30 Years of Racing. The Story Continues in 2027.

Charleston Race Week at Patriots Point enters its fourth decade of racing in 2027. First launched in 1996 by members of the Charleston Ocean Racing Association (CORA), it began as a merger of two regional regattas — the South Atlantic Yacht Racing Association’s PHRF Championships and the Charleston Palmetto Cup. That inaugural year, the scratch sheet listed just 29 boats.

The early editions of the regatta, then known simply as Charleston Race Week, were held during the summer and primarily attracted teams from Charleston and nearby sailing communities including Savannah, GA, and Wilmington, NC. A strategic shift in the early 2000s moved the event to spring, taking advantage of better sailing conditions while aligning with boats migrating north following the Caribbean racing season. The move would help set the course for remarkable growth.

In 2005, CORA partnered with the South Carolina Maritime Foundation to co-manage the event with a shared goal: elevate Charleston Race Week into a premier destination regatta on the East Coast while keeping the event affordable and accessible to a broad range of sailors.

By 2006, that strategy was paying off. Entries arrived from across the United States, Canada, and the U.K., with more than 70% of participants traveling from outside the Charleston area. Participation continued to climb in 2007 and 2008, and over the years Charleston Race Week averaged 15% annual growth, ultimately becoming the largest keelboat regatta in the Western Hemisphere.

A major new chapter began in 2024, when Charleston Race Week and Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum established a formal partnership. As part of the agreement, the USS Yorktown — the iconic aircraft carrier moored in Charleston Harbor — became the official headquarters and central venue for the regatta.

The move to Patriots Point created an extraordinary home base for competitors and spectators while strengthening the event’s connection to Charleston’s maritime heritage. With the Yorktown, Charleston Harbor, and the Lowcountry as its backdrop, Charleston Race Week at Patriots Point truly became “a regatta unlike any other.”

Now firmly anchored at Patriots Point in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, Charleston Race Week at Patriots Point enters 2027 with more than three decades of history behind it and its sights firmly set on the future. The regatta continues to bring together world-class competition, an international sailing community, and the unmistakable character of Charleston — maintaining its place as one of the most anticipated events on the sailing calendar.