Hundreds of boating teams will be sailing into town this spring for premium yacht racing in the Charleston Harbor during the 29th installment of Charleston Race Week from April 10-13.
Widely considered the pinnacle of annual sailboat racing events in the country, Charleston Race Week draws professional sailors from all over the United States including California, Texas, Florida, Washington State, New York and Rhode Island and different countries such as the United Kingdom, Italy and Australia. According to event director Randy Draftz, 80% of boats competing in the race travel here from out of town. Last year, nearly 200 different boats competed in Charleston Race Week across 17 different classes (17 different styles of boats over five courses).
The economic impact in Mount Pleasant alone, which serves as the Race Week hub, is estimated at several million dollars, and includes lodging, restaurants, boat yards, marine retail stores, liquor stores and more.
Draftz said this year the event is looking to grow their offshore races that feature the larger boats. Additionally, there will be a big shift in technology for the in-shore boats. Each craft will be equipped with a compass position sensor, which Draftz explained also “makes the races run more efficiently.”
In 2024, Patriots Point became the new permanent home and partner of the multi-day yacht racing event. They will run Race Week from the USS Yorktown, and its headquarters will feature more than 200,000 square feet of race viewing, event and sponsor exhibition space. Draftz said that the College of Charleston, whose sailing team practices and hosts home regattas out of the J. Stewart Walker, Jr. Complex in the Patriots Point Marina, will help with the dockage of boats.
For more information or to register for the regatta, visit charlestonraceweek.com.
By Colin McCandless
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