Charleston Race Week!

As a sailor, I've been reading about Charleston Race week for a long time. I've always wanted to be there and see the hundreds of boats competing for bragging rights in their respective classes. Boy, did I get my wish.

In the harbor at Hilton Head, we heard boaters talking about how hard it was going to be to get a slip for Invictus in Charleston because of "the Regatta." Since we are on a unpredictable schedule, it's very had to call ahead and make marina reservations more than a day or two in advance. So we have just been altering our plans around the Marina availability and it has been working out great.

When we pulled into St. John's Marina we called ahead to Isle of Palms Marina and they had room for us. We wanted a short trip (18 miles) for Saturday for several reasons. One, Linda wanted to run. Two, we wanted to enjoy the luxurious bath facilities in St. John's Marina. And Three, we wanted to be able to savor the Regatta in Charleston Harbor as we passed nearby.



So we left at 11:15 and took off (wait for it....) INTO THE WIND! Jeez, it was blowing 25 out of the Northeast again. We took a little industrial canal for several miles that ends as you enter the Ashley River with a beautiful view of "The Battery" of old Charleston. As soon as we turned right toward Fort Sumter we saw so many sailboats that it looked like someone had emptied a popcorn bag on the water.



I asked Linda to take the helm so I could shoot some pictures. Dutifully, she did but was clearly uncomfortable. Who could blame her. The strong wind was whipping up the water and there were boats everywhere. Boats that came out to watch the regatta, boats trying to transit the ICW and racing sailboats that were overpowered by the strong winds.



As we got closer to the racing boats a runabout came up to us and asked if we were "spectating" or attempting to transit the ICW. I almost said, "Both" but decided "ICW" was a better answer. They told us that a Coast Guard boat would be farther down to escort us across the race course and that we should stay clear of the racers.



In about a mile or two we were inundated with J-70s and another class of racing boats I didn't recognize. I kept moving right until I was in dangerously shallow waters. The racers were resting between races and were blowing down on us as they adjusted their clothing, urinated and rested. Yes, they were pissing off the stern because that's the only way they can go when they are out all day for racing.

A horn sounded and they all formed up for the start. We followed them to get into deeper water. We kept waiting for our "escort" as we were now at the point where the ICW traverses Charleston Harbor to the east. We called on the radio. We used the hailer. It never happened. So, we just followed the racers up the course...waiting for someone to yell at us at any minute.

As the sailboats rounded the windward racing mark, we continued on toward the narrow opening of the ICW about a mile away. Then we saw a group of large racing boats (40-footers) coming toward us from the inlet near Fort Sumter. I sped up to cross ahead of them. Whew. There was a cruising sailboat behind us that was also trying to transit the ICW. The radio crackled with a warning to them to "Stay out of the way of the racers!" I felt for him but was glad they didn't yell at us.

By the time we got to Isle of Palms Marina the excitement of Charleston Race Week was fading into the history of the trip. We docked so close to the restaurant that we could hear the live music and the conversations of vacationers on the deck by our boat. We walked over to the Morgan Creek Grill and had a delicious meal of stone crab claws and "blackened" Mahi Mahi.



The CMO waited aboard Invictus eating dried dog food. And she was still happy to see us when we returned.




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