High Spirits and High-Octane Action Despite a Little Rain at Sperry Charleston Race Week
Sperry Charleston Race Week/Sander van der Borch photo
The northwesterly breeze meant unconventional tactics for the J/24, J/22, J/80, and VX-One fleets on the city front course, and those who worked their way into the shore for current relief won big, and had a nice sightseeing trip just a few feet from downtown Charleston on Day 1 of Sperry Charleston Race Week 2015.
Charleston, South Carolina (April 17, 2015) — Despite overcast skies and some early rain, the 2,500 sailors competing in Sperry Charleston Race Week got in a full day of racing across the six race courses that make up this mega event. And if the conditions dampened anyone's spirits, they were sufficiently uplifted on the dock as the racers were greeted by the Torqeedo girls handing out cans of Gosling's signature Dark 'N Stormy beverage.
On the inshore courses, where everyone battled strong ebb tides flowing nearly parallel to moderate northerly breezes, all of the 200 boats across three race courses managed to complete three races. Offshore, the story was nearly the same, with the majority of competitors enjoying three good contests.
The word of the day was "challenging" with a capital "C" according to Ryan Ruhlman of Bratenahl, OH, and the crew on board his Stupendous Man sailing in the 84-boat J/70 class. They were in an upbeat mood despite finishing 26th in their first race of the day.
"The current is really tough to figure out," said Ruhlman between races. "It's not something we deal with when we race at home. But overall, we're enjoying ourselves. I actually went to college here, and it's fun to come back and sail in such a huge fleet. Honestly, it's such a terrific regatta. This my tenth time and I'll keep coming back."
So, change that word of the day to "terrific." The images here speak volumes about that and today's competition at Sperry Charleston Race Week. (A full report will be issued later this evening.)
