Charleston Race Week celebrated its 30th anniversary in style by welcoming 153 boats across 14 classes April 16-19. There was a regatta within a regatta this year as Charleston Race Week welcomed the ORC Sportboat North American Championship. Organizers expanded the regatta to four days for the inaugural event, which drew 18 boats in two classes. A distance race around Charleston Harbor on Thursday was followed by three days of short-course, windward-leeward competition. It was a stiff test for participating teams with skippers Joost-Olan Sheehan (Cape 31) and Mike Beasley (J/80) emerging as the first North American champs. Beasley’s Black Sheep was at a perceived disadvantage as the smallest, slowest entry in ORC B, but Beasley put together a top-notch team that sailed extremely well from the back end of the eight-boat fleet. Joe Gibson trimmed and called tactics for his longtime friend as the J/80 won the distance race as well as three of the windward-leeward starts in amassing 13 points — six clear of the GP 26 Rattle-N-Rum. “For what it’s worth, prior preparation prevents poor performance. We put a lot of time in beforehand just getting the boat ready and there are lots of people I need to thank,” Beasley said. “I’m just so proud of the whole team. We got better every day and just sailed consistently strong. When you have a team that is so committed to winning it means a lot. I think friendship builds speed.” Gibson and Beasley, longtime industry professionals from Annapolis, have now teamed up to secure class honors at Race Week five times. They’ve had previous success sailing a Farr 280 and the exact GP 26 that finished second this year. “We certainly know the lay of the land down here, and Joe Gibson is just an incredible machine. He’s so darn good at trimming sails and making the boat go fast,” Beasley said. Jacob Boertlein, Diane Bevington and Lydia Jabin completed the crew aboard Black Sheep, which placed second in three windward-leeward races with a low result of third. Beasley praised shore manager Kate Chaney for handling all the minute details that led to on-water success. Full results: https://www.yachtscoring.com/event_results_cumulative/50472