too friendly to fail
Unlike some other regattas that ignored their customers until they took their balls and bats and went racing elsewhere, the folks at Charleston continue to work non-stop at finding ways to increase the fun at ‘the World’s Friendliest Regatta” while keeping costs manageable for everyone from a bunch of J/24 pals to a hot IRC campaign. And it’s great to see the payoff that so many years of hard work have brought.
That payoff is in the form of an incredible 195 boats registered a full ten weeks before the event begins, with more than a quarter of them over 30 feet at this ‘sportboat’ regatta. Even more amazing is the fact that 2010 – a record year for Charleston – saw 192 boats registered IN TOTAL for the event, and the 2011 event’s already beaten it. Given the size of the harbor and the hundred plus boats that’ll be congesting the inshore circles, we can assume that chaos and fun will once again be the order for the day.
Whatever the traffic issues, we know that with more than 40 M24s, 30+ Vipers, 20+ Melges 20s, 10 Ultimate 20s, and big fleets of handicap racers in every band, this will be the must-do multi-class event of 2011. And with the long-awaited announcement of a long-awaited Title Sponsor rumored to come this Monday, there will likely be a few more good reasons to show up in Charleston this year. Hell, there are Farr 40s and Melges 24s waiting for you to charter right now. No excuses, ya hear?
