Charleston Race Week

Gusts in the mid 30s sent the windward/leeward fleets in with no racing on the final day of Charleston Race Week, while 20-something boats in three Pursuit classes including the Class 40s gave it a try. Half the fleet retired including two of the 40s; Here, Joe Harris’s Gryphon Solo 2 fetches out of the harbor under triple reefed main. They hit 20+ knots on the sleigh ride back in, while Icarus tore a halyard block out of the deck and retired before getting even to Fort Sumter. Mike Hennessey and Rob Windsor on Dragon blew up a sail at the mouth of the jetties in the washing machine of evil, barely getting the engine on before hitting the bricks. It was a good shakedown for next month’s Class 40 Atlantic Cup which starts right here in Charleston and heads to NYC and then Newport.