Worrell 1000 --
Catsailor's Beach Hot Line by Mary
(Note: The most recent news postings are on the top, toggle down for previous posts)

SUNDAY, MAY 19, 2002 - VIRGINIA BEACH, VA

Rick will have stories and pictures posted on our Main Worrell 1000 Page before noon.

SATURDAY, MAY 18, 2002 - KILL DEVIL HILLS, NC TO VIRGINIA BEACH, VA, 60 MILES

I tried to call Rick at 10 p.m. on his cell phone, and he didn't answer. Then he called back and informed me that my ringing had interrupted the wedding ceremony going on. Mark Herendeen (Team Fully Involved) apparently had time to take a shower and change his clothes and get married, considerably later than scheduled because of his late arrival at the beach. His betrothed, Lisa Dutcher, was very tolerant about this rather unorthodox situation. They were supposed to get married on the beach after the race, but they ended up tying the knot during the awards festivities at the Holiday Inn. Rick says it was a beautiful ceremony, with all the parents and family there and the attendants wearing Hawaiian leis, which obviously is very appropriate decoration for a wedding in Virginia.

Another post-regatta note is that Rick talked to Gerhard Loos of Team Rudee's Restaurant and Gerhard says that contrary to earlier reports, their boat did not disintegrate. They came to shore because they had a broken rudder. They were fortunate enough to come ashore at a private residence where the people wined and dined them and fed them lobster, and they just didn't want to leave.

I guess we will have to wait a day or two before we hear all the stories of what the various teams went through on this last leg. Sounds like it might be a book.

8:30 p.m.
Ah! At last! Caliente has been marked as DNF, meaning they must have reported in. I can finally relax and consider the 2002 Worrell 1000 officially over.

And this means five boats did not finish the last leg for one reason or another - boat damage or people damage. In the prior 12 legs of the race, only one team had dropped out - Bay Wind I - because of team injuries.

8:05 p.m.
PI Sailing just signed off for the night and are headed to the awards party. Caliente is still out and nobody has heard from them. Am I missing something here? How can you have an awards party when a boat is missing? I'm sure people are still on the beach waiting, but......on the other hand, both Tommy Gonzalez and Mark Murray listed their professions as "Professional Sailor." So I guess that means they know how to take care of themselves on the sea.

As Rick pointed out, the wind is not offshore, so if they are on the water, they are not going to be blown out to sea, which would be the worst-case scenario.

8:00 p.m.
All the boats are now in or accounted for except Caliente.

7:00 p.m.
Outer Banks definitely coming in next.

6:50 p.m.
Antieau Art was erroneously listed on the Worrell site as DNF, and he just got in. But that still leaves those other four boats out. Outer Banks apparently is on the horizon, because they can see the red hulls. So now we are waiting for Fully Involved, Cat Fever and Caliente.

6:33 p.m.
Three boats are now on the horizon. This is very good news. We will keep you posted. And, we have now learned that Athletes in Action dropped out earlier because one of the crew was suffering from hypothermia.

6:28 p.m.
Two boats are on the horizon. We'll let you know who they are as soon as we know. I am as worried as some of the rest of you about the boats that have not yet reported in or finished.

6:15 p.m.
The results are back up again on the Worrell site. The same four boats are still missing in action.

6:10 p.m.
Athletes in Action are now on the DNF list, which is good, because it means they are accounted for. Still out are Fully Involved, Cat Fever, Caliente and Outer Banks.
Uh-oh, they just took all the current race results off the Official worrell site. So now I don't know when more boats are accounted for.

5:50 p.m.
So far Rudee's, Bay Wind II, Antieau Art and Howard's Pub are all listed as DNF, so apparently they are out of the race. Still not finished and not accounted for are Fully Involved, Athletes in Action, Cat fever, Caliente and Outer Banks.

POST-RACE NOTES: (and some formerly pre-race notes)
Michael Worrell has graciously offered to allow Catamaran Sailor Magazine to present the Carlton Tucker Perpetual Trophy during the Worrell 1000 Finish and Awards Party scheduled for 8:00 p.m. at the Holiday Inn. The magazine donated this trophy the year following Carlton's untimely death. It has plaques for all the race winners since the race's beginning back in the '70's. See more about this and picture of the trophy on our Main Worrell 1000 Page. This trophy is kept on display at Carlton Tucker's home port, Fort Walton Beach Yacht Club, but has been transported to the finish line so it can be formally presented to this year's race winner. The trophy is not presented under the auspices of the Worrell 1000 or its organizer -- it is a separate award that is a way of keeping alive not only the memory of Carlton Tucker, but also of all the past winners of this great race. Thank you, Michael Worrell, for allowing this trophy to be included at the Awards Party. And thank you for keeping the race itself alive.

And don't forget, the wedding between Mark Herendeen (Fully Involved) and Lisa Dutcher is scheduled for 6 p.m. following the finish. Instead of "get me to the church on time," for Mark the song goes, "get me to the finish on time."

As we mentioned yesterday, all the boats that finished this leg to Virginia Beach in less than 17 hours break the overall race record.

The earlier report funneled through the PI sailing site that Tommy Bahama had gone to the beach during the storms was incorrect. They did not go to the beach.

But where is Fully Involved? It is 5:40 p.m. and Mark Herendeen has to be at his wedding at 6:00 p.m. Some of us were laughing about the possibility of him getting married in his drysuit, but now that is looking like a distinct possibility.

5:15 p.m.
Castrol just finished at about 5:12, so it looks to me like Castrol is 3rd overall and Tommy Bahama is 4th. I have to get out my calculator.

5:10 p.m.
According to the PI sailing site, Castrol is coming next, followed by PI sailing.
Ah, thank goodness they have finally started putting the official results on the Official Worrell 1000 Page. I thought maybe they weren't going to do it since it is the last day. It's ridiculous for the rest of us to try to keep track of all the boats finishing when there are people who are doing it and posting it officially.

5:00
Lexis Nexis looks like they will be 6th, and there are two more boats on the way.

4:55 p.m.
Tommy Bahama needed to make up 42+ minutes on Castrol to take 3rd overall for the event. Castrol has not yet finished, so don't know yet how that is going to turn out.

4:45 p.m.
Tommy Bahama has just finished in 4th place, and San Antonio will be finishing very soon.

The big question is, Where is Fully Involved? It's going on 5:00 and Mark Herendeen has to be at Virginia Beach for a wedding at 6:00 p.m.

According to the beach reports, most of the boats went to shore at various points to sit out the big storms that rolled through with the cold front today.

Notice from the PI sailing site:
Rudee's on the Bay has, in the words of a race official, "suffered a complete disintegration"... I would imagine that repairs and a late finish may be out of the question from the sound of the damage involved. No word of injuries.

4:19 p.m.
Alexander's is going to be the overall winner of the event for the second year in a row. Tybee did not make it within the 20+ minutes. So after 1,000 miles, Alexander's has beaten Tybee by 2 minutes 19 seconds. Sad for Tybee, which was leading the race by 1 second over Castrol going into this leg.

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4:10 p.m.
Dimension almost didn't beat out Alexander's, because Dimension's daggerboards stuck in the sand at the finish and they struggled like mad to get them pulled up. Lee Queensberry was standing there with his stopwatch waiting for them to make the few extra inches to get across the line, and they finally made it, about 30 seconds before Alexander's. Tybee is still a ways out. Still don't know who is going to win this race, after 1,000 miles!

The winner of this final leg is Dimension Data (Allan Lawrence and John Van der Vyer). What a way for them to end this two-week saga. Their best prior finish was a 3rd in the ninth leg from Myrtle Beach to Wrightsville Beach. They were in 13th place going into this final leg. They had also had two 5th places during the last half of the race, so they were moving up. Unfortunately, the end of the race came before they could get dialed in and more consistent in their finishes.

Alexander's came in without a jib.

3:45 p.m.
It's Dimension Data, Alexander's and Tybee coming in to the final finish line. They should be finishing within 15 minutes.

3:40 p.m.
Carl Roberts of Antieau Art has a broken rudder and has come ashore somewhere that is going to require the ground crew to do a long, roundabout to get to him, so he will be in late. Wind is now about 15-20, so he shouldn't have a problem finishing if he gets the rudder.

3:35 p.m.
And now I hear from Rick that it does look like Alexander's definitely in first place (black hull boat), and Dimension Data right there with Alexander's. And a third boat looks like it could be Tybee. If it is Tybee and if they finish more than 20 minutes and 37 seconds behind Alexander's, Alexander's will win the race overall.
It will still be a while before they get here. This is a tough upwind beat in nnw winds blowing right down the beach,

3:30 p.m.
Well, now we hear from the Tommy Bahama site that someone had gone to the 10th floor, upflooring Rick, and has seen two boats that they claim are definitely Alexander's and Dimension Data. Aren't there more floors?

3:28 p.m.
Finally, there actually are three boats on the horizon. It looks like Alexander's and Tommy Bahama and unidentified third boat. The wind has been reporting at about 27 knots out of the NNW, right down the beach, making for a solid beat. Rick says they are probably about 8 miles out, so it will still be a while before they get here, making forward progresss toward the beach of about 6 knots.

3:00 p.m.
Just to confirm. Rick is on the 7th floor of the Holiday Inn, and there are no boats in sight. The guy on the balcony next to him has binoculars and can't see anything, either. So disregard reports from other websites. There also was a report on another site that the wind is now out of the east, and Rick says, no way is it out of the east. It is still out of the north.

2:40 p.m.
Must have been a hoax. Rick ran up to the 7th floor of the Holiday Inn and can't see anything in sight (and he is farsighted). So, again I say, say what? Seems pretty impossible that anybody would be here that early.

2:38 p.m.
Tommy Bahama site is reporting that three boats are in sight from the finish line and that Alexander's is fighting it out with Dimension Data. Say what? We'll keep you updated. Rick is running down to the finish line.

2:20 p.m.
At 2:13, Tommy Bahama's live tracking had them averaging 6 knots and 15 n. miles from the finish. Tommy's website estimates this puts them in between 4:30 & 5:00 PM. They are beating upwind in 28 knots of wind from the NNW - dead on the nose.

2:15 p.m.
As of 2:00 p.m., Tommy Bahama's tracking reported them 18 miles south of the finish, but if I read this correctly, their progress toward the goal is about 6 knots. Remember, they are beating into strong wind and big waves.
Will Mark get there in time for his wedding?

2:00 p.m.
Antieau Art (Carl Roberts and David Lennard) flipped and broke something and came ashore. One of them is freezing and needs dry clothes or more clothes or something and also a trap harness is broken. So the ground crew is on the way if they can find them - they only have the GPS coordinates.

1:45 p.m.
PI Sailing reports that Howard's Pub and Bay Wind II also came ashore under circumstances similar to those below.

1:40 p.m.
Steve Piche of PI sailing reported to his website at about 1:00 p.m. that:
Cat Fever, Tommy B. and PI Sailing were pulled up on a beach weathering a storm. No damage. Tommy B. and Cat Fever left, PI stayed behind after a Park Ranger told them there was a "big storm" coming.

1:20 p.m.
It looks like this is when the big switch occurred, as far as the Duck Pier station: At 12:30 p.m. the wind was WSW at 19 knots, and by 12:40 p.m. it was NNW at 29 knots

1:14 p.m.
FINALLY, the weather stations up there have woken up. The one offshore from Virginia Beach is now reporting, as of 1:00 a.m., 25 knots out of the NW gusting to 29 knots. And the one at Duck Pier, NC has just switched over, as of 1:00 a.m. report, to NNW at 31 knots gusting to 34.

1:05 p.m.
Mike Worrell is now predicting a finish time between 3 and 4 p.m., because the wind is on the nose, strong wind and up to 7-foot seas. It is not going to be a fast beat.
Maybe Mark Herendeen will be having to get married in his drysuit after all.
Still no word on whether the storms have yet hit the fleet and what happened.

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12:45 p.m.
Rick is in Virginia Beach now at the finish area and he says the wind is out of the north at around 30 with pretty good gusts, and it is pouring down rain.

12:15 p.m.
The waiting for reports is so painful. We know they have to be experiencing this severe weather out there on the water, and no way yet to know what is happening. We will keep surfing for reports and let you know as soon as we know anything.

11:50 a.m.
Rick just called again. The motorhome just got hit by a gust of at least 50 mph, and almost blew it over.

11:48 a.m.
Rick is on rt. 168 about 10 miles north of Coinjock, which should be almost parallel with where the sailors are by now. He is driving into a big, black thunderstorm, and the wind is shifting to the north as we are talking on the phone. He said the wind has been about 40 all the way there, pushing him around a lot on the road, and this storm looks really nasty.

11:40 a.m.
According to a report a little after 11 a.m. from PI Sailing, Howard's Pub had to come ashore with a torn mainsail and also to replace a crew. Doug Kirby left the boat because of a minor injury. They reportedly are back on the water again. The same PI report also said Bay Wind II had come ashore and is now back on the course.

It is a good thing they were not rounding Cape Hatteras today instead of yesterday, because the winds there right now are 37 gusting to 42.

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11:18 a.m.
Okay, at 10:56 a.m. a report was updated for the Virginia Beach area with northwest winds of 31 mph gusting to 39.

11:15 a.m.
Now have the 11 a.m. report from a weather station on land right by Virginia Beach. It's still out of the southwest. What happened to the front? Where is it?

11:10 a.m.
The 10 a.m. reportings from weather buoys showed the wind already out of the northwest at the upper end of Chesapeake Bay but still out of the southwest at the south end of Chesapeake Bay. We'll see soon what the 11 a.m. reports show. The front is making its way southeast, according to earlier reports, accompanied by heavy thunderstorms.

Start story and photos are now on our Main Worrell 1000 Page, and Rick is heading to the finish line at Virginia Beach.

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10:08 a.m.
The start is off. All the top boats got off with no problem. Caliente started a little late and one of the sailors fell off the back of the boat and it capsized. They are up and running again now. All the boats are reaching up the shoreline, no spinnakers. Trying to stay close to shore because seas are very big a little farther out. Bay Wind was still on the beach because Craig Callahan is dropping out and will be replaced by John Schlossburg. Craig injured a knee and shoulder a couple legs back. Apparently, he has an infection now in his knee, and he can barely walk. He decided at the last minute not to take a chance on going today. They are making the crew switchover and will be off the beach soon.

Start is at 10:00 a.m., and Mike Worrell's prediction for ETA at Virginia Beach is 2-3 p.m.

The National Weather Service has issued a
* special marine warning for... Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA Chesapeake Bay from Windmill Point to New Point Comfort VA Chesapeake Bay from New Point Comfort to Cape Henry VA
* until 1045 am EDT
* at 916 am EDT...National Weather Service Doppler radar indicated a line of thunderstorms from 24 miles north of Windmill Point to 59 miles west of Portsmouth...moving southeast at 20 mph.
Mariners can expect wind gusts up to 50 kt...increased seas...deadly lightning and heavy rain. Boaters should seek Safe Harbor immediately until this storm passes.

The general weather report is a little farther down on this page.

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PRE-RACE NOTES:
Michael Worrell has graciously decided to allow Catamaran Sailor Magazine to present the Carlton Tucker Perpetual Trophy during the Worrell 1000 Finish and Awards Party scheduled for 8:00 p.m. at the Holiday Inn. The magazine donated this trophy the year following Carlton's untimely death. It has plaques for all the race winners since the race's beginning back in the '70's. See more about this and picture of the trophy on our Main Worrell 1000 Page. This trophy is kept on display at Carlton Tucker's home port, Fort Walton Beach Yacht Club, but has been transported to the finish line so it can be formally presented to this year's race winner. The trophy is not presented under the auspices of the Worrell 1000 or its organizer -- it is a separate award that is a way of keeping alive not only the memory of Carlton Tucker, but also of all the past winners of this great race. Thank you, Michael Worrell, for allowing this trophy to be included at the Awards Party.

And don't forget, the wedding between Mark Herendeen (Athletes in Action) and Lisa Dutcher is scheduled for 6 p.m. following the finish. Instead of "get me to the church on time," for Mark the song goes, "get me to the finish on time."

As we mentioned yesterday, it looks very possible that all the boats will break the overall time record for the race if they can finish the 60-mile leg to Virginia Beach in less than 17 hours.

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Today's weather report:
This is very interesting, and the report is very complicated, because from Currituck Beach south they are forecasting SW winds of 20-25 knots today becoming NE 20 knots this afternoon. But from Currituck Beach north they are forecasting N winds of 20 knots today, decreasing to NE 15 knots late this evening.
However, both of the weather stations up in the Virginia Beach area are currently reporting winds out of the SSW averaging about 22 knots.

Another report for today says winds NNW 20-30 mph and gusty.

And, finally, we have this report which seems to cover it all.
S TO SW WINDS 20 TO 30 KT
EXCEPT NE 15 TO 25 KT OVER FAR N PORTION EARLY. WINDS THEN BECOMING N TO NW 20 TO 25 KT DURING THE AFTERNOON. SEAS 6 TO 10 FT SUBSIDING TO 5 TO 8 FT
HIGHEST NEAR 1000 FMS. RAIN FOG
AND SCATTERED TSTMS ENDING EARLY.

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FRIDAY, MAY 17, 2002 - HATTERAS, NC TO KILL DEVIL HILLS, NC, 65.1 MILES

Late Afternoon Items:
News Flash -- It looks very possible that all the boats will break the overall time record for the race if they can finish tomorrow's 60-mile leg in less than 17 hours. It is supposed to be an upwind leg tomorrow. Tomorrow's forecast is for 15-20 knots out of the north.
* * * * *
Obviously, the rumor was right about Sports Illustrated planning an article about the Worrell 1000. Photographer John Healey was taking pictures at Cape Hatteras on assignment from Sports Illustrated, according to the PI Sailing site.
I missed a clue back at the beginning of the race when W.F. Oliver told me that rumor. He knew about it because a reporter from Sports Illustrated had called him to ask him questions about the race. I wondered at the time why they were asking him questions, since he did not have any connection with the race. Well, now we know.

An addition to the Sports Illustrated item: The SI writer at the scene says that originally the magazine was planning a 6-8-page spread about the race, but now it has been cut back to just a mention.
* * * * *
When Caliente broke their mast 41 miles south of the finish line, they were drifting helplessly out to sea in the offshore wind. Athletes in Action threw them a line and towed them to shore. Reportedly, Caliente is replacing the mast and will be finishing eventually.
* * * * *
Fully Involved/Space Coast reports flipping seven times on this leg. Mark Herendeen was looking a little ragged at the finish. Maybe the finish of the Worrell 1000 is not a good time to get married, Mark.
'* * * * *
Team San Antonio wants you to know that their web site, www.teamsa.com, has its video list fairly complete now with interviews and finish information about their own team and others.

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2:45 p.m.
San Antonio has finished 10th and Outer Banks 11th. PI Sailing was reporting that Howard's Pub had finished, but I don't see it on the Official Results yet.

Note from the Official Worrell 1000 Website:
Kill Devil Hills, NC. - Leg 12 - Team Caliente broke their mast just off of Cape Hatteras. They were 41 miles from the checkpoint at 2:00 PM, and will be proceeding to the finish line under a jury-rig. Their ETA is 6:00 - 7:00 PM.

2:12 p.m.
PI Sailing and Rudee's Restaurant are in, about 8 seconds apart. Sounds like there were a lot of match races going on out there.

2:10 p.m.
Tommy Bahama and Lexis Nexis are in, about a minute and a half apart.

2:05 p.m.
Today's finish puts Tybee Island in first place over Castrol by 1 second. Can you believe that!? How much closer can racing get?

2:00 p.m.
My reporter was wrong - Antieau Art got in there between Tybee Island and Castrol. Dimension Data has finished 5th. That's all on the scoresheet right now.

1:55 p.m.
Alexander's finished first, followed by Tybee Island - significant gap between those first two. Castrol was 3rd, very close behind Tybee (as Steve Lohmayer said yesterday, those two teams are practically match-racing now for the overall).
Also reported is that Caliente lost their mast maybe 10 miles before the finish, and their ground crew is currently on the way to help them.

1:25 p.m.
Boats should be in within maybe 20 minutes or so. A secondhand report on the PI Sailing site from Howard's Pub ground crew spotted them at Oregon Inlet, with Alexander's in the lead and Tommy Bahama in second place.

11:00 a.m.
Five to eight capsizes at the Cape. Outer Banks and Cat Fever both went to beach after Cape to work on their boats. Cat Fever is back out and Outer Banks still on beach on far side of Cape where water is a little smoother. Alexander's first around, and Tybee about 4th. Castrol came closest to shore in the deeper water and moved way up. Lot went through the shallow water farther out and had problems.

Rick is on his way back to the starting line, where he will stay there for a while and post a story and photos and videos from this morning's start. So check back in a while to our Main Worrell 1000 Page to see the exciting action at the Cape rounding.

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10:20 a.m.
Report from the jeep: Exciting start but no casualties. Outer Banks still on the beach when the ground people left. Don't know what happened to him. Still on way to Cape. Rick and Tim are trapezing off the side of the jeep to keep it steady.

Latest wind report from the Diamond Shoals Light has the wind dropping back a few knots to 22. That's good.

10:05 a.m.
Well, I guess there must not have been any major mishaps at the start. Nobody called me, because they immediately jumped in the jeep to get to the cape. Rick will try to call me while en route. If I don't get a call, it's because cell phone service is almost nil out there. The few times Rick and I have been able to make contact, his connection sounds like an unprotected microphone in a high wind.

I forgot to mention that the surf is really big today at the start area.

10:00 a.m.
The catsailor.com crew, along with most of the ground crews, leave right after the start to try to get to the tip of Cape Hatteras before the boats do. It takes about 20 minutes by ground vehicle, and it is going to be hard to beat the boats there today. Rick says the wind is really honkin' at the start area. The boats probably will not try to put up spinnakers until after they are launched and on their way.

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9:30 a.m.
Despite the overall forecast for the area that it is going to be 15-20 this morning building to 20-25 this afternoon, the reports from the Diamond Shoals Light off Cape Hatteras (see below) has had the wind building slightly all morning, from 23 knots earlier to 25 knots now. Out of the southwest, it should be directly paralleling the coast, giving the boats a straight downwind course toward Cape Hatteras. The boats get to the Cape very soon after the start, so the ground crews and media usually hop in beach buggies and jeeps operated by locals and buzz out to the tip of the cape to watch the rounding, because the boats round it VERY close to shore, in a narrow area between the shoals and the beach.

WIND REPORT FROM THE DIAMOND SHOALS LIGHT, RIGHT OFF THE TIP OF CAPE HATTERAS: (This is the most current available before the 10:00 a.m. start.)

Conditions at DSLN7 as of
(9:00 am EDT)
1300 GMT on 05/17/2002: Wind Direction (WDIR): SW ( 220 deg )
Wind Speed (WSPD): 25 kts
Wind Gust (GST): 27 kts
Atmospheric Pressure (PRES): 30.12 in
Pressure Tendency (PTDY): +0.01 in ( Steady )
Air Temperature (ATMP): 74.3 °F
Dew Point (DEWP): 59.0 °F
Continuous Winds
TIME(EDT) WDIR WSPD
8:10 am SW ( 225 deg ) 24 kts
8:20 am SW ( 222 deg ) 23 kts
8:30 am SW ( 224 deg ) 24 kts
8:40 am SW ( 225 deg ) 24 kts
8:50 am SW ( 220 deg ) 24 kts
9:00 am SW ( 224 deg ) 24 kts

WEATHER SYNOPSIS:
S Of Cape Hatteras To Ocracoke Inlet Nc Out 20nm
Including The Monitor National Marine Sanctuary-
S Of Ocracoke Inlet To Cape Lookout Nc Out 20nm-
S Of Cape Lookout To N Of Surf City Nc Out 20nm-
Small Craft Advisory
Today
SW winds 15 to 20 kt increasing to 20 to 25 kt this afternoon. Seas 4 feet...building to 5 to 6 feet. Seas near shore 2 feet early...building to 3 to 4 feet.
Tonight
SW winds 25 kt. Seas 6 feet building to 7 feet. Scattered showers and tstms after midnight.
Sat
SW winds 25 kt early becoming N 20 kt in the afternoon. Seas 6 to 7 feet. Scattered showers and tstms.

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THURSDAY, MAY 16, 2002 - ATLANTIC BEACH, NC TO HATTERAS, NC, 81.3 MILES

5:30 p.m.
Rick posted a story and photos on our Main Worrell 1000 Page a while back, but videos are coming soon. Keep checking the page. Thank goodness for that satellite dish, because normally it is hard to get any information out from Hatteras at all, much less photos and videos. I can't even reach either Rick or Tim on their cell phones. That is really a dead zone out there.

5:25 p.m.
Tommy Bahama ripped their spinnaker at the start of the race and sailed with it that way and won the race. Somebody had better get a picture of that spinnaker - maybe it is a better design.

4:20 p.m.
Half the fleet is in. Caliente was 4th, followed, in order, by Bay Wind II, PI sailing, Alexander's, Castrol, and LexisNexis.

4:12 p.m.
Wild and crazy finishes. One boat, we think PI Sailing, T-boned another boat at the finish gate, because the other boat had not moved out of the way in time. Another boat pitchpoled on the beach. Sorry, we don't have all the names - the crew has been too busy on the back side of lenses getting still and video pictures.
Castrol came in behind Tybee so looks like it is almost a dead head for the overall lead in the race.

4:03 p.m.
Three boats are in -- Tommy Bahama, San Antonio, Tybee, all within about a minute. More boats coming within three or four minutes.

3:40 p.m.
A bunch of boats are on the horizon. Wind is blowing about 15-18, parallel to the beach. The boats are tacking downwind. Should be here within 15 minutes.

2:35 p.m.
Current information is posted at our Main Worrell 1000 Page, along with videos from yesterday's finish. (There is an error in the cutlines for the videos - they say "start" rather than "finish.")

11:00 a.m.
I just checked Tommy Bahama's site, and they had this report:
Tommy B decided to put up their chute just before the start. The halyard fouled by wrapping around a main batten. In the effort to clear the chute, it ripped near the luff. They went ahead and launched about 8-10 seconds late & are sailing with a torn chute. They only got rolled by one boat & came off in fourth.

10:08 a.m.
Good start. Everybody used spinnakers right off the beach. Caliente, taking advantage of having the pole position for the first time, took the early lead, followed closely by Lexis Nexis. Not a lot of wind, out of west-southwest, but the boats are moving well. All the ground crews are jumping into their cars and heading for the ferry. If they don't make the early ferry, they don't get to the beach before their boats.
See ya later.

9:50 a.m.
Tim called and says very low surf, a little breeze out of the west-southwest. None of the boats seem to be prepping for a spinnaker start.

9:43 a.m.
I'm not having any advance information here for you about the start in Atlantic Beach, because Rick is already up at Hatteras. Tim Johnson, our video guy, is supposed to call me right after the start and let me know what happened - but, obviously, he cannot call me while he is taking video, so there will be a slight delay.

Today's start is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. This is the 11th leg of the race. Only two more to go after this one. The most potentially dangerous and spectacular leg is usually the one from Hatteras to Kill Devil Hills, which they will be doing tomorrow. That is the one that involves the rounding of Cape Hatteras itself, with its colliding currents and "piss-up" waves and dangerous shoals. And tomorrow's weather forecast is calling for heavy air, 20-25. The question is whether the stronger winds will be there in the morning or kick in later, after the cape rounding.

Today's weather report:
S Of Cape Hatteras To Ocracoke Inlet Nc Out 20nm
Including The Monitor National Marine Sanctuary-
S Of Ocracoke Inlet To Cape Lookout Nc Out 20nm-
S Of Cape Lookout To N Of Surf City Nc Out 20nm-
Small Craft Advisory conditions expected Fri
Today
SW wind 10 kt increasing to 15 kt. Seas 2 feet building to 3 feet late. Seas near shore 1 foot.
Tonight
SW wind 15 to 20 kt. Seas 3 feet building to 4 feet. Seas near shore 2 feet.
Fri
SW wind 20 to 25 kt. Seas 4 to 5 feet building to 6 feet late. Seas near shore 3 feet early building to 4 feet late.

Current Winds from buoys in the area:
As of 9 a.m. the Cape Lookout weather buoy down near the starting area was reporting 7 knots of wind out of the SW and Diamond Shoals Light weather station up at the tip of Cape Hatteras near the finish area was reporting 12 knot wind out of the SW.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 15, 2002, WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH, NC TO ATLANTIC BEACH, NC, 67.1 MIL

Is weight a factor -- or is it a myth?

I don't know for sure whether this was the lightest-air leg of the race, but it was definitely a drifter for a while, and I do know that the winner of the race was the lightest-weight team, Caliente, with Tommy Gonzalez and Mark Murray weighing in at a combined 326 lbs. This was their best finish of the event. Like several other teams, their finishes have been all over the map. They have had a 4, 11, 6, 8, 8, 16, 12, 4, 12. And NOW a 1st place finish.
Weight is not necessarily a determining factor here, because the second lightest team, Athletes in Action, at 329 lbs, finished 12th. But a lot of boats were finishing right together, and we don't know how much time Athletes lost when they capsized coming in to the finish and how many positions they lost as a result.
Totally belying the light air, light weight theory is the fact that one of the heaviest teams, Outer Banks, with John McLaughlin and Rick Parsley at 386 pounds, finished 4th, and it was by far their best finish of the regatta. Their best prior finish was a 14th place.
The weight factor is always interesting.

7:30 p.m.
Well, I don't know what happened to my posting. Rick must have been messing with my page again. As I said earlier, Rick will not be posting video on our Main Worrell 1000 Page tonight because he did not have time to set up our satellite transmission dish at Atlantic Beach because he has to hightail it to the ferry tonight to get to Cape Hatteras. The ferry was completely booked for the morning. Our videographer, Tim Johnson, stayed behind in Atlantic Beach to get videos of the start in the morning, and we will get something posted then. Meanwhile, after Rick gets to Hatteras and sets up the satellite dish again, he can get some video posted from today's race, which had really exciting finishes. There are some awesome still photos at our page, though. Click on the yellow thing above. (Maybe someday I will learn what you are supposed to call those things that you click on.)

Questions about the 2003 Package deal:
According to the official Worrell 1000 website, the 2003 Worrell 1000 will be sailed on an F-18HT Class boat, the Javelin 2 manufactured in Italy by Bimare. The 2003 entry fee of $5,000 will include a boat charter, two hotel rooms for the entire race (18 nights) and a one-way vehicle rental.

(Catsailor Mary: It's the first time I have seen anything official printed about the package deal, so now I guess it must be true.)
These are my questions about the package deal:

Is the race organizer going to take responsibility for picking up and transporting boats that come ashore in odd locations mortally wounded and unable to continue the race? In other words, is this responsibility being taken off the shoulders of the ground crew? If NOT, will the ground crew still need to tow a trailer in case they have to pick up their team's boat somewhere along the way? And if that is the case, would they be able to use the package deal rental SUV for that purpose, since rental cars normally do not have trailer hitches and don't want their vehicles towing trailers?

If the ground crew does have to bring a trailer "just in case they need it," will they have to modify it so that it will fit this boat - 8'2" wide instead of the most common boat width of 8'5"?

Will people who purchase their own boats be allowed to trailer them as backup boats? And, if so, again, the same question about using the rental SUV to do that?

In fact, does the package deal include a trailer for the boat? It doesn't mention it. Even if the race organizer is going to take responsibility for picking up damaged beached boats, they still need trailers or something to put them on. Has this detail been addressed?

Will there be spare boats, spare parts, spare sails, etc. available (at extra cost, of course)?

Who is providing the sails for the boats?

Can you re-rig the boats to your own liking, with your own blocks, lines, sails, etc. after you get possession of your charter boat? Or do you have to use what you get with the package?

If you have purchased your own Bimare Javelin 2, can you use your own boat, or do you have to use one of the charter boats?

What if you don't need rooms and/or don't need an SUV and/or don't need a charter boat? Is there just an entry fee that does not include anything at all except the right to race?

Mike Worrell has said there will be a limit of 30 boats for this package deal next year. What if there are more teams than charter boats? Will he then be allowing people to use their own boats or charter boats from private owners?

Does the package deal include insurance to cover the boats both on the water and on the land and while being trailered between legs if that is necessary to be done by ground crew?

This question came from one of our forums: Can you bring ANY F18HT?? If not, why do people keep pointing out the Jav 2 is an F18HT boat when this fact does not matter for 2003 Worrell? (Catsailor Mary: And this is a very good question because Mike Worrell, at the announcement meeting, introduced W.F. Oliver as the representative of the "class" in the United States. W.F. Oliver is forming and advertising the Formula 18HT class. So, by "class, I do not know whether Mike Worrell was talking about the Formula 18HT class or the Bimare Javelin 2 class. This needs to be clarified.)

And my personal most important question: Can somebody like me get this two-week package deal even if I don't want to do the race and just want to be able to go along with the event and have a boat to sail for fun at all the locations along the way? It sounds like a good deal for a great sailing vacation trip even for non-race-participants.

* * * * *

5:00 p.m.
I don't know for sure whether this was the lightest-air leg of the race, but it was definitely a drifter for a while, and I do know that the winner of the race was the lightest-weight team, Caliente, with Tommy Gonzalez and Mark Murray weighing in at a combined 326 lbs. This was their best finish of the event. Like several other teams, their finishes have been all over the map. They have had a 4, 11, 6, 8, 8, 16, 12, 4, 12. And NOW a 1st place finish.
Weight is not necessarily a determining factor here, because the second lightest team, Athletes in Action, at 329 lbs, finished 12th. But a lot of boats were finishing right together, and we don't know how much time Athletes lost when they capsized coming in to the finish and how many positions they lost as a result.
The weight factor is always interesting.

4:50 p.m.
No problem. They just forgot that I was hanging on the other end of the phone here. Apparently, Castrol got sideways to the surf and then Athletes in Action capsized. Just normal finishing stuff. They didn't bother to let me know everything was okay. I'm a little upset about being the forgotten link here. Anyway, check the Official Worrell 1000 site, as always, for the results.

4:37 p.m.
Must have something to do with Athletes in Action, because PI Sailing reports they flipped at the finish. Sorry, my communicator apparently went to help instead of giving a play-by-play. What is wrong with today's journalists? I hope everybody is okay.

4:30 p.m.
Tommy Bahama is third by a nose over Outer banks. San Antonio just finished and then Tybee and then Castrol. Only about 10 boat lengths between each boat.. Then BayWind II and…….and then, "uh-oh, these guys are in trouble, I gotta hang up."

4:23 p.m.
Caliente nosed out Lexis Nexis by about four boat lengths. A bunch of other boats are about 10 minutes behind, maybe less. Going to be a traffic jam.

4:14 p.m.
14 boats are in sight, all tacking downwind with spinnakers up - wind must be basically out of the south. They should arrive within 15 minutes. Rick says they are all very close together. Should be a very exciting finish.

4:05 p.m.
At 3:56 p.m. Tommy Bahama was only 7 miles out, going about 15 knots. The beach crew see boats.

Note from Reigh North of Bay Wind I (a while back):
It feels strange getting up in the morning and not worrying about sailing gear. They are a little over half way through, and there is very little wind, very spotty. Everyone was on the rhumb line, the only one using the beach was Gerhard. (That would be rudee's restaurant.)

3:28 p.m.
A report just posted on PI sailing about a sighting made apparently a while back by photographer John Healey said that Athletes in Action was leading, followed by Tommy Bahama and Alexander's and then Bay Wind II.

3:20 p.m.
The boats should be arriving within an hour. Depends on how accurate Tommy Bahama's tracking is, because it said they were 19 miles out at 3:05 and traveling at almost 13 knots. Rick says the wind is blowing pretty good at the finish area. As of 3 p.m. the wind was averaging 9 knots SSW at the Cape Lookout reporting station.

2:50 p.m.
Jamie Livingston's (Team Alexander's) prediction in the video interview on our website this morning seems to be coming true - he said the wind will be going from northwest to west to southwest and then to southeast this evening.

Note from the Official Worrell 1000 website - and from us:
Mark Herendeen, Skipper of Team Fully Involved, and Lisa Dutcher are planning to be married at the finish line in Virginia Beach, VA.
Why didn't you tell us, Mark? And is this like one of those war stories where the guy promises to marry his lady IF he comes home from battle? And are you aware that once you get married, your wife will not allow you to sail in the Worrell 1000 any more - unless you have a really big life insurance policy?
Rick and I wish you both all the best in your marriage - and NO finish line.

2:30 p.m.
Okay, according to the 2 p.m. reportings from the weather buoys off Cape Fear to the south, and Cape Lookout to the north, it looks like the wind died to nothing down at Cape Fear but is gradually building a little to the north at Cape Lookout. The 2:00 p.m. report up there in the finish area is 10 knots out of the southwest, so things are looking up a little.

2:15 p.m.
Tommy Bahama (the only team with a live GPS tracking system) seems to be sailing the rhumb line today from Wrightsville Beach to Atlantic Beach. In yesterday's leg from Myrtle Beach to Wrightsville Beach, they played the shoreline as they said had paid off in years past - and it sure didn't pay yesterday. So they apparently don't want to make the same mistake today with this continuing offshore wind.

1:30 p.m.
Rick just crossed over a bridge at Swansboro and said the flags are hanging limp. From PI Sailing reports, it sounds like the wind was totally dead for a while and then filled in from the south and the boats put up spinnakers.
Guess I should not have deleted my earlier suggestion that, although it is a short leg, it might be a long day if the wind dies.
As of 1:30 Tommy Bahama was not even halfway there, still had 37 miles to go, and was traveling at about 5 kph.

10:05 a.m.
The start was uneventful. Almost no surf at all. The boats started on a beam reach, so it was hard for the pushers to keep up with them. We will have something posted on our Main Worrell 1000 Page soon.

* * * * *

By now you all know that Bay Wind I (Reigh North and Richard Pleasants) has withdrawn from the race because of injuries the team got yesterday when their boat capsized right after the start. In case you have not visited the Bay Wind web site, here is Reigh North's report of exactly what happened:

By Reigh North
The start went great and we took off in a good positions. The puffs were coming through the buildings at 25-30 knots. We ended up stuffing a bow as Richard and I were organizing our chicken lines (those are the lines that we use to secure ourselves to the aft windward hull in case we stuff a bow in, they prevent us from being thrown forward). Over we went with the spin pole breaking and some battens failing as well. When we righted the boat it went over again. I was thrown into the mast legs first. My left leg tangled in one of the jib sheets as my knee impacted the mast. I ended up smashing my knee and twisting around the boom and then dangling from the jib sheet. We returned to the beach to fix spin pole, battens and to assess our situation.

After fixing the boat and taking several pain killers we headed off again. About three miles out in a big puff the boom collapsed and we tiped again due to the fullness in the main sail from the broken boom. On this capsize Richard damaged his ribs. We phoned the shore crew and informed them we were returning again. Chris Spalding found us a replacement boom and we headed out for our third attempt. Once we were out we were only able to proceed at about half speed as I was unable to trap. I couldn't straighten my left leg to stabilize myself on the wire. Richard and I decided that since we were no longer competitive and we were both hurting it would be better to retire and save ouselves for another day/event.

This years race has been a wonderful experience. I wish all of the other competitors good luck and fair winds. This race, the Worrell 1000, is still and will probably always be one of the greatest challenges to catamaran racing sailors.

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