a buddy and i are thinking about making a campaign maybe in 2004. we are both experienced sailors in decent shape and sail on cats, melges, j's, regularly, but hardly professional. is the worrell for normal everyday sailors anymore? or has it become an elitist event, sure its an emormous physical challenge and we would be happy just to finish! would the worrell comittee even consider our lack luster resume? do we need the f18ht to train on? should we just stick to weekend regatas and booze cruises?

i definetly want to interview past participants

and what would i tell my boss- maybe- "i had a 18', 450 lb baby and will need a month off" ?

Hello,
Another aspect is financial. I saw this years Worrell budget for a team from Texas that was close to $30,000. This did include a $12,000 F18HT to practice with. Then there's the missed paychecks!!
Good luck,
Jack

the entry fee of 5000$ includes a charter boat and hotel rooms, but yes, it seems the money would be better spent on other things. and to pay to get out there to beat yourself up for weeks seems stupid. it must be a total ego thing. or reserved for the rich or those with sponsers. just imagine the two week vacation you could take with 5000$!!

You make an interesting point; the race started as a bar room dare/bet, then became a thing for local cat sailors to do and now has been completely commercialized and no longer in the realm of the beachcats sailors whose "what the heck, let's try this" attitude started it.

I'm not downplaying the race, it's a great event filled with exciting moments and played under today's rules, probably safer and better run. Just an observation.

Sheldon
P-18

Like many great ideas, the Worrell 1000 had its interesting beginnings. While it may not have started as a commercial venture, the ability to sustain such an event year after year requires cash. The nature of competition has had its influence, too. The need for speed has taken the event away from the days of the Hobie 16 to today's race that is often a test bed for newer, faster (and safer) designs.

Yup. It all costs money. But, there's a big ocean out there with plenty of room for new challenges from those seeking a perhaps less expensive alternative. There are also a lot of shorter distance races being organized that require less committment in terms of dollars and time.

Here's another aspect of the race that can run up the tab:

Just from a woman's perspective, I find it very interesting that the posts so far have to do with financial aspects of doing the Worrell 1000 rather than the danger aspects.
The most commonly used descriptive phrase about Worrell 1000 sailors is, "They're crazy!"

the dangers in most cases can be minimized if you have a set of rules and stick by them. a good example of this is cave diving. everyone thinks cave diving is extremely dangerous, but the trained cave divers take so many precautions that they are able to minimize the danger. you always hear of people dieing in cave accidents, but you never hear about the people that followed all of the safety precautions and didn't deviate from them. plan your dive. dive your plan. the same goes for sailing. wear your jacket. have all of the required safety gear and then some. it may not be perfectly safe, but nothing is. it does get expensive though. give me a life jacket, a couple of strobe lights, a flashlight, an epirb, a handheld radio... and while we are at it, one of those breitling emergency watches (you know, the one with the built in emergency beacon).

as i like to say, anything is possible if you throw enough money at it.

Mary,

[color:"green"]> very interesting that the posts so far have to do with financial aspects of doing the Worrell 1000 rather than the danger aspects[/color]

Hmmm. Must be one of those guy things - until somewhere off Cape Hattaras and yelling, "What the #@%& are we doing here!"

Mary,

[color:"green"]> very interesting that the posts so far have to do with financial aspects of doing the Worrell 1000 rather than the danger aspects[/color]

I actually had to laugh at myself when you brought it up. I had posted that picture of the trashed boat on Jensen Beach and mentioned the cost of picking up the pieces. What was I thinking? Knowing that some sailors got pretty beaten up on that launch attempt, you're right, money is not the real issue in that scene.

Yeah, right. Tell Mother Nature and see if she is interested in money.

Hmm, like what was I thinking at Jensen Beach--- looking at Dave Lennard's head sticking out from under the hull, and waiting 3 seconds for Carl's I20 to tip the rest of the way over before I lifted its whole bow up, while the others were lifting the stern and dragging Dave out from under! Dunno....but good thing Rick got that great pix of it, and gooder thing Dave still has his nose. Whew!

hang on a second. if we are talking about boats being trashed on the shore, that can happen on any race. it doesn't matter if it is a one day race or a 100 day race. we all start off on the the beach and eventually have to come back to the beach. all of us do things that can be dangerous every day. do you own a car? how about fly in an airplane? would you consider driving a yugo? how about a big ford truck? obviously, the truck is safer than the yugo, but it costs more. it is a trade off. more money for more safety. i'm not talking about jumping on the hobie wave and sailing off on a thousand mile race with a gallon of water and a bottle of sun screen (although sun screen costs money). what i am talking about is a boat that is more suited to the conditions along the way and safety equipment for the entire trip. you formulate a plan and list of things you are willing to do and not do and stick to the list. example: if the halyard breaks, i have a spare and i can keep going. if i fall over and never see the boat again, i have an epirb and someone from the coast guard will come and get me. if that doesn't work, i have a handheld radio to call for help. i have not 1 but 2 strobe lights to aid in spotting me and if one fails, i have a second one.

i agree, you cannot remove all of the danger from anything (including driving that big expensive truck), but you can plan for most possibilities and know what to do if something happens.

If it were easy and safe anyone could do it. If anyone could do it what would be the point.

I hope I get the opportunity to do the race.

One thing about the race that bugs me is the boat they choose this year. I'm just not impressed with it.

The issue is not boats being trashed on shore, it is sailors being lost at sea. When boats are leaving or returning to shore, there are people there to help. When you are out there on the ocean, you are pretty much on your own. I don't think anybody should be thinking in terms of, well, we don't have to worry, because the Coast Guard will come to our rescue.

Dave,

I agree with you that we have to honestly assess the risk, adequately prepare, and then have the skills to handle the various scenarios along the way. The piece that didn't settle too well is when you said, [color:"green"]"if i fall over and never see the boat again, i have an epirb and someone from the coast guard will come and get me".[/color]

This is the same thinking that has gotten so many amatuer adventurers into trouble since the introduction the cell phone. I can't tell you how many folks I see in the wilderness with a cell phone clipped to their pack strap. Not to say that cell phones are a bad thing to have when one gets in trouble, but too often the availability of the device plays into the decision of go vs. no go. The attitude of, "I can just call somebody," has put a lot of folks at risk. (I speak from experience as a former member of Idaho Mountain Rescue.)

What I would suggest is to plan ones adventures as if there is no possibility for outside help. The thought of someone coming to the rescue shouldn't enter into the decision of whether or not to leave shore (trailhead, or whatever). Then, go ahead and pack the EPIRB's, VHF, ditch kit, etc., but head out with the attitude of getting oneself out of whatever comes along without outside assistance.

One other note about VHF. It's a line of sight device. If my antenna were three feet above the water's surface, it is only a little more than 2 miles to the horizon, so I can expect to reach across 4 miles if the other receiver is at three feet high. Put the other receiver at 15 feet and you can expect a range of 6.5 miles. Now, put yourself IN the water. You can expect to reach that other 15 foot high antenna over a range of 4.5 miles.

My point here is that VHF is limited (and I haven't even mentioned what happens when that "waterproof" radio proves less than manufacturer's claims).

Sail safe

the deceiving thing about re-entry is it doesnt look that formidable from the ocean side. and then when your boat is in forty eight pieces and after you swim to shore and look back, you ask yourself and crew- we tried to go thru that? the kicker is that you have to. you just cant stay out there. i think why the worrell is so popular is that it is like NASCAR, people just watch it for the wrecks.