Caution in Face of Pending Storm

Held annually since 1959, the 2017 E-Scow National Championship on September 8 to 10 was to be hosted by Carolina Yacht Club in Charleston, SC. But with Hurricane Irma to possibly impact the region, the 58 entrants have been informed the competition for the 28-foot scow has now been postponed indefinitely.

“The people of Charleston have already begun to pull their boats from the water, stock up on survival supplies, and protect their property,” reports the E-Scow class office. “It takes a number of days to do these things when everyone is at it at the same time. There are lines and waiting involved in getting done what needs to be done before a storm of the potential strength of Irma arrives. This is not something people can wait and do a day to two before.

“The Carolina YC leadership says we should not hold the event as scheduled and the NCESA leadership is in complete agreement having listened to their concerns.

“Evacuation from a hurricane location adds another level of concern as the highways before the arrival of the storm become very congested very early. People will be heading north from Florida and Georgia already before the Charleston people begin their evacuation, if that is called for. This decision makes no one happy but we must understand that it is what has to be done.”

The class is considering dates in spring 2018 to host the 2017 Nationals.

(September 5, 2017) – Category 5 Hurricane Irma has become one of the strongest storms recorded in the Atlantic, and is threatening to slam into Caribbean islands including Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands with “potentially catastrophic” force tomorrow, with the likelihood of Florida by the weekend. Full report.

(September 6, 2017) – It is now confirmed the Carolina Yacht Club will host the 2017 E-Scow National Championship on April 27-29, 2018.