Melges 24 Charleston

1. Steve Kopf, ‘Blur’ USA 489, will be racing with former US Sailing Team member Michael Miller.
2. John Lucas, ‘Spray’ USA 450, and his partner Marc Durlach IV are expected to be racing with Jay Miles, an All American at the College of Charleston in 1994, as well as Nancy Lucas.
3. Ken King, ‘Guided Missile’ USA 292, is the newest member of the Charleston Melges 24 fleet.  He has been working really hard since December, learning a bunch and getting faster and faster.
4. Reggie Fairchild, ‘Wireless’ USA 626, the Co-Chair for the regatta and Charleston Fleet Captain will be racing with Ned Goss, a former member of the US Sailing Team in the 49er and a 5-time National Champ in the Fireball; David Dabney an All American at the College of Charleston in 1999; Anne Bowen, an Honorable Mention All American at the College of Charleston in 2005; and Tracy Plymann, who learned to sail about 5 years ago and has raced everything from J-35s to E Scows to Melges 24s.
5. Guy Mossman, ‘Riot Act’ USA 245 (not registered yet) - is also expected to take the field with a stellar crew.
6. Robbie Wilkins ‘Vamoose’ USA 725 — hails from Lexington, S.C. and often races E Scows with great results.

The confirmed field of competitors stands at 40 boats. Charleston has the potential to attract 50 to 60 boats.

In 2007, the class held it’s U.S. Nationals in Detroit, where 55 registered boats and 53 competed. Detroit was the largest Nationals ever.  Charleston and the the USMCA are hoping to break the attendance record.

Sign up today at M24Charleston.com.  The deadline for registration is September 4!

Compete against the best:

• Steve Kopf on ‘USA-489 Blur’ will be racing with past USA Sailing Team Member Michael Miller.
• Kristen Lane and husband Peter Lane will race their Melges 24s as the ‘Brick House Team’. Sailing the Nationals in Charleston is part of their campaign leading to the North American Championship in Annapolis in ‘08 and the Worlds in ‘09.
• Shawn Grisham usually has former America’s Cup Trimmer Kelly Gough at the helm of ‘USA-674 Bulls-Eye’.
• ‘USA-679 Gannet’ is helmed by owner Othmar Mueller Von Bluemencron - 2007 Corinthian Melges 24 World Champion.  Othmar is also a past Olympian.
• Argyle Campbell on ‘USA-630 Rock n’ Roll’ is 2004 Melges 24 North American Champion and one of four boats registered from California.
• Simon Strauss on ‘USA-757 Simplicity’ recently competed at the World Championship in Sardinia, Italy finishing 15th out of 114 competitors.  While in Italy Strauss employed the talents of Bill Hardesty. Hardesty-USA (1999, 2007) is one of three individuals in the world who can claim double World Champion success in the Melges 24. The other two are Federico Michetti-ITA ( 2000, 2008 ) and Vince Brun-USA (1998, 1999).
• Alan Field on ‘USA-587 WTF’ helms the boat while 2008 Etchell’s World Champions Erik Shampain and Steve Hunt make up the core of his team. They won the 2008 Detroit NOOD (26 entrants) and just recently, the 2008 Newport Regatta in July.
• Alexis Michas is a world-renown, successful former Farr 40 owner. This past April, he hopped aboard a Melges 24 for the first time at the Annapolis NOOD. He’s back for more in Charleston.

We’ve received a few questions about launching and berthing.  For example, one competitor asks,

During the Nationals, are competitors required to berth their boats at the marina of the host club or can you dock at another location and motor out to race course area?

Here’s our answer:
The Notice of Race is available at M24Charleston.com.  Section 15 covers launching and berthing.  Berthing will be provided at City Marina, but boats are not required to berth there.  See Section 15.4.  Your boat must be afloat by 2100 on THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 18.  See Section 15.3.

Let us know if you need anything else.

A friend of mine is working starting Waterkeepers of Charleston (a Proposed member of Waterkeeper Alliance).  Cyrus Buffum is in the midst of establishing a non-profit organization here in Charleston and is applying for the organization to be accepted into the Waterkeeper Alliance.  Below you will find his executive summary.  Cyrus’s email is listed at the end of this post if you’d like to contact him or offer support.

Charleston Waterkeeper

(Proposed member of Waterkeeper Alliance)

“Measurably improving the quality of Charleston’s waterways through hands-on community involvement, scientific monitoring, and legal action”

Take PRIDE, Take RESPONSIBILITY, Take ACTION

History of Waterkeeper Alliance:

In the 1960s amid mass fish killings throughout New York’s Hudson River, a number of commercial fishermen banded together to create the Hudson River Fishermen’s Association (HRFA), in order to protect the River’s natural resources from contamination and pollution. Using the Refuse Act of 1899, which outlawed pollution emissions on the nation’s waterways, the HRFA successfully won suit against power companies, polluters, and anyone who brought harm to the River and its natural resources.

After nearly 20 years of acting as the voice for the Hudson and its people, the HRFA hired the first “Riverkeeper,” responsible for patrolling and advocating for all matters of public interest on the river. From this appointment, a separate organization based around the Riverkeeper position was born. In 1986 the HRFA and Riverkeeper merged, “to track down and prosecute every polluter on the river; to protect its biological integrity and return the Hudson to the public.”

The establishment of Riverkeeper on the Hudson spawned a national environmental movement aimed at protecting our country’s waterways. Throughout the late 1980s Waterkeeper programs began to appear all over the nation: Long Island Soundkeeper, San Francisco Baykeeper, Delaware Riverkeeper, etc. Each program modeled its mission and its goals after Riverkeeper. Finally, in 1992 the National Alliance of River, Sound, and Baykeepers was formed to protect and preserve the name and integrity of all established and future Waterkeeper programs. In 1999 after an explosion of Waterkeeper programs all across the world, the National Alliance of River, Sound, and Baykeepers evolved into the Waterkeeper Alliance. Today the Alliance includes over 180 programs internationally.

Proposed Charleston Waterkeeper:

Cyrus Buffum has submitted an application to Waterkeeper Alliance proposing for the establishment of a Charleston Waterkeeper program, devoted to improving and protecting the quality of Charleston’s waterways. Through hands-on community involvement, scientific monitoring, and legal action, Charleston Waterkeeper proposes to influence progressive change toward improving Charleston’s water quality and protecting it from pollution.

Upon pending approval from the Waterkeeper Alliance Board of Directors, Charleston Waterkeeper, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, will be one of the newest members of the Alliance. South Carolina is already home of one other Waterkeeper program, the Waccamaw Riverkeeper in Conway, while North Carolina has 12 established Waterkeeper programs spread throughout the state. Together, all of the Waterkeeper programs within the Carolinas hope to preserve a high quality of life for all Carolinians by improving and protecting the quality of our waterways. The establishment of Charleston Waterkeeper is essential in providing protection and improvement throughout this entire region.

Just as Riverkeeper promised to return the Hudson to the public, Charleston Waterkeeper will strive to encourage Charleston’s citizens to take pride, ownership and responsibility over the waterways. By upholding a strong visual presence on the water and around the community Charleston Waterkeeper hopes to become the voice of the people.

Charleston Waterkeeper intends on succeeding in improving Charleston’s waterways through the following objectives:

• Maintain constant communication with government officials and policy makers regarding all matters concerning water quality
• Update the community on issues regarding the quality of its waterways (via website, newsletter, email, signage, postings, etc.)
• Establish a citizen’s hotline number allowing members of the community to call to report pollution incidents or concerns
• Maintain a patrol boat that will be used in monitoring the waterways and taking monthly water quality samples
• Partner with other organizations in efforts to improve our waterways and to shed light on issues regarding conservation, preservation and education of our natural resources
• Work with all stakeholders invested in our waterways (i.e. fishing, tourism, shipping, development, etc.) to devise responsible and environmentally conscious means of supporting economic growth within the Charleston area
• Track down and file suit against any polluter responsible for violating the Clean Water Act of 1972
• Encourage all members of our community regardless of socioeconomic background, race, creed, etc. to actively become involved with the quality of our waterways
• Build a diverse and devoted membership that accurately represents the citizens of Charleston
• Participate in community activities associated with our waterways
• Monitor polluter permits and attend all permit hearings concerning water quality

Already, there has been an overwhelming level of support for the proposed Charleston Waterkeeper program. Through your support and cooperation, Charleston Waterkeeper will help to give future Charlestonians cleaner water to enjoy and live on, in, and around for years to come.

This is the executive summary of the Charleston Waterkeeper proposal as received by the Waterkeeper Alliance Board of Directors, August, 2008.  If there are any questions or comments regarding this endeavor, please feel free to contact Cyrus Buffum at cabuffum@gmail.com or by phone at 843.810.9785

As of August 11, 2008, 39 teams are set to compete in the Melges 24 Nationals in Charleston Harbor.  Between 50 and 60 boats are expected before the event starts.

Register today so you don’t accidentally miss the September 4 registration deadline.  See M24Charleston.com for the Notice of Race (NOR) and online registration.

The Nationals are attracting a great group of competitors.  Thirty six boats registered before the early registration deadline.  More than 50 boats are expected overall.

If you’re interested in crewing on a Melges 24 for the Nationals in Charleston September 18-21, sign up at M24Charleston.com under the Docs tab.

Charleston Architectural Glass joined a growing list of top quality sponsors for the Melges 24 Nationals.  Justin Walling and his team at Charleston Architectural Glass create truly impressive stuff.  See their portfolio online.

The firm will be creating custom trophies for the event.  Justin promises “These will be really cool trophies-fear not!”

July 31 is the last day for the early entry deadline.  Thirty three boats have entered!  Pretty good for an event that’s 2 months out.  It’s going to be a great time.  Register today!

Check out the impressive list of entries.  Join the fun and competition by registering at M24Charleston.com.

When you register, please make sure to complaint payment at PayPal.com (the registration process will take you there).   Several boats have had to return to the registration process because they didn’t pay initially.