2001 Worrell 1000
Be sure to Bookmark this Page NOW!
Hour by Hour Updates
On this Exciting 1000 Mile Race up the Nation's East Coast
on May 7 - 19, 2001
[Archives of the 2000 Race] [Archives of the 1999 Race] [Schedule & List of Hotels along the route] [Team List and their Site Links] [Stories Published before the Race] [
| Be Sure to take our POLL on What YOU want for 2002 Coverage of this Race.Click Here |
First Leg from Miami to Ft Lauderdale, FL
8PM in Ft Lauderdale
Boats Hold Up, But Sailors are Droppping like Flies
It was tough sailing for the fleet as they battled steep and choppy seas and gusty wind. But the real problem began when they hit the shore. They literally HIT the shore.
The waves took on a pattern much like that in Hatteras the year that Robert Onsgard of Team Worrell Brothers hit the beach bow down and flung him around the forstay, causing the boat to spin around a few times on its bow before crashing to the beach.
Like Hatteras, again the wave patterns did damage to the sailors. Rod Waterhouse and Sandra Tartaglino of Guidance
were driving to the finish line when the previous wave receded, taking the one they were riding back under the
boat. The bow dug in and Sandra went flying between the hulls. She was stuck there, unable to move.
Finally help arrived and they haujled the boat out of the surf with Sandra still stuck between the hulls and badly
hurting.
Tartaglino was in severe pain as onlookers flocked around -- all trying to be of help. Fire Rescue crews soon showed up and had her leg in a splint in quick time.
 Sandra Tartaglino goes flying between the hulls when the bow stuck |
 Bystanders flocked to the boat to help Tartaglino and boat from the roaring sea. |
Tom Weaver was next as Team Pyacht also jammed it in and he was thrown viciously to the hard sand. Still another leg injury -- his was not as severe as what Sandra Tartaglino suffered.
The Races
 They were off on the first leg -- the boats bashed through big surf as they headed out into the Gulf Stream. |
It was close racing for the entire fleet, but in the front were three boats battling it out neck-and-neck. At first it was Team Tybee taking the lead with Sail for Sight nipping at their heels. Alexanders had capsized but were up and running in a hurry and soon caught up with the lead boats.
Carl Roberts and Dave Lennard of Sight took the beach route and slipped into the lead.
Hard charging Alexanders overtook Sight with only about a mile to finish line. But they were racing nearly neck-and-neck as they sprinted to the finish line, with Bryan Lambert and Jamie Livingston of Alexanders just nosing out Sight by mere seconds.
 Both Alexanders and Sail for Sight were only a few boat lengths apart at the exciting finish! |
Previous Report earllier Today
| Be Sure to take our POLL on What YOU want for 2002 Coverage of this Race.Click Here |
The winds are howling out of the northeast on to a north-south shore. Waves are crashing in and the start should
be total mayhem. Certainly all boats will be required to start on Port Tack to avoid major collisions -- although
they are certain to happen in these conditions.
The winds are forcasted to stay the same for a few days, so competitors can expect some pretty strong wind from
the northeast at around 15-20 knots and gusty.
Keep in mind that the Gulf Stream runs in the opposite direction of this strong wind. That will cause the current to slow way down, but worse, it makes for extremely dangerous and steep seas -- locals call this condition "square waves."
So, what could be a good game plan? Perhaps some teams may think that going to the Gulf Stream will give them a boost going north. However, this leg is only 20 miles long so there might not be the boost one would want. Also, during the first year of the rejuvenation of the Worrell 1000 (1997), of the teams that went to the stream in similar conditions, one won the leg, while the rest broke masts or parts and were forced out of the race on the very first leg.
Game Plan? Perhaps hug the shore line.
Stay tuned for more reports as the day goes by!\
