The 2002 Worrell 1000
(Note: The latest leg is displayed on this page, starting with the the most recent information on top. Click a hot link directing you to other past pages or pages of interest)

Apres Race Tidbits
Zellmer a Hero! Sports Illustrated Doing a Story?

Caliente broke their mast today after Cap Hatteras probably because they dumped their mainsheet in a puff. But whatever the reason, the mast snapped. They were pretty far offshore and the wind was blowing near 30 mph offshore. This would carry them farther offshore and out to sea. They had means of stopping themselves from an unwanted cruise to England.

Along came Jim Zellmer of Athletes in Action to the rescue. He circled them a few times in attempt to throw them a tow line and finallyl succeeded. Then he pulled the wounded boat to the closest beach and to safety. This was a great thing by Athletes -- often in the heat of a race one can overlook the big picture -- the health and life of youself and fellow sailors.

Zellmer's team will be awarded a correction in their finish time but that is still not yet determined. There have been some complaints that from a couple of teams that too much time allowance would put them almost in as winners. But, whatever the time allowed, it would be fair -- it very could have saved the lives of two fellow sailors.

Sports Illustrated writer, Kelly King, talks with our own video expert, Tim Johnson at the start in Hatteras. King said the story will probably not be as big of spread as they had originally planned.

They Are Here in Kill Devil Hills
Alexanders Win in Record Breaking Time, Tybee Takes Lead by 1 Second

In another close finish the top five boats were very close. Alexanders took the win safely, and then three boats came in nearly side by side. Tybee Island edged out and Castrol. This allowed Tybee to again retake the lead overall by only one second.

This is the best finish so far for Car Roberts and Dave Lennard of AntieauArt -- they finished in 3rd place.

With only one leg remaining this is still anybody's game. Alexanders moved into striking distance only 20 minutes behind the two leaders. The poor finish today by Tommy Bahama puts them out by over 42 minutes, but certainly not out of the running.

As of this posting San Antonio, who has been a hot contender, has still not finished -- this leg may put them out of contention.

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They're Off and Running to Kill Devil Hills
Exciting Start and more exciting cape rounding

The wind was gusting over 25 knots for a reaching start through big surf. It was great to watch and very exciting.., and best of all there were no mishaps.
We rushed to the tip of Cape Hattaras in a 4-wheel SUV arriving just in time to get tons of video and lots of pictures of the great action. Our video expert, Tim Johnson, has a plane to catch, so he will be getting the video done in the next hour or so before he runs off, and then we will put up all the pix and video at that time. Please stand by and thanks for your patience.

Here are pictures of the start

Click on the image to see video of the Hattaras Start.

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The Rounding of Cape Hattaras and Diamond Shoals

Alexanders and Tommy Bahama are neck and neck going around the tip of the cape. Click on the image to see video of the cape rounding.

Meanwhile at the cape, Alexanders was first around. But all the contenders were right there in the mix. Castrol took the best line through the turbulent waters and moved up with the leaders of the pack.

Here are pictures of the boats going around Cape Hattaras and inside Diamond Shoals. They are in sequence and pretty much tell the whole story.

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Preparing for the Worst Leg – Hattaras to Kill Devil Hills
High Winds and Seas Predicted

While the race is only seconds apart between Castrol and Tybee Island, and these two are being closely hounded by only minutes by Tommy Bahama, Alexanders and San Antonio, they all have bigger worries this morning. They are agonizing about the next leg which could completely eliminate them from the race.

Cape Hattaras and Diamond Shoals
The entire fleet is about to be tested by one of the worst nautical nightmares in the world – Cape Hattaras and Diamond Shoals. It is here where the northbound and southbound currents meet in a devastating war between seas. This battle creates a washing-machine effect of tremendous turbulence.
When the two ocean powers meet they create geysers that jettison thirty to forty feet in the air. God help the boat that tries to sail through one of these.
Locals call this phenomena "Pissups!"
Shortly our crew will be out on the end of the cape taking pictures and videos as the fleet tries to worm its way through this narrow area. It promises to be an exciting and spectacular moment of this race, particularly with the forecast of winds at 15-25 mph. The close racing we have had may soon show some gaping holes – this could separate the fleet tremendously of those that can.., and those that can't.
Last year this passage was extremely perilous and that was in light air. Today the wind is supposed to be honking – that will just add to the danger of the passage.
You may ask, "Why not just go around on the outside?" Diamond Shoals extends far out to sea and the farther you go out, the worse it gets. It would not only be a much, much longer course, it would be even more grievous.

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Here is the weather forecast for today:
The combination of high pressure off the North Carolina coast...and approaching cold front well to our west... will produce a strong southwest flow today. Winds will increase by early afternoon to 20 to 25 knots. Seas will gradually build to 4 to 6 feet by late in the day.

This will be the last day for our video expert, Tim Johnson. Tim took off time from his own business and flew all the way in from Minneapolis to help out with the video. Also, Tom Leobold did the same for the first week. It has been a real pleasure working with these fine videographers this past two weeks. They have done a great job for no money – just for the love of the sport of sailing. Thanks to them from all of us!

Nice Dinner Party Last Night at the General Mitchell Hotel. Barbeque and a roasted pig were great.

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