107 www.ReadMPM.com | www.MountPleasantMagazine.com | www.MountPleasantPodcast.com Charleston Race Week will be celebrating 30 years of the event in 2026 as professional sailors from around the country and the world come to Mount Pleasant to participate in one of the largest keelboat regattas in North America from April 16-19. Now known as Charleston Race Week at Patriots Point, this annual event features premier sailboat racing and lively shoreside activities. According to Randy Draftz, executive director for Charleston Race Week at Patriots Point, event organizers expect a couple hundred boats competing on five different courses across 15 different sailing classes including J/70, J/22, J/24, J/105, J/88, Melges 32, Melges 24 and VX One. The J/70 Class and Melges 24 Class typically bring in international sailors from nations such as Italy, United Kingdom, Germany, Brazil and Argentina. NORTH AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIP COMES TO CHARLESTON For the very first time, Charleston Race Week has been selected to host the 2026 ORC Sportboat North American Championship during the event, one of the premier international regattas on the ORC (Offshore Racing Congress) calendar, which is expected to attract a competitive fleet from across the U.S., Canada and beyond. The inclusion of the North American Championship has led CRW to expand by an extra day this year just for this one fleet of boats, which will be competing in a 20mile distance race inside Charleston Harbor on April 16. The NAC race will last over the course of four days, while the regular race competitors will vie in the usual three-day Friday through Sunday event. A Lotta Regatta Charleston Race Week chosen to host premier international race BY COLIN MCCANDLESS on the coast Sailboat teams racing in Charleston Harbor during Charleston Race Week at Patriots Point.
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