DIYC sailors support an active racing schedule. Boats of 18 to 24 feet compete regularly, usually on Mondays, in windward/leeward races starting and finishing near the Marina. The fleet also offers longer “Morgan River” races on a course set down the river from the Marina to a turn near Village Creek and return, about eight miles in all.

In addition, the fleet sponsors two invitational races in the fall: The “Around Morgan Island” race and the “Dataw Cup”. Both races start in the Coosaw River and finish at the Marina, concluding with an award ceremony.  All these races are open to boats regardless of design and are scored using corrected times under the PHRF system.

Several members have recently purchased Pearson Ensigns, a 22-foot boat which has been popular for many years for both racing and day sailing. Growth in the Ensign fleet would present the opportunity to introduce one-design racing to Dataw. Such racing is more exciting than PHRF racing because the boats are evenly matched and tend to reach turning marks and the finish line at close to the same time.

A recent survey indicates that Dataw residents’ interest in sailing is much greater than the number of sailboats at the Marina. With the support of the Yacht Club, we are working on purchasing an Ensign for the use of qualified sailors and those who would like to learn to sail or race.