 4, ; 11

PHRF C (PHRF – 12 Boats)

1. Natural Disaster, Barney Hathaway / Tom Moulds , USA – 3, 1, 4, ; 8
2. Mighty Puffin, Steve Thurston , USA – 1, 3, 5, ; 9
3. Amigos, David Pritchard , USA – 6/SCP, 2, 3, ; 11

PHRF D (PHRF – 7 Boats)

1. Diana Sea, Bernie Cignavitch , USA – 2, 2, 4.5, ; 8.5
2. Susimi, Michael Carrington , USA – 7, 1, 2, ; 10
3. Celadon, Steve Lesniak , USA – 1, 7, 3, ; 11

Pursuit Class Spin (One Design – 11 Boats)

1. indigo, elliott dodds , USA – 1, ; 1
2. Pie-’a-Mer, Bernard M Schapiro , USA – 2, ; 2
3. Alexandria, Joseph Hanna , USA – 3, ; 3

Pursuit Class Non Spin (One Design – 5 Boats)

1. Houzee, Francisco Davila , USA – 1, ; 1
2. The Usual Suspects, Robert Aymar , USA – 2, ; 2
3. Peregrine, Timothy Vienneau , USA – 3, ; 3

Pursuit Class Class 40 (One Design – 3 Boats)

1. Icarus, Tim Fetsch , USA – 1, ; 1
2. GryphonSolo2, Joseph Harris , USA – 2, ; 2
3. Dragon, Michael Hennessy , USA – 3, ; 3

– From professionals to novices, you’ll find the full spectrum of sailors among more than 2,500 participants at 2013 Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week. And while there was plenty of strategizing and practicing going on at the welcome party, the real talk among the nearly 300 teams here is the forecast. Most models predict up to 25 knots of breeze on Friday, while Sunday promises similarly in-your-face conditions.

“We’re excited to race in such a fun fleet, and even more excited to really light it up downwind in the Viper when the breeze pipes up,” said dinghy sailor and Viper 640 crew Luke Lawrence. Toronto female skipper Sandy Butler won her offshore class here last year in mostly light wind aboard the 38-foot Carbonado, and this year, she’s back on the inshore course in the big Melges 20 fleet on Touch2Play. “After a season of racing in the breezy Caribbean, I’m ready for anything,” she said. And Event Director Randy Draftz predicts that Friday’s anticipated winds will make for a great day for ‘getting to know’ Charleston’s waters. “There are bound to be a couple thousand smiling faces tomorrow along with more than a few bruised bodies and egos,” he said.

Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week has become the most important event of the winter for many classes, a notion that’s reflected in both the size of the fleets and the level of talent throughout them. With the new, massive J/70 fleet (55 boats), the tough Melges 20 fleet (33 boats), the Melges 24 fleet (38 boats), the Viper 640 fleet (33 boats), and double digit entries in the Ultimate 20, J/22, and J/24 fleets, along with the new High Performance Rating fleet, this year’s edition represents the most talent-laded gathering in the event’s history, with literally hundreds of America’s Cup, Volvo Ocean Race, Olympic, and College stars on the water.

Among the sport’s luminaries who will be on hand to compete when racing starts on Friday morning is San Diego’s Mark Reynolds, a three-time Olympic medallist who last year was inducted into the National Sailing Hall of Fame as one of America’s most successful sailors. On the water, he’ll share space with former Rolex Yachtsman of the Year and long time America’s Cup veteran Terry Hutchinson, who will be racing in the Melges 20 Class with multiple Farr 40 World Champion Jim Richardson’s Barking Mad. Elsewhere, Volvo Ocean Race veteran Kimo Worthington will do a cameo appearance with Bryan Huntley and his crew from Sandusky, OH, on board a brand new Beneteau First 35. (Huntley and company won SAIL Magazine’s Best Around the Buoys contest, giving them use of that boat, accommodations, dockage, free entry to the regatta, a new suit of North Sails along with instruments by B&G, gear by Ronstan and bottom paint supplied by Pettit Paint.)

Worthington is just one of 23 industry professionals who will be on the water representing North Sails, a regatta sponsor, and the roster of pros stretches well beyond. Three other Rolex Yachtsman of the Year recipients will be competing: Chris Larson (a former College Sailor of the Year at the College of Charleston), Bora Gulari, a perennial trophy grabber in the Melges 24 Class, which is holding its National Championship this week in Charleston, and one-design guru Jud Smith (racing in the J/70 Class). And the list goes on, and on, and on.

As much as these guys garner the limelight – on the racecourse and often at the beachfront parties – the majority of competitors this weekend are sailors whose names most of us will never learn. “That’s a special trait of this regatta,” offer Draftz.” It was born as an everyman’s event, and that’s definitely the core. But what’s really cool about Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week is that you might be completely new to the sport, yet you get to be out there right alongside guys who are featured in sailing magazines. It’s like lining up to play golf in a foursome with Tiger Woods.”

And what do those pros have to say about sailing here? Let’s leave it to Terry Hutchinson, who will be sailing in this event for the first time: “Why Charleston? Great competition in a great venue. This regatta has the reputation as one of the best one-design events in the country. For our Melges 20 team, this is our first competition and we pushed hard to get the boat ready to be here. We’re really glad we did!

The competition gets underway on Friday morning when the full 285-boat fleet will face building breezes throughout the day due to a strong frontal system sweeping across the country. For more information or updates, log on to www.charlestonraceweek.com. You can also follow the event on Facebook and Twitter.

Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week runs from April 18 through April 21 and is open to all monohull sailboats 20 to 80 feet in length. The event is owned and managed by Charleston Ocean Racing Association, and is supported by Sperry Top-Sider, the Charleston Harbor Resort & Marina, Vineyard Vines and Gosling’s Rum. Additional sponsors include the Town of Mt. Pleasant, Gill, Coral Reef Sailing Apparel, North Sails, B&G/Simrad, Dimension Polyant, Roper St. Francis Healthcare, Eelsnot, Marlow, Bainbridge, Newport Shipyard, and Torqueedo Outboards, New England Ropes, along with Charleston Community Sailing, West Marine, Pierside Boatworks, College of Charleston Sailing Association, Florida Hydraulics and Rigging, Harken, Cricket, Lewmar, Azalea Moving and Storage, Other Brother Entertainment, Sail Charleston and Zip2Water.com.

Huntley and his crew race at home on Western Lake Erie on board Huntley’s Kelly 28 InfraRed. They’ve competed together as a crew for at least two decades, racing on board a variety of different boats in different classes. The team’s win in the BAB contest was based on its strong performance throughout a number of regattas in 2012, including the Sandusky Islands Race, ILYA Bay Week, and the Port Clinton Yacht Club’s Green Island Race and Snow Flurries Regatta.

“It is an honor to be chosen from among the field of strong competitors that entered,” said Huntley after being notified. “We’re looking forward to racing in Charleston, and count on us to give our very best effort as a team on the race course.”

Now in its third year, the Best Around the Buoys program is a grassroots initiative that rewards crews for their collective performance at the local level and provides them an opportunity to take their racing to the national level. This will be the second time that SAIL Magazine has entered a BAB team in Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week. (In 2012, Grant Dumas’s BAB-winning crew from Florida, who normally race a Tripp 38, took first place in the PHRF G class aboard the Beneteau Oceanis 37 Beneround.)