Sail crafts of all types out in force

It's amazing to live in Charleston, looking at the harbor every day and about once a week to ply its waters under sail.

This week the arrival of the tall ships for Harbor Fest 2009 has taken my mind back in time, back to the glory days of the magnificent sailing ships, back when the sight of masts on the horizon meant contact with the outside world and the arrival of all sorts of interesting goods, people and news. Wednesday night, as I watched the weekly summer spectacle of CORA's Summer Series races, it was the first time I had seen the contrast of today's modern sailboats — vessels of sport and adventure — against the backdrop of a working clipper ship, the Coast Guard's Eagle, anchored in the harbor.

When you look at these magnificent sailing ships, you're overwhelmed by their sheer size and complexity and by the amount of hard work and skill it took way back when and still takes today to make them go. Any wonder they capture our imagination so much — whether we're lifelong sailors or landlubbers? Who isn't mesmerized by the complexity of their rigging, the beauty of their lines, their association with adventure?

This week, I stood on the Battery early one morning watching the Russian tall ship Kruzenshtern enter the harbor. I was fascinated thinking that my ancestors, who lived near the Battery, surely stood there watching tall ships enter the harbor, their masts scraping the sky, their sails billowing, and their hulls holding treasures unknown. Right behind the Kruzenshtern came a modern container ship. The contrast was striking.

True, these modern ships are vital to our economic well-being, and I love the sight of them. But they don't hold the magic, the sense of adventure, that sailing ships held and still hold for most of us. Watching the launching of the tall ship Spirit of South Carolina a few years ago, I wondered if there would have been such a crowd, and such pure magic if it had been a power vessel.

I doubt it.

And so this week as we officially celebrate the glory of sailing with the arrival of the tall ships, I think about how this celebration comes in the midst of our summer sailing season, with weekend club regattas for small boats, the Sunfish North Americans at James Island Yacht Club, and the Wednesday night races in the harbor for big boats. The size and complexity of the sailing vessels may have changed, but the hearts and minds of the people who choose adventure under sail is still the same.

To us, a sailing vessel of any size, of any complexity, is still our guaranteed ticket to adventure.

Results / Coming up

CORA Summer Series I, Race 4, Wednesday, Charleston Harbor; (Winning boat name, type, owner): A Fleet: Dauntless, Beneteau 47.7, Don Terwilliger; B Fleet: Orange Crush, J/24, David Anderson; C Fleet: Andiamo, Beneteau 35S5, Dave Kowert; D Fleet: Knot Twins, Pearson 30, David Smith; N Fleet: Wrinkles, Olson 30, Fred Jones; S Fleet: Spray, Melges 24, Lucas/Durlach.

TODAY: Sunfish North American Championship, James Island YC

SATURDAY-SUNDAY: Lowcountry Regatta, Beaufort Sailing Club

Reach Will Haynie at willh@thepickledish.com.