I just received word from a friend of the Worrell family about Mike. He has been suffering from pancreatic cancer and is losing the battle. He is at home under hospice care and is not expected to last another week.

I know people have mixed emotions about him, but he has always been a big supporter of cat sailing and he has always been very kind to me. He was trying very hard to get the Worrell 1000 back up and running and his number one priority was making things right with the sailors that were affected by the collapse of the last race. I think he just ran out of time and it is a shame that he couldn't see that dream through.

Please keep him and his family in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.

I just posted this on the Great Texas website and thought I would put it up here too.....

I am saddened by this news. Very saddened.

I tried to call Mike and was told that he is not feeling well today. I hope maybe I can speak with him soon.

Everyone that has sailed the Great Texas owes Mike Worrell a great deal of gratitude. If it were not for Mike, the Great Texas simply would not exist. I want to repeat this. If it were not for Mike, the Great Texas simply would not exist.

Mike made some mistakes that he has paid dearly for but we must not forget the major contributions that he has made to this sport. Too many people have dwelled on the negatives and lost focus on the great contributions he has made to this sport.

The Worrell 1000 was the absolute pennacle of extreme sailing in the sport of catamaran sailing. It tested your sailing skills, endurance, toughness, organization skills, and guts in a crazy two week adventure up the east coast. For anyone that is in the brotherhood of sailing the Worrell 1000, they will never ever forget the feeling of accomplishment when finishing this race. There is only one Worrell 1000 and it was the crazy vision and driving force of Mike Worrell that made it happen.

After sailing the race three times, he inspired me to dream about a similar type of race in Texas. Mike was always very, very supportive of the Great Texas. He licensed the Worrell rules to us for $1 as the starting point of the Great Texas rules. Each year, I would talk with him after the race and he would always tell me how much he enjoyed following the race on-line. For this support, everyone that sails the Great Texas must be grateful.

Please keep him and his family in your thoughts and prayers.

Steve Piche
Founder, Great Texas Catamaran Race
Worrell 1000 Finisher in 2001 and 2002
Worrell 1000 near finisher in 1998 (thanks to the Marines for the helicopter ride off Cape Fear)

I am very sad to hear this. I suspected he was very sick when he and Mindy stopped to see us over a year ago in the Keys. I asked him directly, but he said he was fine. He was still pursuing a plan to revive the Worrell 1000. I have never known anybody with such an obsession. I, for one, am very grateful for all those wonderful years of one of the (if not THE) best catamaran races ever devised.

Also posted on the Great Texas web site by Dave McDaniel. I thought I would post it here too...

My thoughts and prayers go out to Mike Worrell and his Family.

Having sailed on a land locked lake in North Texas for years and years - I had an awakening - OCEAN SAILING - for I had the great fortune to be part of the Great Worrell 1000 for two years running as ground crew. To see the Inter - 20's , the Sailors that Sailed those Boats , to see those that ran the Race, and to become part of that great family of ground crews moving up 13 Beach's - and to see the passion that Mike Worrell had for the event that he had made , left a great and lasting impression which I have shared with others over the years.

On one Leg of the race, Mike Worrell took time out for about 40 minutes to talk to me - one on one - it was during one of those Beautiful Ferry rides to the next Beach - somewhere on the Outer Banks of North Carolina - I will always remember that conversation, what was said, his spoken history of his sailing and the fine history of the Worrell - and his expressed deep love and respect for those Worrell Sailors currently at Sea as we both looked out on the water.

Years later , when I found out that financial problems had caused alot of hurt and sometimes vented anger - this became a real sad chapter , yet I thought he would some fine day make amends.

Yet I belive in the grand scheme of life and of challenges we meet, who amoung us would not give up an amount of their own treasure lost - to do what we have the pleasure of doing, whether racing or just fun sailing. And in this family of Beach Cat Sailing in which we so chearish and carve time out for - I am thankful that there are those like Mike Worrell who are able to push Cat Sailing so far forward, to cause so much fun, boat loads of excitement, and bring in waves of new Cat Sailors .

As a good friend once said - " Thank you Lord for the wind, the waves and the water - and the sailors that inspire our love for the three." Mike Worrell - we are thinking about you and your family down here on the Beach - take care - my Sailing Brother.


DMcDaniel
Galveston, Tx

post script - Mike Worrell, in a younger life, wore the Uniform and served his Country with Honor - I believe in the Coast Guard. Thank you Mike for that service to our Country.

Really saddened to see this! Mike is a great guy and did a tremendous amount to bring beach cat sailing into the popular culture scene. While living in NC I made it a point every year to visit the races and then had the honor of serving as ground crew the last "open" year of the race. Mike loved that race and did a great job of committing himself to it. It was only 2 weeks ago while visiting a sailing buddy we watched all the videos I have of the Worrell and I was excited about it getting going again. The most impressive video was the one of the original format- the essentially non-stop (except to check in, maybe swap one of the 3 sailors from the chase vehicle to the boat, load up on supplies and take right back out!) race on Hobie 16's- NO spinnakers, NO GPSes, ~1/3 of the race at night hoping the chase crew beat you to the next checkpoint!

Mike- You'll always be one of those "Iron Men on a plastic boat" to me-

Kirt

The word now is that Mike has PASSED ON

very sad

first Reg White Now Mike Worrell

So sad to hear this news.

I remember one of the first times that I got to know Mike. It was a regatta at Va Beach. The wind on Sat morning was blowing hard straight onshore w/ some nasty looking surf. He was not racing but just hanging out talking with old friends. Everyone was reluctant to try getting off the beach. He was like "Are you kidding me, let me show how it's done. Let me take your boat out?" He grabbed a harness, pushed the boat out and went straight out on trap... just footed off and powered right up.. After working his way through the breakers, he surfed in (while still trapped out) and then did it about 3 or 4 more times.

Mike was a dare devil, visionary, and pioneer of cat distance racing... He followed his dreams... So you got to give that to him.

We'll miss you Mike.

God bless Michael Worrell
Rest in Peace
Thanks for the memories!
John McLaughlin

I never got to meet him, but did speak to him once on the phone several years ago. One never lives to accomplish all his/her hopes and dreams since those two continue to develop and change over a lifetime. I think Mike accomplished a good portion of his. The legend of the Worrell 1000 is quite an accomplishment. My sincere condolences to his surviving family.

Amen.
Mike not only created a style of race, he created a lifestyle and his legacy will be that style of racing. Having finished 4 Worrell 1000s and seeing the passion that Mike had for that race it created an addiction in me that will never be completely fed. Mike did more to help me get going in this sport than I could ever list.
We sailed in Southern Bay Race week this weekend, right in Mike's backyard(Chesapeake Bay) and I asked my crew to dedicate today's race to Mike. We got our only bullet of the weekend. The next race it built to 30 and they canceled, seemed very fitting to me. Mike wouldn't have canceled. "It doesn't matter, we gotta go."
God bless Mike, and thoughts and prayers to Mendy and the rest of his family.

Todd A. Hart

I was fortunate to work with Mike in the Worrell 1000 more than once. But, one time sticks in my mind when I was Team Manager for a team which "lost" one of the guys offshore during the race. It was a scary time for a lot of people and Mike did everything right in assisting in locating him, as well as supporting everyone connected with the team. We did alot of talking that year and continued to do so for years after. The Worrell 1000 will live in infamy and those lucky enough to have been apart of it will be forever changed.

Thanks Mike!

Terri Reuwsaat
Austin, Texas

If you haven't heard, Mike passed away Saturday morning.

Services for Mike will held Wednesday June 9th at 4:00pm at the Spring Branch Community Church, 1500 North Greatneck Road in Virginia Beach. There will be a get-together following at the Smokehouse & Cooler, 2957 Shore Drive, Virginia Beach.

If you would like to send something to his family, His address is 4133 St Marshall Drive, 23454

The following obituary was printed in today's Virginia Pilot...

A. Michael Worrell VIRGINIA BEACH - A. Michael Worrell passed away June 5, 2010 after a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 67. He was, among many things, a son, a brother, entrepreneur, adventurer, and great friend. Most of all Mike was a loving husband and father. He was born in South Norfolk but spent his adult life in Virginia Beach where he and his brother Chris were lifeguards and innovative restaurant owners. They were best known for the popular restaurant Worrell Brothers. Michael was also the founder of Worrell's Steamed Shrimp. Sailing was his passion. He was the founder and director of the "Worrell 1000," a 1000- mile ocean race for small catamarans that stretched from Miami to Virginia Beach. The sailing world recognized this event as one of the most grueling races ever organized. It was immortalized in a National Geographic documentary that drew the attention of every major sailing publication around the globe. Michael also proudly served in the U.S. Coast Guard. He was predeceased by his mother, Frances, brothers, Chris and Heider. Michael is survived by his wife of 10 years, Mendy, and adult children, Barron and Elizabeth of Virginia Beach. A memorial service will be held Wednesday, June 9, at 4 p.m. in Spring Branch Community Church, 1500 N. Great Neck Road, Virginia Beach. Cremation & Funeral Services of Tidewater assisted the family.

Here's a link to the obituary with attached Guestbook.

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/pilotonline/obituary.aspx?n=a-michael-worrell&pid=143408195

Mike's family has arranged a formal gathering following the Spring Branch services at Doc Taylor's Seaside Market Lounge. It is located on the corner of 23rd Street and Pacific Ave at the Oceanfront.

This article is in the Virginia Pilot too.
http://hamptonroads.com/2010/06/catamaran-race-founder-chased-dream-until-end

The Worrell 1000, just those three words made hearts beat faster for many catamaran sailors around the world.

I attended the Virginia Beach meeting for the race that didn't happen, and had the good fortune to have lunch with Mike while there.

To see the passion in his eyes, to hear the enthusiasm in his voice, to share in the dream he had for his race was an inspiration.

I never got to sail the Worrell, but read the stories, and dreamed the dream.

Mike was an innovator, constantly sussing out ways to make the race better and safer, in so many ways, it was a year by year work in progress.

It was that drive to make the race bigger and better that got him in to trouble.

More than anything else, Mike was a victim of the people he trusted and believed in. If they had not let him down, that race would have happened, and most likely would still be happening

Robert Browning said, "a man's reach should exceed his grasp - or what's a heaven for?"

I am saddened by his passing, not because he is gone, but because he did not have the time to resurrect "the race"

Mike's pain on earth has ended, he is now in a place where sponsorship dollars flow freely sailors don't get hurt, and his race can be everything he dreamed it could be.

Someday, I hope to be able to push off the beach and live my dream of sailing in "His Race"

Stephen

very nice

I hope someone somewhere has a video of Mike playing in the Virginia Beach surf on his Hobie 16. He told me it was what he most loved doing, and he was very proud of his skill.