national championship regattas. In the process, five sailors achieved All-American honors, and two received honorable mention status. Other Sailing Highlights The Charleston Ocean Racing Association, A J/105, High Visibility, on the offshore course during Charleston Race Week. (photo is which runs regattas and racing series throughout the year, staged a successful, of Charleston Race Week 2006). three-race Offshore Challenge Series in which 13 different vessels participated. These sailors competed over courses that run north to young Charleston sailor and his crew, Will Hanckel, skipGeorgetown and Murrell’s Inlet, and south to the Savannah pering his father’s J/120 Emocean, sailed superbly and Light. It served as a fitting complement to the regular wound up with overall honors. Wednesday night evening series run by CORA. And the summer season wound to a close with the annual Leukemia Charleston Sailors Do Well Around the Globe Cup Regatta in September, which attracted 47 entries. The During 2007, other young Charlestonians turned in memobig news here was that these sailors managed to raise in rable performances on somewhat of a grander stage. Patrick excess of $180,000 for the Leukemia Foundation. Wilson served as tactician aboard the U.S. Sailing Team’s There were also highlights on the business side of entry in the Pan American Games in Rio de Janiero, Brazil, things. Longtime local sailmaker Tripp Fellabom’s loft (UKwinding up with a fifth-place finish in a very competitive Halsey) celebrated its 30th year in business. Beneteau USA, fleet. And Michael Miller spent time on the world scene as the Charleston-based branch of the world’s largest recrea member of the U.S. Olympic Sailing Team in the 470. ational boatbuilder, announced that the company had Though he and his skipper, Justin Law, didn’t win a place shipped over 400 new sailboats from its South Carolina on the team for the 2008 Olympic Games (they finished factory in 2007—a new record in total dollar volume. And fifth at the U.S. Olympic Sailing Trials in Los Angeles), he local wooden-boat builder—Sea Island Boat Works—comnonetheless represented the Holy City in fitting fashion. pleted a number of new projects, including a 55-foot charAnd local racer Steve Kopf (for whom Miller regularly ter catamaran and three different powerboats. As of this calls tactics) garnered top honors in the Melges 24 writing, master shipwright Mark Bayne and his crew are Southeast Circuit. At the culminating event—the King’s continuing construction of a 28-foot gaff-rigged ketch for a Day Regatta in Jacksonville, FL—Kopf and his team on customer in Florida. board Blur—finished 10th, a respectable place among so Collectively, that’s a lot of activity and a number of fine many professional entries. accomplishments. And it looks like 2008 is headed in the Perhaps most notable among the many 2007 victories same direction. On New Year’s Day, 20 boats ranging in size for Charleston area sailors was the win by the College of from Melges 24s to a Moorings 510, materialized for Charleston Sailing Team at the National Co-ed Dinghy CORA’s annual Hangover Race. With temperatures near 60 Championship Regatta in Annapolis, MD. For the second degrees and winds gusting to 31 knots across the harbor, it year in a row, Cof C collegiate sailors exhibited their supewas a fitting start to what promises to be another active rior versatility and hauled home the Fowle Trophy, which is year of sailing in Charleston. awarded to the most dominant team across six different
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SOUTHWINDS
February 2008
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