NEWS

SUN, WIND, AND SPECTACULAR RACING CLOSE OUT MEMORABLE 2008 CHARLESTON RACE WEEK

©2005 Tim Wilkes Photography CHARLESTON, SC (April 20, 2008) – For the third straight day, weather gods smiled on a fleet of nearly 150 racing sailboats on 70-degree water in and around Charleston. Sailors basked in the sun for a short postponement this morning as they waited for the sea breeze to fill – and fill it did, just like clockwork. Both the offshore and harbor courses raced their final race in 10-14 knots of cool ocean air, and unpredictable shifts forced the overall winners of this marquis event to earn every hard-fought point. Travis Wiesleder and his all-pro crew on Carloan.com won the coveted Charleston Race Week Cup Perpetual Trophy for winning the most competitive One-Design class – this year, an easy choice for the 27-boat Melges 24 division. Carloan.com started off this morning in a tie with Kristen Lane's Out House, from Marin, California. “We needed one good start today, and we got it,” said Carloan tactician and top OD sailor Scott Nixon. This talent-laden class is always competitive, and at a big event like Charleston, it's doubly so. Even with a crew that included Nixon, Justin Chambers, and the legendary Skip Dieball, Wiesleder was “just one piece of sea breeze away from 2nd place,” but they took that sea breeze and turned it into the top prize at the event, which included a Raymarine electronics package worth over three thousand dollars. For Nixon, who lived in Charleston from 1993 to 1995 as the coach of the College of Charleston sailing team, 2008 cemented Race Week's reputation as one of the best events of its kind. “With sun, seabreeze, sand, and totally dynamic conditions that change every leg of every race, this is just an awesome event and an awesome venue,” he said. “Even though it's three days as opposed to five, this was every bit as good as Key West Race Week...No, it was even better.” TOP TEN RESULTS 1.) Travis Weisleder, Carloan.com 2.) Kristen Lane, Outhouse 3.) John Lucas, Spray 4.) Simon Strauss, Yoga 5.) Reggie Fairchild, Wireless 6.) Steve Kopf, Blur 7.) Henry Colie, Babs 8.) Bill Carleton, Tiburon 9.) Bob McElwain, Megan 10.) Paul Hulsey, Hoodlum FULL RESULTS

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