Charleston Race Week at Patriots Point - Day 1
by Charleston Race Week 12 Apr 02:06 UTC
April 10-13, 2025
2025 Charleston Race Week © Priscilla Parker
Charleston Race Week at Patriots Point got off to a spectacular start on Friday with sunny skies, warm temperatures and solid wind. Competitors on Circle 1 completed four races, while those on Circle 2 got in three. A robust breeze offshore enabled ORC A to have three windward-leeward starts, while the three pursuit classes enjoyed excellent racing.
"We had a great opening day here in Charleston," said Taran Teague, overall principal race officer for the regatta. "It was picture-perfect weather and we had good wind in the morning. We were able to get in some great racing, so we've got a lot of happy sailors here."
The J/22, J/24 and PHRF Inshore classes had an action-packed day and sailors no doubt came off the water sore and tired after four races.
Jasper Van Vliet steered Evil Twin to a pair of bullets and added a third in taking the early lead in J/24, which has 14 boats. Robin Van Vliet called tactics for her husband of more than 30 years on a day when winds ranged from 5 to 20 knots from the southwest to the northwest.
"We were very happy with our day overall because it was hard. This is our second time here in Charleston and I don't remember seeing this particular weather pattern. It was back-and-forth, back-and-forth," said Jasper Van Vliet, who hails from Mill Valley, California. "I guess the best thing we can say is that we stayed alert, kept our eyes open and made decisions on the spot. We were very happy with our results."
Velocity, crewed by four high school sailors, posted a terrific score line of 2-3-1-1 to take the early lead in the 10-boat J/22 class. James Pine is steering and has twin brother Nathan Pine aboard as jib trimmer. They are juniors at Lucy Beckham High in Mount Pleasant. Logan Marz from New York is bowman, while William Baker from Texas is trimming the main and spinnaker.
"We just stayed consistent. Our starts were all good and we tried to stay in pressure and play the shifts as best we could," said James Pine, noting there were 30 degree wind shifts later in the day. "Our boat speed and crew work was pretty good today."
On Circle 2, the Melges 24, J/70 and VX One classes saw west-northwest winds ranging from 7 to 12 knots to start the day. A sea breeze filled in and negated the westerly with the velocity dropping to 4 to 9 knots for Race 2 and 3 to 7 knots for Race 3.
Wisconsin skipper Brian Porter has been racing his Melges 24 Full Throttle at Charleston Race Week since the regatta's inception in 1996 and his accumulated experience was helpful on a challenging day.
Porter has a veteran crew with sons RJ (tactician) and Bri (spinnaker trimmer) along with Matt Woodworth (foredeck) and they sailed Full Throttle results of first, second and fourth.
"It was really crazy out there today. I was really shocked a couple times that the left came out the way it did," Brian Porter said. "There were some big holes on the course and you had to find a way to connect the dots."
Full Throttle got great starts in Race 1 and 3 yet did not lead at the top mark in either. Porter praised the crew for keeping the boat moving and coming back to finish each race strong.
"We really nailed our tactics and maintained contact when we got behind," Porter said. "We rallied to win the third race. On the second beat, we were able to tack under the leaders and move into first."
Relative Obscurity came into Charleston Race Week at Patriot's Point on a roll after dominating the J/70 Winter Series. However, owner-driver Peter Duncan had a conflict arise and was unable to make the regatta, necessitating a last-minute replacement. He found a good one in Marcus Egan, a New Orleans resident with plenty of experience on the grand prix circuit.
It helped that Relative Obscurity crew members Victor Diaz de Leon and Willem Van Waay have sailed many times with Egan, winning the 2003 J/80 World Championship together.
"Marcus is an amazing sailor and did a fantastic job today," said Diaz de Leon, the tactician. "We had a nice vibe onboard and complimented each other very well."
Relative Obscurity got out on the racecourse a few hours earlier than normal to do some practicing and help Egan get familiar with steering the J/70. He started strong by winning Race 1 then added a couple thirds for a low score of seven. Bryce Kalow and the Kid's Table team also had a good day and are just one point behind in the 25-boat class, largest of the regatta.
"It was a great day sailing in Charleston. It was very tricky as usual with the current and shifty winds. That's what makes it so fun racing here," Diaz de Leon said. "We tried to sail conservatively, keep it simple and stay out of trouble."
John Porter skippered Far Side to a strong 1-2-5 score line in VX One class, which has 15 entries. The Savannah, Georgia resident said the notorious Charleston current became less of a factor as the day went along and credited tactician Todd Wilson with handling the shifty nature of the breeze.
"It was a really interesting, challenging day — very shifty, very puffy, very up and down. It was easy to get into a bad spot and not recover, so our primary goal was to minimize damage," said Porter, who captured class honors at Charleston Race Week in 2023.
"There were massive lead changes in the third race and you could go from hero to zero real quick. You had to keep the boat up to speed, keep your eyes upwind and stay positive."
On Circle 3, an anchor issue with the signal boat delayed the starting sequence and ultimately led to the J/88, J/105 and Melges 32 completing only one race. Starting area for that course was set just north of Fort Sumter and a three-knot current was a factor where the Ashley River and Cooper River converge.
Andrew Graff, who sailed Exile to victory in J/88 class, said the wind was slightly north of west with an average wind velocity around eight knots. There were lulls as low as four and puffs up to 12. "There were a lot of rapid-fire shifts, so being able to change gears was important," said Graf, who had Chris Werner aboard as tactician.
Mount Pleasant resident Joe Pitcavage said local knowledge proved helpful as Spectacle won the lone race in J/105 class. "We were able to port tack the entire fleet because all the other boats got pushed off the start line by the current," he said.
Skipper Robin Team and his veteran team showed why the J/122 Teamwork has earned the Palmetto Cup as winner of the most competitive handicap class five times. Veteran tactician Jonathan Bartlett made great calls as Teamwork won all three races.
Principal race officer Bruce Bingman set windward-leeward courses that were two laps each. Race 1 was six miles in total, while the course was shortened to four miles for Race 2 and 3. Team said a westerly breeze was blowing 6 to 8 knots for the opening race then got a little lighter for the second start. A south-southwesterly wind of 10-12 knots filled in for the final race.
"It was a champagne sailing day offshore. We had great conditions," said Team, crediting Bartlett with putting Teamwork on the correct side of the course in all three races.
"We've been sailing together for a long time and everybody knows their job," said Team, who gave a special shoutout to pit man Drew Niven. "Drew was the MVP of the day. He really took control and made sure the entire boat worked flawlessly."
Dr. Willy Schwenzfeier has competed in all 29 editions of Charleston Race Week, mostly as skipper of his J/35 named Arrow. The Charleston resident continued his streak of winning at least one race every year by topping Pursuit Spinnaker A.
Schwenzfeier, who is 80 years old and sailing a 40-year-old boat, credits his crew for the sustained success. Kael Martin has been with the Arrow program for three decades, while Jules Ivester and his wife Rebecca as well as Sam Furr are not far behind in terms of longevity.
"We are serious racers, but we have a different philosophy than most," said Schwenzfeier, a 1966 Johns Hopkins graduate who played basketball at the renowned Baltimore school. "We don't worry about the competition. We just sail our own race and try to go as fast as we can without interacting with any other boats."
Racing on Day Two, April 12 at Charleston Race Week 2025 at Patriots Point will commence with a weather briefing by meteorologist Shea Gibson and Sailing Hall of Fame Ed Baird at 0800 presented by Hudnall Capital Advisors — streaming live on Charleston Race Week's Facebook page. The Pursuit course warning is at 0930, followed by an inshore course warning at 1100. The ORC Offshore warning is at noon. Racing is followed by a daily debrief with Ed Baird and Marty Kullman of The Sailing Inc. with free flowing Mount Gay Rum.
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