The Outer Banks 500 website obx500.com is up and growing and race registration is open and available online. The OBXCC is excited about this race and has worked out great deals with hotels and parties along the way. This race will be the other half of the Atlantic 1000 with the first half being the Tybee 500. The possibility of mulitiple winners exists with the winners of the Tybee 500, the Outer Banks 500 and the Atlantic 1000 being different teams in each class. We have followed the Tybee 500 model from last year and Chuck and Sean with the Tybee have been very helpful. Please contact us with any questions, concerns, observations etc.

Jon Britt and Charles Thuman
OBXCC
(contact info on the web site)

Hi Guys,
Do you have the registrants listed on the site. Couldn't find them, if you do. If not, let me know how to get up to date info.

The plan is to follow the race on Catsailor.com and for the magazine -- hope you can promise some exciting stuff.
Good luck,
Rick

It notes suggestions observations etc

Noticed only I 20s and a 6/0 to date.

Its great to have a Formula 18 class included -
No one expects the 18s to compete with the 20s except in extreme upwind conditions where their smaller proportional sailplans may help .
But the F-18s should be given a distict seperate start and earlier time off the beach and that made clear for the 18s , their own 18 class and start .Think that would encourage more to enter.

Noted the Texas race inc up to 21 s ,
-- another option to provide another class to increase partisipation ,-
The Worrell in the 80s had an open category , the only limit was a 20 ft length , no other limits applied on design or modification. This could be a seperate class category with seperate start time as well ,-latter .
Boats appeared like a SC 20s with wingmast ,--6/0s with large wings and racks ,-a lightweight planning type was tried,
Existing cats like the SC 20 - Marstom 20 -Ventillo 20 -CRF -Tornado -could be a part of this class as well as any type of 20 ft cat . The starts may stagger a half hour between each class, enough time to be over the horizon in wind . just a suggestion .
It might expand partisipation and interest .

The old W-1000 has been run numerous times on the I 20s
It is nice to see the race change and open up more for other 8.5 beam factory -production 20s , and a Formula 18 class option ,-- It might be great fun to expand it further in a seperate unlimited 20 ft class to draw in more teams from all corners of the catsailing realm .

Carl

Carl,
Good to get your input on the race. We have had several teams from overseas contact us regarding sailing F-18's but we have had very little interest from the NAF-18 crowd. We are prepared to give them a seperate start and their own class and awards. We are trying to orient this race for the sailors so they can sail what they want (within reason) but the majority of interest still comes from the I-20's and 6.0's. We would like to see the race eventually become 2 classes Formula 18 and Formula 20, but not until a true Formula 20 class is developed and becomes popular in the US. Are you planning on sailing in the Atlantic 1000 this year? I hope so just so I can see you challenge a cruise ship off Miami like you did last year.

Jon Britt
Outer Banks Catamaran Club

PS - I would really like to see the title of this index be changed to Distance Races and drop the Worrell 1000 reference since he stole $180,000 from our sailing community. The cancellation of the race and the ensuing theft of the team' s money has not done distance racing any favors and the sooner we can put it behind us and move on "blazing new trails" as Chuck Bargeron would say, the better off we all are. That is enough time on my soapbox today!

Jon

Hey Jon

Thanks so much again for getting this going ,

It is great that you have heard from several overseas teams interested ,-the Formula 18 is very popular in EU as are other larger 20 types of cat design .
The NA F-18 is not that large yet ,though you would think the Tiger or Nacra or Mystere etc would like the bragging rights on their boat winning the most demanding extreme beach cat race in the world .

Yes ,I plan to race another 1000 with all the gang and some new teams already I see.
Currently trying to get organized and find a crew and gr crew .

Agree on W-1000 reference , ,-did talk to the former on the phone ,--says he has no funds left to return .
put it behind me ,--though many others will not ,--guess we can forgive the person and recall earlier great events ,but not forgive the act and hope there are consequences that deter him or any from similar damaging acts .

I would not want those Texas teams with extra sheet line handy mad about anything.they may just linch him.

I,m not perfect ,but would always eventually find some way to set things right .

The worst aspect now is I have about a couple dozen W-1000 T SHIRTS I no longer care to wear

Yes --on to better things .
The 2 passenger liners leaving Miami - Ft Lauderdale harbor last year ,--whew --they are fast .
I sailed on the great lakes often here in MI with ocean shipping traffic and huge Ore carriers , sailing around Sarnia Can , near the Blue Water bridge between where lk Huron turns into the St Clair River we often sailed up to the sides of larger ships --{kids don't try this at home} the huge turbulence from the props is pretty scary , I was much younger and more foolish then ,-
The experiences were handy in knowing how to dodge behind the Pacific Princess though.

On a class of production Formula 20s--most 6/0 sailors say they are "not interested" ---for their own good reasons - the inter is lighter has a CF mast etc . --they are different , but if you placed a cf mast and equal sail plan on a 6/0 platform ,-and give the heavier one extra spin area in compensation -you have very equal boats . That is the concept of a Formula class , allowing all boats to modify and upgrade to a max class equal spec. --No one that just purchased a newer 6/0 wants to change it ,---yet

Mentioned previously the posibility of expanding out the event to one more class of open designs ,--like the W-1000 in the 80s .
It was just a max length and no limits on innovative design ,--It was great fun .--think as a seperate class it would be a nice addition and compliment to the event ,--
it is part of its history . It would open up the event to numerous other types of catamaran and draw in numerous builders and designers wishing to showcase their particular boat .
I like the I 20 and 6/0 though many of us have done this race numerous times on them , might be time for some new types of cats to race .

The new open class would include all types of current cats 20 ft range cats --Tornados -Marstom 20 -CFR - Ventillo 20
Supercat 20 or Arc 20 -10 b Mystere -G cat 20 -and a list of cat designs from EU -That in turn would draw in more international teams as well.
THINK A GOOD IDEA with some potential ,--current teams that like the I-20 or 6/0 will not "be interested" but that should not stop a Formula 18 class ,--or an open 20 Formula class concept from racing --set a requirement that they complete a previous distance race -like Miami to Keys race to qualify .

Thanks again Jon ,and Charles --The Tybee race organizers -Chuck and all
-all the best
Carl

Hi Guys,

Carl asked an interesting question that has me thinking much the same thing :
"It is nice to see the race change and open up more for other 8.5 beam factory -production 20s , and a Formula 18 class option ,-- It might be great fun to expand it further in a seperate unlimited 20 ft class to draw in more teams from all corners of the catsailing realm ."
Seems to me that, judging from another post, the N6.0 sailors are not interested in the race from the point of view that the I-20 is faster, therefore they have no real shot at the glory.
I`m going to ask this in a way that I hope offends no-one, but would like to know what the answers are :
Just curious, is it the race organiser`s intention to limit the beam to 8,5ft so as to prevent boats like Tornado, SC-20, M-20 etc from entering, thus keeping the I-20 sailors interested in participating ? (Assuming that these boats might be faster than I-20, creating the same situation as with the N6.0 sailors).
I`m asking this from a perspective of what the underlying reason is to limit the beam of the boats to 8,5ft. Surely a limit of 20ft length is enough to ensure that the size of the boats are roughly equal ? I don`t believe it`s a safety concern, maybe you can set me straight.
I understand the principle of the I-20 one-design aspect, equal boats means the best team wins. I also understand that "opening it up" to all boats that satisfy certain criteria which only a few boats actually do satisfy, of which only one is capable of winning, is much the same as declaring it a one-design event. Again, if there are many 20ft designs within the 8,5ft beam limit that have the potential to beat the I-20, why are the entries not reflecting that. Is it because all the I-20 sailors are Worrell sailors, so that an event like this one naturally attracts them and no-one else, or is it that all the long-distance adventure sailors already own I-20`s in anticipation of one day taking part in what was the W-1000 ?
If the organisers are limiting the entries because the I-20 is the biggest class, and allowing the wider-beam boats in might upset the status quo and reduce their numbers, I could understand their decision, but it would be nice to see different boat manufacturers like Tornado the others taking part, and the lead changing between different boats on different days.
It would also sort out the question of which one is the best all-round 20footer. After all, no-one would watch Formula 1 if only Ferrari could race.

Cheers
Steve

Steve ,
Could you please forward your e-mail address to me.
Thanks

Yikes! I was just checking the dates on these posts, and they're from 2004!

Whatever happened to the OBX 500? The Tybee 500 is obviously in full swing and happening again in 2009. I would personally much rather sail 500 miles North, rather than drive all the way down to Key West, once I can get my hands on a catamaran that can handle 500 miles.

Not enough entries to come close to breaking even. 5 the first year and (I think)2 pre-registrants the 2nd year. I did it the first and it was excellent. I like cape roundings , so way better than the Tybee IMHO. If the interest was there the organizers might possibly run it again.
Todd Hart

Thanks for the info, Todd. Quite sad to hear about the low interest in the OBX 500. Is it the warmer waters down South that draw more to the Tybee? Or maybe more serious cat sailors in Florida?

Talking about rounding capes, maybe that could be done outside of a competitive race. But certainly more fun as part of a planned event with a field of boats.

Its not so much that there isn't interest in the northern legs... (at least personally) ... its more the fact that doing one or the other is all thats possible with real life limitations.

In that case, I'd rather spend some time in South Florida in May.

Right, Undecided. So it is indeed the warmer weather, aka "South Florida in May."

Africat: its also the fact that I can only really take a week off to play in the ocean on cats.

If I was a self-employed man (with the funds to match), I'd do both.

Ah, come on! Having and keeping a full-time job is totally overrated.

I completely forgot about the investment of time off work that would be necessary. I guess I need to take some vacation days ASAP to remember what they are like...

Good luck with the Tybee this year! It's coming up soon.

If you're looking for the ultimate cape rounding, here's a doozie. I've been around this one a few times on big boats and am planning on hitting this one next summer departing from Winter Harbour.
http://maps.google.ca/?ie=UTF8&...mp;spn=0.40129,1.054001&t=h&z=11

Still proceeding forth with the planning of the Gauci 1000 for July 2011.