CSR / CHARLESTON, SC (16 August, 2022) – Charleston Sailboat Racing, the second member association of its kind for racing sailboats in Charleston Harbor, has been formed to pursue one-design and closely-matched class racing as preparation for Charleston Race Week each year. With the nickname “Caesar” after “CSR”, the new club plans to start by holding US Sailing-sanctioned class races for the one-design “J22”, “J24”, and “X25” (25 foot similar race designs) based on early demand, with other classes to follow, such as Optimist, Lightning, and cruising sailboat classes. The club also plans to hold drag race, solo race, and double-hand race series throughout the year.
“We’re reaching out to the sailing community, and want to focus on sailing in ways that dovetail with what CORA does, such as small boat multi-class close racing, and class-based scoring as done in CRW,” says Mark Parrott, referencing the Charleston Ocean Racing Association and Charleston Race Week. Parrott’s idea to start a new racing club began in 2020 when a major sponsor for Charleston Race Week was lost. “Many sailors have no easy way to train locally for inshore multi-class races like Race Week and other events,” Parrott adds, who competed in Charleston Race Week for the first time in 2022 skippering his Merit 25, “and some just want more opportunities to race in general than are currently available, especially popular small boat one-design racing which is much more competitive and fun than having an assigned performance handicap in a group of wildly different boats.”
The new club’s constitution states the purpose of Charleston Sailboat Racing is, “to organize a fleet of sailboats for races, regattas, and series in or near the Charleston South Carolina Harbor, to foster friendships and respectful competition in a safe sport, to provide assistance and guidance to members to sail together and learn more about sailboat racing and seaworthy sailboat handling, and to reach out to the community to grow membership, particularly under-served sailors.”
Charleston Sailboat Racing (CSR) is a non-profit charitable organization formed by local sailors, focused on one-design and closely-matched racing. For more information, visit charlestonsailboatracing.org or facebook.com/charlestonsailboatracing.