Charleston tops Southern Collegiate Offshore Regatta

Twenty-nine teams from across the country competed in the 2026 Southern Collegiate Offshore Regatta on February 14-15 in Charleston, South Carolina. Hosted by the Carolina Yacht Club, the event featured three divisions – 12 J/105s, 9 J/22s, 5 Class A sport boats and 6 Class B boats.

The first day brought 6–10 knots of breeze and a challenging tidal change that shifted mid-day from a 2-knot ebb to a building flood. The J/105, Class A, and B fleets completed five races, while the J/22s sailed four.

In the J/22 division, Michigan and Tennessee ended the day tied, with Chicago three points back. College of Charleston led the highly competitive J/105 fleet, with Harvard three points behind and Vermont and Cal Maritime tied for third.

In Class A, College of Charleston set the pace in a Melges 32, followed by Brown (Melges 32) and Rhode Island (Antrim 40). In Class B, the Red Hawks from Miami University in a Mumm 30 posted a strong day with a 1,1,1,3,2, followed by North Carolina State (J/36) in second and Michigan (J/120) in third.

With heavier wind and potential storms forecast for day two, PRO Mark DeGuire opted for a single long-distance race in 12-18 knots, sending the fleet on a demanding course around Charleston Harbor.

In Class A, Rhode Island won the race, but College of Charleston secured the overall regatta victory, with Brown second and Rhode Island third overall. In Class B, Miami finished third to maintain their lead, while Michigan moved up to second with a second-place finish and NC State finished third overall, 1 point behind.

The J/105 fleet saw exceptionally close racing, with Princeton winning the distance race, Harvard finishing second after an OCS start, and Cal Maritime third. C of C finished 4th, strong enough to win the overall J/105 fleet. In the J/22s, Charleston won the final race while Michigan claimed the overall J/22 title, followed by Tennessee and Charleston.

The overall SCOR Regatta Top Boat award went to the College of Charleston J/105 team for winning.

Full results and team rosters:
J/105: https://scores.collegesailing.org/s26/2026-south-collegiate-offshore/
PHRF A/Sport: https://scores.collegesailing.org/s26/2026-south-collegiate-offshore-phrf/
PHRF B: https://scores.collegesailing.org/s26/26-south-collegiate-offshore-phrf/
J/22: https://scores.collegesailing.org/s26/2026-south-collegiate-offshore-j22/

Photos: https://www.priscillaparker.com/SCOR-2026