22.04.2012
Mixed Conditions Tighten Up Fleets While America’s Cup Visits Charleston
Eight Races Completed at Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week As Final Day Looms
CHARLESTON, SC (April 21, 2012)—Nearly two hundred sixty racing teams
hit the docks this morning, ready to battle their opponents on the
second day of racing for Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week 2012.
Instead of Charleston’s usually reliable sea breeze, the
offshore courses faced unstable, patchy winds that allowed only two
races over the course of the day.
“The wind never kicked in, but there
was enough for some very tricky racing,” said Joe Gibbs from the Farr
400 Team Premier. Canadians Rob and Sandy Butler continued to dominate
the PHRF A fleet aboard their McConaghy 38 Carbonado, scoring two more
victories to cement a six-point lead over John Cooper’s teak-decked
racer Cool Breeze. “We couldn’t be happier with the conditions and with
the awesome speed of this boat,” said program manager and pro
racer Marty Kullman. “Though we did find the one downside to this new
design; I emailed designer Harry Dunning today to tell him that it
doesn’t make a great powerboat.”
A fierce battle has broken out in the B Fleet, with Greg Manning’s
Rhode Island-based X-41 Sarah tied on points with Bob Moran’s
Annapolis-based J/111 Ragin’. Two-time Charleston Race Week champ Robin
Team (J/122 Teamwork) had a disappointing day, dropping to third place,
with another J/111, Wicked 2.0 from Dartmouth, Mass, breathing down his
crew’s neck. “
Charleston Native Bill Hanckel’s team on board his J/120 Emocean was
nearly unbeatable in today’s shifty wind, though not quite: Gary
Weisburg’s J/109 Heat Wave corrected to the identical time as Hanckel’s
crew – down to the hundredth of a second in Race 5. “We thought we lost
to Heat Wave in that race,” said Bill Hanckel. “Pretty amazing to see
an hour-long race come down to a hundredth of a second, and it’s a sign
of how tight the racing is out there.” Despite a recent leg injury,
Hanckel is sailing hard, with son Will on the helm. “Surgery on my leg
would’ve cost the same as getting the bottom of Emocean into race
shape. You can guess what I spent the money on.”
In the Tartan 10 fleet, a new leader emerged today for the Midwinter
Championship trophy and Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week honors.
Lake Erie’s Team IBall is tied with yesterday’s leader from Chicago,
Leif Sigmond’s Norboy, though the Ohio team wins the tiebreaker at the
moment.
The Cruising Class sailed an exciting and challenging course, which
included beating upwind the length of the Charleston Harbor jetties and
out into the Atlantic. Mt. Pleasant resident Francisco Davila and the
crew of Houzee is enjoying the all-new race format immensely. “My boat
isn’t so happy sailing around the buoys, but this course keeps a
heavier boat like ours moving all the time, and we really liked it,”
Davila said. “The pursuit start is a great idea too – different, but a
great idea.” At the top of the fleet is Daniel Island’s Joseph Hanna
and the crew of his Jenneau 45 Alexandria, who lead the Mt.
Pleasant-based Suwannee by the tie break only – they are both on four
points after two races. The ultra-racy Class 40 Campagne De France
reveled on the longer course, her massive sails helping catch the light
air that heavier cruisers were less able to harness.
SAIL Magazine’s Best-Around-The-Buoys contest winner Grant Dumas
finally showed a chink in his armor after four first-place finishes,
with locals Ken King’s Saber 38 Quintette and Dave and Christie
Kowert’s Beneteau 35S5 Andiamo finally beating Dumas on the final race.
Another visiting team, Daniel Rossi’s Bandit from Tall Timbers, Md.,
forged ahead of yet another highly successful local team, Robert
Hibdon’s SR33 Temptress.
The inshore courses saw consistently higher breeze than offshore,
allowing another four races to be completed across all three circles.
Considering the shifty conditions and unpredictable wind velocity, it
was a surprise to see the leaders remain the same across four of the
seven inshore classes. College of Charleston Sailing Director Greg
Fisher continues his stranglehold on the J/22 fleet, Bill Rose aboard
Kicks extended his lead over the J/80 Class to 8 points, and in the
J/24 Class, Annapolis sailor Travis Odenback’s Honey Badger holds a
four-point lead over the surging Mike Ingham and his team on board US
4558, who won the day with a 1,1,2,2 scorecard, while Michigan racer
Keith Ziegler scored a near perfect day to lead the Ultimate 20 fleet
by a slim margin.
Both Melges classes saw lead changes, with 2011 Charleston winner
Kristin Lane squeaking ahead of 2010 champ Bora Gulari to lead by two
points. “We’re getting some sleep tonight,” said Gulari. “Tomorrow is
our day.” A disqualification in Race 5 saw Melges 20 overnight leader
Michael Kiss on Bacio Kiss lose his lead to Russ Lucas’s well-sailed
Shimmer with Harry and Hans Melges on board.
The largest fleet at 2012 Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week, the
Viper 640s, also saw a new top three emerge today, with Northeastern
racers owning the podium after 8 races. Connecticut racer Steve Girling
is sailing his first-ever Viper regatta, though with the help of
sailmaker and professional racer Ched Proctor, he scored a strong
4,2,3,3 to lead by 10 points over New York’s Jason Carroll aboard Argo.
“What’s great about this fleet is the number of new sailors it has
attracted, and how much improvement they’re making,” said Carroll, a
frequent competitor on the ultra-competitive Audi Melges 32 Sailing
Series in Italy. “It’s a constant challenge out there – as soon as you
figure out the race course, the tide changes, giving you an entirely
new set of variables to deal with,” he said.
The evening’s beach party had an extremely special guest on Saturday,
and over 1,500 sailors crowded around the big stage to welcome the
America’s Cup to South Carolina for the first time in its 161-year old
history. Representatives of America’s Cup Defender Golden Gate Yacht
Club flew the prestigious trophy to Charleston to share their vision
for the 34th America’s Cup with the huge crowds of passionate sailors
attending Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week. “What an unbelievable
reception!” said GGYC Commodore Norbert Bajurin. “We really are bowled
over by the welcome we’ve received here, and the level of interest from
Charleston Race Week sailors in the next America’s Cup competition.”
GGYC’s Vice Commodore is long-time Cup veteran Tom Ehman, who delivered
an exciting multi-media presentation for the crowd. “We’re hugely
grateful to Norbert and Tom for working so hard to get the Cup here,
and to our sailors for turning out in such incredible numbers,” said
Randy Draftz, Event Director. “We just hope they bring it back next
year!”
Winners in every class will be decided tomorrow on the final day of
2012 Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week, and with a forecast
including thunderstorms and possible high winds, anything can happen.
Photo Captions: A mix of calms and moderate breeze led to ultra-tight
racing and surprises during Day 2 of Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week
Photo Credit: Meredith Block/Charleston Race Week
Photos free for editorial use with credit
Results after two days of racing:
Ultimate 20 (One Design - 5 Boats)
1. Dream Killer, Keith Ziegler , USA - 2, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, [2] ; 9
2. Rumbullion, BJ Jones , USA - 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 1, [2] ; 11
3. Running With Scirrors, Jim Ulatowski , USA - 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 3,
[4] ; 23
J/24 (One Design - 23 Boats)
1. Honey Badger, Travis Odenbach , USA - 4, 3, 1, 1, 2, 2, 12, 1, [12]
; 14
2. USA 5448, Mike Ingham , USA - 3, 7, 2, 8, 1, 1, 2, 2, [8] ; 18
3. FYC Campaign for the Invitational Cup, Greg Griffin , USA - 10, 2,
8, 2, 5, 4, 3, 4, [10] ; 28
J/22 (One Design - 15 Boats)
1. USA 1586, Greg Fisher , USA - 2, 2, 1, 1, 4, 8, 3, 1, [8] ; 14
2. USA 710, Jackson Benvenutti , USA - 1, 3, 5, 4, 3, 5, 1, 5, [5] ; 22
3. Wharf Rat, Mike Marshall , USA - 7, 4, 3, 7, 1, 3, 4, 2, [7] ; 24
J/80 (One Design - 16 Boats)
1. Kicks, Bill Rose , USA - 1, 1, 2, 4, 1, 3, 4, 5, [5] ; 16
2. Savasana, Brian Keane , USA - 3, 2, 5, 1, 5, 11, 2, 6, [11] ; 24
3. CoolJ, Alexander Kraus , USA - 6, 8, 10, 2, 3, 6, 1, 7, [10] ; 33
Viper 640 (One Design - 40 Boats)
1. Argo, Jason Carroll , USA - 0/ABD, 41/DNF, 1, 9, 11, 1, 3, 2, [41] ;
27
2. Live Wire, Joseph E Healey , USA - 0/ABD, 1, 11, 15, 1, 5, 11, 6,
[15] ; 35
3. Kitsune, Sara Fox, Luke Lawrence, Scott Fox , USA - 0/ABD, 4, 3, 11,
10, 7, 41/DSQ, 1, [41] ; 36
Melges 24 (One Design - 33 Boats)
1. Brick House 812, Kristen Lane , USA - 13, 1, 1, 7, 4, 5, 1, 3, [13]
; 22
2. West Marine Rigging/New England Ropes, Bora Gulari , USA - 7, 2, 6,
1, 5, 1, 3, 6, [7] ; 24
3. WTF, Alan Field , USA - 1, 15, 2, 5, 1, 3, 16, 7, [16] ; 34
Melges 20 (One Design - 30 Boats)
1. Shimmer, Russell Lucas , USA - 9, 7, 3, 3, 6, 1, 2, 14, [14] ; 31
2. Layline Race Team, Travis Weisleder , USA - 2, 2, 2, 8, 7, 12, 5, 7,
[12] ; 33
3. Red Sky, Paul Reilly , USA - 20, 3, 8, 4, 5, 6, 9, 2, [20] ; 37
IRC (IRC - 5 Boats)
1. Shockwave, George Sakellaris , USA - 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, [1] ; 4
2. Flying Jenny 7, David & Sandra Askew , USA - 2, 2, 2, 2, 3, [3] ; 8
3. Interlodge, Austin and Gwen Fragomen , USA - 4, 3, 3, 4, 2, [4] ; 12
PHRF A (PHRF - 6 Boats)
1. Carbonado, Rob & Sandy Butler , CAN - 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, [1] ; 4
2. Cool Breeze, John Cooper , USA - 2, 2, 3, 4, 3, [4] ; 10
3. Team Premier, Ian Gordon , USA - 4, 3, 2, 3, 5, [5] ; 12
Cruising Class (One Design - 13 Boats)
1. Alexandria, Joseph Hanna , USA - 1, 3, ; 4
2. Suwannee, Donald Michael , USA - 2, 2, ; 4
3. Campagne de France, Halvard Mabire , FRA - 6, 1, ; 7
Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week runs April 19 - April 22 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 its title sponsor, Sperry Top-Sider, as well as the
Charleston Harbor Resort & Marina, Vineyard Vines, and Gosling’s Rum.
Additional sponsors include The Town of Mt. Pleasant, Gill, Coral Reef
Sailing Apparel, Newport Shipyard, North Sails, Marlow Ropes Ltd.,
South Carolina State Ports Authority, and Interlux/Awlgrip, along with
West Marine, Pierside Boatworks, College of Charleston Community
Sailing, Other Brother Entertainment, Orbis, Harken Yacht Equipment,
B&G Simrad, Azalea Moving and Storage, Photoboat.com, Charleston
Community Sailing, Sail Charleston, and Lewmar Navtec.
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