There was a tremendous amount of racing activity across Charleston area waters for Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week on April 11-13. The 19th edition hosted racing for 16 separate classes. The growth of the event drew competitors from 27 states and five continents, from as far away as New Zealand, Scandinavia, Brazil, Guatemala, Australia and Peru. Many of these foreign sailors are among the sport’s top names, including 2013 College Sailor of the Year Juan Maegli of Guatemala (in the J/24 Class) and Peruvian Olympic Laser hopeful Stefano Peschiera (also in the J/24 Class). This pantheon of stars notwithstanding, the majority of the competitors racing in Charleston are folks whose faces wouldn’t catch notice on the pages of a sailing magazine, yet they’re definitely capable of scorching up the race course. The competition couldn’t have been any tighter in the 19-boat J/24 fleet. Fresh off his victory at the J/24 North American Championship last month in Mexico, Mike Ingham and team won on a tie-breaker. In 10 races, Ingham notched six bullets, including two in the final two races, to earn the victory ahead of Skip Dieball’s Rudie (also with 24 points). Ron Medlin Jr.’s Bash placed third with 37 points. For complete information, visit www.charlestonraceweek.com.