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)

Alexanders is Back in the Game
And now it is back to 3-way game - Tybee, Alexanders and Castrol

Alexanders took the victory for the long night leg, but Tybee was close behind. This established Tybee again as the leader overall with Alexanders only 5 minutes behind. But don't count Castrol out – they are only one minute behind Alexanders. And the other close behind guy is Tommy Bahama
True to nature the night legs do shake up the results.
Sorry to say videos and still shots did not come out.

So, it would seem it is back to a match race between Tybee and Alexanders, right? Maybe not! I remember back a number of year ago when Clive Mayo and I (Rick White) were always battling it out. This was a regatta in Key West. Clive and I covered each other so much – total blanketing., always knowing where the other guy was, etc. Well, my son, Dave White, took advantage of our playing around and won the regatta, much to both or our surprises.
Can this happen again? Of course! Tybee and Alexanders have been training together fore a long tine and really know each others moves. Should they keep blanketing each other, they might just lose the lead and lose the race – Castrol is just on their heels!

And There They Go -- Off into the Nght
There was not much surf, but enough to make it tough to get out in the light wind blowing straight onto the beach

A huge cheering crowd was on the beach to see them off

Boats became a maze of masts, rudders and hulls in the spray of the surf, each trying trying to quickly break through the shallow water, get a board down and start motoring up the coast line. There were no clear winners of the start so it would appear that good navigation and boat trim will pay off.

We have a lot of photos of the start showing you what a mess the start was:

Athletes in Action had its third skipper change as Chris Sawyer retired from the race for reason unknown at this time. Jim Zellmer replace Sawyer on the helm and Will Rottgering of Montgomery, Alabama became the new crew.

Jim Zellmer on the left replaced Sawlyer on the helm

Instead of Pay-Per-View, these great Sponsors are helping foot the bill. Please Click on their ads and see what they have to offer! Thanks!

Getting Ready for the First Night Leg
Teams ready themselves and their boats for the dark sailing

Winds are light and almost straight on shore in the 8-10 mph range -- probably will not be a spinnaker start today. We have some questions we want to ask the sailors about how the prep for these challenging black out legs. Will try to bring you some inteviews.

By the way, another reason we are against the night legs is that it practically brings to a hault the reporting of the event and totally breaks up the continuity:

• When they arrive in the middle of the night there is no way we can get any good photographs or videos
• The sailors, their crew and ground crew and tired and are in no mood to talk so we have nothing to report -- they just want to go to bed
• Most of you out there are not going to stay up all night watching for reports anyway.

At any rate.., stand by for a start!

Instead of Pay-Per-View, these great Sponsors are helping foot the bill. Please Click on their ads and see what they have to offer! Thanks!

Everyone Just Had a Great Shrimp Feast

Local fisherman and the Tybee Island threw a great lunch party that was made in a huge pot. They threw in tons of shrimp, potatoes, onions and locally-made sausage. It was quite a spread. The sailors devoured it, yet there was still a lot left afterward.

Welcome to the Hard Part of This Race

Except for last year's race, the Florida legs are mere warmups for the real race – a place to get the boat tuned, the crew working together, the ground crew organized and fine tune for speed. The final jumping off point is Jacksonville Beach.
The longest leg of the course to Tybee Island from the last place in Florida is fraught with danger. Along this 125-mile course there are very few places of refuge should a team need to stop for repairs. With tide ranges of nine feet the currents swirl in and out of bogs, swamps and marsh islands like river rapids – floundering boats have been swept into rivers by the flooding tides and sucked under bridges in the past.
But, the worst is yet to come.
Tonight the teams will face their first night leg of the race. This one of the most dangerous coast lines in the U.S. – probably worse than the Georgia coast – big tidal currents between the many islands and peninsulas. Add to that so many unmarked bars and reefs that extend far out to sea. And not only do they have to navigate through all of this.., they must also do it blind.
There will be no moon the next few days to help guide them through these perilous waters. All they will have is the feel of the boat and the eerie splashing sounds around them as they sail into the "Graveyard of the Atlantic" water..
One year a team was sailing well off shore when they suddenly found themselves amidst crashing waves. The went hard aground. They turned the boat around and tried to sail back out the way they came in but the tide was quickly ebbing and they were stuck there on a huge sandbar – it was totally unmarked and very far offshore. There was nothing they could do.
They rolled up in their jib and slept the night until the tide came back up and they shoved off and continued to the finish line.
And last year Dave White and Chris Sawyer were blindly barreling along at breakneck speed, water flying. Dave White said, "I couldn't see any thing with the water blowing into my face. And then I heard Chris yell ‘Tack' and I did just in time. We missed the rock of the Charleston Jetty by only a few feet" They could have been killed or badly injured.

Instead of Pay-Per-View, these great Sponsors are helping foot the bill. Please Click on their ads and see what they have to offer! Thanks!

Should there be Night Legs.
Here are some answers to that question:

"What is the point really?"
" It's a part of the challenge. But under less than ideal conditions it can be… dangerous. And I think any time you can eliminate danger, it's good."
"...most of the sailors would probably like to see it gone."
"... love it because you can sneak around and catch precious minutes."

Instead of Pay-Per-View, these great Sponsors are helping foot the bill. Please Click on their ads and see what they have to offer! Thanks!