Shifting winds wreak havoc

  • By Will Haynie
    Special to The Post and Courier
  • Posted: Sunday, July 19, 2009 12:01 a.m.
    UPDATED: Thursday, March 22, 2012 7:30 p.m.
  • Text size: A A A
E-Scows cross the starting line in the Charleston Harbor on Saturday during the Charleston Yacht Club Regatta. Charleston's Will Hanckel swept all three races in the E-Scow class on the opening day of competition. Racing continues today.
Grace Beahm /The Post and CourierE-Scows cross the starting line in the Charleston Harbor on Saturday during the Charleston Yacht Club Regatta. Charleston's Will Hanckel swept all three races in the E-Scow class on the opening day of competition. Racing continues today.

There was plenty of wind for Saturday's opening day of the Charleston Yacht Club Open Regatta in Charleston Harbor. The problem was, nobody was quite sure at any given time just where it was going to come from or how strong it would be.

"We had to abandon the first race on Course B," race official Bob Bowden said. "Just after we started the race, there was a huge shift and the weather leg became almost downwind."

That was typical for the day, as courses were set and reset to compensate for the shifts.

Local Sunfish class standout Alan Uram observed some unpredictable wind shifts as well.

"From our course over by Middle Ground, we could look out at Course A by Fort Johnson and they had completely different wind," Uram said, noting that it varied widely in direction and speed from one moment to the next. The highest winds recorded Saturday were in the 19-knot range.

Uram, who finished near the top in the Sunfish North American Championships hosted by James Island Yacht Club recently, sits atop the Sunfish Class with scores of 1-2-2. Seth Siegler and Rick Whitehurst round out the top three, both having wins on Saturday.

"It's good competition in our class, and we're all pretty close in the standings," Uram said.

The J/24 class had nine entrants, with at least two boats traveling from out of state to compete. Chip Till and his crew from Wrightsville Beach, N.C., are in first place after Saturday's racing.

Asked about the tricky winds and strong current from the incoming tide, Till said: "The current here is wicked. It certainly adds a tactical dimension to racing."

Till and Murder, Inc. have made five trips here, having won the J/24 class at this year's Charleston Race Week.

Charleston's Will Hanckel swept all three races in the E-Scow class.

Three boats have four points after completing two races in the Sea Island One Design class. Jonathan Hiers sailed Dog House to scores of 1-3, Will Cabell skippered Cignet2 to scores of 2-2, and Evan Minshew sailed Privateer to scores of 3-1.

Minshew went from humiliation to exhilaration sailing with two new crew members. After capsizing prior to race one, he went on to win the second race and is tied for the overall lead.

"That capsize was a drill for the crew," Minshew joked.

Racing continues this afternoon in Charleston Harbor.