Geechee Sailing Club hosting 45th annual St. Patrick’s Regatta

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) – The St. Patrick’s Day spirit will still be flowing in the Coastal Empire this weekend with an annual boat race in honor of the holiday set to hit the Wilmington River Saturday.

The St. Patrick’s Regatta has a pretty rich history in this area and this year will be the 45th one that’s ever been held making it one of the longest standing races on the Georgia Coast.

The race this year will take place on the Wilmington River and in the Wassaw Sound, which is south of Little Tybee Island. This year, organizers of the race are expecting competitors to come in from all over the place even out of state.

There’s over 20 boats this year which isn’t the largest the Regatta has ever been.

However, Tim Grissett, who’s been with the Geechee Sailing Club since before the Regatta started, said it’s cool to see how it’s evolved.

“My fondest memory of it is getting it going. Because I was in on the start of it, and it just worked its way up. And now 45 years later, it’s still here,” said Grissette.

There are four types of races this weekend – the Spinnaker, the non-Spinnaker, a Rhodes-19, and an all boat race on Sunday.

Ther are some rules potential racers need to be aware of. The race is going to go by the latest Racing Rules from the U.S. Sailing Association.

It’s $75 per boat to race, and there’s a competitor’s meet Friday evening for anyone interested in participating.

The Geechee Sailing Club says that the St. Patrick’s Regatta is one of their most unique traditions especially given the small size of their club.

“We are the only group that puts it on every year. We’re a small club, but we put it on for all of the city and the nearby cities like Charleston,” said Linda Howard, the commador of the Geechee Sailing Club.

The races will take place Saturday and Sunday, kicking off at noon each day.

Saturday night, there will be a social at Molly Macguire’s where first, second, and third place winners will receive awards.

For more information on those races, click here.

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