2001 Worrell 1000
Letter From Chris Runge
The Worrell Trip ...
It is hard to believe that 1 year has passed since I last left to go off on
the Worrell 1000, but it has. As a sat at home last night, I clearly
remembered the end effect and call to mind this passage ... that so clearly
sticks in my head,
Ecclesiastes 1:1-7 : The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in
Jerusalem:2 "Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly
meaningless! Everything is meaningless." 3 What does man gain from all his
labor at which he toils under the sun? 4 Generations come and generations go,
but the earth remains forever. 5 The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries
back to where it rises. 6 The wind blows to the south and turns to the north;
round and round it goes, ever returning on its course. 7 All streams flow
into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from,
there they return again.
To go on the Worrell 1000 is a grand experience in itself, but to be asked to
be ground crew, to be responsible for the sea worthiness of the vessel, for
Randy Smyth, was an incredible experience ... one that was clearly placed
into my life to bring me to the conclusion to this story ... that I write
now, that you will soon read.
All the way up the coast of Florida, thru out Georgia and even into South and
North Carolina the levity of the whole thing did not really sink in until l
stood on the beach in Kill Devil Hills, as the boat left and sailed towards
the finish line on Virginia Beach and I thought to myself, " We might win"
and then it all sank in. Every knot that I had tied, all the preparation to
the boat that morning, and each morning prior, Randys' and Matts' sailing
abilities, the weather, the teams, all this and more lay between our team and
the conclusion of the matter. Then I remembered one other Team Member, God
in Heaven above ... and said a prayer, not to victory, but to the sailors
safe arrival.
We got in the car and drove. On many of the legs you can watch the progress
of the catamarans up the coast, but from Kill Devil Hills into Virginia Beach
it is all interstate, no coast insight, so you wonder ... and you hope, and
you pray.
We arrived to a crowd of thousands, to tents on the beach, to Miss Virginia
Beach, to a finish paddock area with checkered flags, and it all sank in
deeper. I sat, I watched the horizon, and soon two small sails appeared on
the horizon, the Australians in front, and the black spinnaker of Blockade
Runner Resort closely behind. Once again, every taped pin came to mind, for
it was clear that unless the boat fell apart, that we were going to win. My
heart raced, the boats drew closer, the gap between them narrowed. The
Australians hit the beach first, they were escorted out of the way, off to
the side ... out of site and mind, for it was clear, that this was to be our
moment, our victory.
The boat hit the beach, we had won! Randy came off the boat, gave me the high
five, the hug of victory, the big clasping of hands with Matt, the crowds
closed in around us, we wheeled the boat into the winners circle, the
Champaign was uncorked. Miss Virginia Beach gave out the kisses, Michael
Worrell shook our hands and said, " Job well done ." I still find it hard to
describe the thrill of victory, our moment in time.
But a very fleeting moment it was, and this I have no problem describing all
to clear, a very profound and meaningful point in time. It was my job to go
back down to the beach when all was said and done, for the boat was to sit in
that winners circle, with all it's promotional banners flying until that last
possible minute. So as the sun was setting, as the wind began to blow from
the north, as a low hanging bank of mist and clouds rolled in, I walked alone
back onto the beach. Gone was the crowd, gone were the other teams, gone was
the marque board flashing our names as winner, just me, the boat and what I
tell to you now. It was a very sobering moment this time, and I sat on the
boat, sails rolled for the last time, and saw the meaning of the verse at the
beginning, " Meaningless ... a chasing of the wind ." The whole meaning of
the book of Ecclesiastes, was unfolded as I sat on the beach. I understood
the words that God had placed in King Solomon's' heart, that he wrote some
3000 years prior, that had been revealed to me right there.
Mans' glory last only for a minute, just that one brief moment in time, and
then it is gone ... just to remain as a memory, one second, one slice of a
life, that cannot be held.
God's glory lasts forever more.
And then this verse was brought so clear, the conclusion to the matter
Ecclesiastes 12:1 Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the
days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, "I find no
pleasure in them"--2 before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars
grow dark .... 12 :13 Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the
matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole [duty] of
man.
It was all clear, the meaning of the race, the reason we won ... so that the
Word would be brought clear in my heart.
I sat on sat on that beach, and thought one more time, as I do so many
times. But this time it was not of pins and lines, or of sails and rudders. I
thought of great the gift of Gods love for us is, the gift of Christ as our
Savior, how even when I chase after mans recognition or own pride, He is
there ... ready to take our gaze from us ... my gaze from me, and turn my
eyes and my hearts towards Him.
I smiled as I sat there alone, not a smile from being a part of the winning
team in the Worrell 1000, but from a love that lives deep in my heart, that
means all ... not just for a fleeting moment in time, but forever.
To God Be The Glory.
Me
5/02/01
Chris Runge