Sixteen college teams competed in the Southern Collegiate Offshore Regatta held February 11-12 in Charleston, SC. With racing held in two divisions using PHRF handicaps, the six-race series faced a range of conditions. The hosts College of Charleston and CORA (Charleston Offshore Racing Association) did a great job getting in relatively short course races inside Charleston Harbor. The first day consisted of using only main and jib, due to steady and strong 15-20 knot winds with 35 knot gusts. The sailing on Sunday provided exciting and challenging racing conditions. PHRF B Division was dominated by well-sailed J/105s. The University of South Carolina won with the J/105 RUCKUS, owned by Patrick Chisum, Russell Smith and Paul Jacques. The Gamecocks team posted a consistent scoreline of 1-3-4-2-1-1 for 12 points. Just one point back and battling the Gamecocks the entire weekend were the Tigers. Taking the silver was Princeton University’s Tigers sailing on the J/105 SPECTACLE owned by the duo of Pitcavage & Bowden. The Tigers were the only team to score all podium finishes: 3-2-2-1-2-3 for 13 points. The bronze position was taken by the University of Vermont Catamounts on the J/105 SKIMMER owned by Martschink & Hagood; they had a 2-1-1-3-7-2 tally for 16 points. The balance of the top five included The Citadel Bulldogs taking fourth sailing the J/105 RUMFRONT owned by Martschink & McKenzie. In addition to the two PHRF Divisions, there were PHRF Overall Awards based on the combined corrected times of both divisions (the two divisions sailed the same course every time). Here's the list of the PHRF Overall winners (combined corrected times averaged over six races):
- J/105 RUCKUS- University South Carolina Sailing team- 00:38:42 average
- J/105 SPECTACLE- Princeton University Sailing team- 00:38:44 average
- J/105 SKIMMER- University Vermont- 00:38:54 average
For more Southern Collegiate Offshore Regatta information, visit https://charlestonoceanracing.com/southern-collegiate-ocean-regatta.
