Weisleder Takes Four Bullets on Day One of the Charleston Race Week 2022
April 29, 2022 - Charleston, SC, USA - by Bill Wagner - Race Day 1 of Charleston Race Week got off to a rousing start with ideal conditions delivering an action-packed opening day. Southeasterly winds ranging from 6 to 11 knots enabled organizers to complete four races for all of the inshore courses. Meanwhile, offshore race committee chairmen Bruce Bingman and Ray Redness were able to give all the pursuit classes relatively long races.
Melges 24 Class - “It was a typical Charleston type of day, and the racing was wonderful,” Melges 24 skipper Travis Weisleder said. “We had solid breeze, tricky current and competitive racing. It was definitely a fun time out there on the water.” Of course, Weisleder had every reason to be happy after winning all four races in Melges 24 Class.
The Richmond, Virginia resident is seeking his third straight Charleston Race Week win and is certainly off to a good start. Veteran professional Mark Mendelblatt is serving as Weisleder’s tactician aboard Lucky Dog, which has taken an early eight-point lead on. John Bowden, who has been racing with Weisleder for more than a decade, is trimming the headsails. “We were most concerned with playing the current and making sure we knew what that was doing today,” said Weisleder, adding that the Circle 2 course “tended to be skewed to the right.”
Top 10 after 4 races:
1. LUCKY DOG USA858 Travis Weisleder - 1-1-1-1 4 pts
2. SUNNYVALE CAN415 (COR) Fraser McMillan - 2-6-2-2 12 pts
3. ZENDA EXPRESS USA866 Harry Melges IV - 3-2-8-3 16 pts
4. GOLD DIGGER USA49 Jonathan Goldsberry - 6-4-4-4 18 pts
5. THE 300 USA839 Steve Boho - 7-3-3-10 23 pts
6. EX-KAHN USA575 (COR) Brent McKenzie - 5-9-5-6 25 pts
7. RAPSCALLLION USA446 William Morang - 4-5-6-11 26 pts
8. SURPRISE CAN629 Dan Berezin - 8-10-10-5 33 pts
9. CRAZY TRAIN USA155 (COR) Brigette Croke - 11-11-7-7 36 pts
10. HERMES USA610 Tony Stanley (COR) - 9-7-12-8 36 pts
For more information visit www.charlestonraceweek.com