Barkow, Rogers take early lead

The traditional home of the E Scow class is in the midwest, and they've come to the south for their national championship, but Friday's light winds from the northeast caused a postponement of several hours before racing finally got underway in Charleston Harbor. Principle race officer Tommy Harken said it was tempting to start at the designated time of 11 a.m., but his local knowledge led to his decision to postpone, knowing the afternoon sea breeze would eventually fill in from the southwest and make for better racing.

"That was the best decision we made all day," Harken said.

The first race got underway about 2 p.m. with winds in the 8-10 mph range. Harken set a course of 3.5 miles, aiming for each race to take about an hour to complete. As the breeze built for the second race, the course was lengthened to 5 miles. The first race was won by Paul Magno of Lavallette, N.J., and the second was won by Will Graves of Pewaukee, Wis. Interestingly, Magno and Graves traded places in the two races, each scoring a first and a 17th and are tied for sixth overall.

Sam Rogers of Lake Geneva, Wis., and former College of Charleston sailor Augie Barkow, also from Wisconsin, sit atop the fleet after scoring 5-4 and 7-2, respectively. The top local sailor Friday was Ross Griffith, who is in fifth place overall.

Event chairman Will Martin was pleased with the first day's progress. "Things are going great," he said. "No surprises!"

Racing is scheduled to continue today at 11 a.m.

Friday's Leaders:

1. Augie Barkow 7-2=9

2. Sam Rogers 5-4=9

3. Richard Ryon 11-3=14

4. Carl Horrocks 6-10=16

5. Ross Griffith 2-15=17

6. Paul Magno 1-17=18

7. Will Graves 17-1=18

8. Robby Wilkins 13-5=18

9. Tom Burton 4-16=20

10. Bob Biwer 12-8=20

Other South Carolina sailors:

14) Will Hanckel 23-6=29

18) Will Van Cleef 25-9=34

27) Walter Prause 24-29=53

28) Will Martin 32-23=55

40) Tom Hall 41-40=81

41) Nicholas Ellyn 35-47=82

43) Mark Jordan 44-39=83

44) Dan Perrin 38-46=84

50) Ben Leigh 50-50=100