| The following report is for the current day. It is posted as soon as possible in the morning, and then added to all day and evening until the finish and total recount of the day. So, be sure to keep toggling down, even though it starts off looking the same -- there is more being added all the time. |
They're Off
(No! I Mean They're Off – The Race Is Over. The Last Leg Is Canceled)
 Here are all the sailors the we could could must together after the races were over. Not the picture is in front of one of the Aussie boats. No wonder they were called the Pigs. |
  Brett Dryland (above) and Rod Waterhouse of Australia took 2nd place overall |
With the tactics employed by Randy Smyth, however, he would plan on hovering right next to the Aussies, never allowing them a chance to get away. So, it would all be a lesson in futility. And worse, the boats would probably not have arrived until morning in Norfolk with these bad air conditions.
The end result is that Chick's Beach once again takes the victory – although this year it was a lot more difficult to do so. Randy Smyth and Jason Sneed had their work cut out for them right out of the blocks. They broke down the first two legs and were quite far behind. Then in one miracle leg, and in one swoop, regained that lost time to move close to the leaders. A few legs later they took the lead for good.
After the stop of the race, most were relieved that is was over. Some said they couldn't wait until next year. Others said that it is a once-in-a-lifetime thing. All those racing showed a great courage and fortitude, whether they finished or not.
 Randy Smyth and baby, Nicole talking to Mark Murray |
 Jason Sneed of Chick's Beach win for the 2nd year in a row |
 Brian Lambert of Key Sailing II had the early lead, still finished a very good 3rd spot |
 Mark Murray of Key Sailing II was not sure he wanted to sail again after Hatteras, but did and did well. |
 Peter Cogan of Florida Keys said, "This may a once-in-a-lifetime thing." |
 Steve Lohmayer of Florida Keys always stays cool. |
 Australia II is Greg Barber (left) and Martin Thompson |
 Bobby Bailey (left) and Clive Mayo of Int. Insurance wish they had taken their chute on the last leg. |
Some of the Thoughts by the Sailors
Clve Mayo was one who decided to leave his spinnaker in the car. Mayo said, "They forecasted North, North, North. So, we left our chute and stuff. Then it comes out of the south. We were out from shore and in the wind, and the rest of the fleet were just parked close to shore. And we couldn't do anything with it." Had they had their spinnaker, they perhaps could have picked up a spot or two.
Jamie Livingston was on Worrell Bros. Restaurant team that had capsized in the Kill Devil Hills surf line. But they decided to go for it again. Jamie said, "It was great. There were at least twenty guys from all the teams helping us rig the new hulls. I almost had to get out of their way they were working so hard. Those guys ought to really get praised." This time they safely made it through the tough surf, but were sans spinnaker, too. It was all in vain as they arrived after the 8-hour rule and were disqualified.
 Sandra Tartaglino is the second woman to ever complete this grueling race |
The second woman to ever complete the Worrell 1000 is Sandra Tartaglino, teammate of Rick Bliss on Rudee's Restaurant
Team. She said, "I highly recommend it (Worrell 1000) be done by other women. It is do-able."
She was not at all unhappy about the decision to halt the races at Virginia Beach. She said, "I was not at
all looking forward to another day of drifting." She then recalled the night before when they were on the
water for 17 hours to go 60 miles. "I got a bit seasick. I was not feeling well at all. I went to sleep and
after 5 hours I woke up looking at the same pier."
 Little Tyler (Bubba) Smith starts practicing for 2005 Worrell 1000 |
Final Word
Without a doubt this has been one of the tightest contested races on Worrell 1000 history. And the Weather-Gods
threw just about everything imaginable at these brave sailors. And that everything took its toll – 7 boats out
of 21 finished. That is only 33% of the fleet.
Congratulations to all!
Finish Positions:
Here are the finishers for the Leg from Kill Devil Hills, NC to VIrginia Beach, VA:
| Position | Team | Time Behind Leader |
| 1 | Australia I | 00 |
| 2 | Chick's Beach | 12:09 |
| 3 | Key Sailing II | 1.03 |
| 4 | Florida Keys | 3.43 |
| 5 | Australia II | 3.49 |
| 6 | Rudee's | 3.53 |
| 7 | Int. Insurance | 5.0 |
Here are the boast remaining and their unofficial overall positions:
| Postiion | Team | Time Behind Leader |
| 1 | Chick's Beach | 00 |
| 2 | Australlia I | 1.06 |
| 3 | Key Sailing II | |
| 4 | Rudee's | |
| 5 | Australia II | |
| 6 | Florida Keys | |
| 7 | Int. Insurance |
| And Then We Got E-Mail: Mike/Rick: You may have already done this, but I took the time to score the first seven boats regatta style based on finishing positions each day counting as a single race in a regatta. It was interesting to see that Chicks Beach moved down to third while Australia I took the event! Cheers, Dave Lussier dlussier@seacorp.com
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