Racing Begins Friday in the 27th Edition of the "Regatta Unlike Any Other"
Talent-laden fleet of 186 boats in 15 classes!
When Steve Attard took charge of planning the Hobie 33 National Championship, his thoughts immediately turned to Charleston Race Week.
Priority one was picking a venue and Attard realized being part of an existing regatta would dramatically reduce the logistical challenges.
"It made a lot of sense to me because Charleston Race Week provides all the on and off the water support," Attard said. Attard polled the active Hobie 33 owners and there was tremendous enthusiasm for conducting nationals as part of the Charleston Race Week 2023.
"Steve called and asked what I thought about doing nationals in Charleston and my response was: I'm in. That place is great," said Scott Maust, a longtime class member and owner of Hi Tech.
Hobie 33 Nationals are normally held every two years and the venue constantly changes. It is a class tradition that the reigning champ is responsible for organizing the next nationals. That structure was thrown into disarray when 2019 champ Skip Dieball sold his boat. Of course, a worldwide pandemic also intervened and Hobie Nationals were not held in 2021. Attard, who captured the 2022 Midwinter Championship, took it upon himself to make sure Hobie Nationals got back on schedule.
Mount Pleasant, Patriots Point join forces to support Charleston Race Week
The town of Mount Pleasant and City of Charleston are rightfully proud of the grand prix sailboat racing regatta that has become a fixture of the region.
Charleston Race Week has brought a huge economic boost to both municipalities for more than a quarter of a century.
When longtime event director Randy Draftz determined that Charleston Race Week needed a new venue, he reached out to Mount Pleasant mayor Will Haynie.
Mayor Haynie, an ardent supporter of the regatta, quickly sprung into action. He picked up the phone and dialed Mac Burdette, executive director of Patriots Point Development Authority.
"Will Haynie called and asked if there was anything Patriots Point could do so the regatta could remain at its traditional home," Burdette said.
"Charleston Race Week is very important to Patriots Point. We appreciate what this event does for our town and region," Burdette said. "Our goal is that the aircraft carrier will become the home of Charleston Race Week for many years to come."
The International RS21 Class announce a new partnership with Vakaros at Charleston Race Week
Romsey, United Kingdom, 31 January 2023 - The International RS21 Class are pleased to announce an exciting new Partnership with Vakaros. This new partnership brings two brands together who share a passion for changing the game and developing our sport. The partnership will be showcased at Charleston Race Week, where Vakaros will offer RaceSense for all teams taking part in the RS21 Class racing.
RaceSense builds on the powerful hardware inside every Atlas 2 to enhance how sailors race. It instantly creates a virtual racecourse allowing every RS21 to see the same start time, which is all synced remotely. Pinging is a thing of the past as well: RaceSense live-transmits the location of each end of the start line to competitors, so there is no need to get stuck in a parade every time the line is reset. The race committee will say goodbye to general recalls, and black flag starts thanks to centimetre-accurate, fully automatic OCS calls at the start line. Competitors will be notified immediately on their Atlas 2, whether they were over or not.