Great Racing for All Classes on Day 1, Charleston Race Week
The southeast winds were on point today on the higher end at 8-10 knots and everyone had just enough wind to work with as the 186 boats in fifteen classes got underway on day one, Charleston Race Week. According to weather guru Shea Gibson, part of the Quantum weather team, the biggest theme for the inner circles was the current which showed around the start and finish gates.
"There were both advantages and disadvantages between reaching and hauling today based on the opposing winds across the current," Gibson commented. "Lots of great tactitioners out there made it happen the right way - very impressive racing indeed!" Leading in the 39-strong J/70 fleet, Brian Keane (Weston, MA) owner/skipper of Savasana, has been racing CRW for some fifteen years, ten of those on a J/70. Nonetheless, he cites the infamous Charleston Harbor currents as being an eternal challenge.
"We're really happy about our day – it's always a challenge coming to Charleston and having to not only figure out the breeze but also the current and it was just ripping today. The competition is great, a lot of the top boats in the J/70 fleet in the country are here and a lot of them had good races. Our speed was very good but I think most of all we put ourselves in a good position relative to the current. The current really was a primary driver for the day – it's hard. But it's fun. It's a unique venue. There are not a lot of places where you sail where the current plays such a dominant role."
Interview with Shea Gibson, Charleston Race Week Weather Guru
So, what do you tell competitors when they wish for more wind around here?
Shea Gibson smiled, "Just be patient, it will happen! I think there will be enough wind out there for everybody today."
This is Gibson's seventh year calling weather for Charleston Race Week and his fourth year working with SailFlow as a partner. He's part of the Quantum weather team on site at CRW and his thorough reporting is invaluable for sailors, especially the out-of-towners, as he provides in-depth daily forecasts and discussion about the convoluted current patterns that result from the convergence of three rivers that flow into Charleston Harbor.
"Charleston has a very unique and very diverse wind pattern based on the sea breezes here," Gibson explained. "Any different directions of onshore winds have different properties, such as today the southeast winds being lighter than what you would normally see from a south or southwest sea breeze. Even east-north-east sea breezes tend to have different properties - cooler air versus warmer air coming up from the south."
He suggests out-of-towners reach out to locals who know the sea breezes and how they fill into the harbor along with the currents. "Even some of the wave action in the offshore rings - it all matters, it's all based around wind," he added. We have a three-river system with varying scopes of current that rip through the harbor and all the way out through the jetties. Together with the breeze can make for a difficult and challenging type of racing environment."
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.