The 2002 Worrell 1000
(Note: The latest leg is displayed on this page, starting with the the most recent information on top. Click a hot link directing you to other past pages or pages of interest)

Another Near 3-Way Finish at Breakneck Speed
Tommy Bahama takes the Checker, Tybee Closes on Castrol

It was nearly a 3-way finish with Tommy B nosing out San Antonio, and Tybee Island by seconds. Tybee Island helds their breaths knowing that at the Okracoke Inlet Castrol had capsized, broke their spinnaker pole and had to finish with just main and jib. Castrol did lose a lot of time but still retains the lead overall by mere seconds.

Both Tommy Bahama and San Antonio also picked up valuable time on Castrol and little on Tybee Island, as this thing turns into a closer and closer horse race.

Finishes were hot and wild and the boats flew into the beach with spinnakers flying. About four boats came in within minutes of each other. One was Caliente. They were slow getting wheels under their boat and getting moved out of the fiinish line. It was then that PI Sailing slammed into the beach and T-Boned them. There did not seem to be much damage, however.

Caliente (green hull) and Baywind were only a few boat lengths apart.

Instead of Pay-Per-View, these great Sponsors are helping foot the bill. Please Click on their ads and see what they have to offer! Thanks!

And then PI Sailing collided with Caliente on the beach

(Click on the image to see the video. If you are using a dial-up click on ME!)

Tybee Island was third across the line finishing just uner 9 minutes ahead of Castrol and putting them only seconds out of the lead. (Click on the image to see the video. If you are using a dial-up click on ME!)

Castrol capsized a few up from the finish and broke their spinnaker pole and had to sail with jib and main only. This lost a lot of time for them, although they still maintain the lead by only seconds.

Instead of Pay-Per-View, these great Sponsors are helping foot the bill. Please Click on their ads and see what they have to offer! Thanks!

They Are Off on the Way to Hatteras
We Hope Cape Lookout Looks Out for Our Sailors

This leg has caused real havoc and lots of damage in the past with the howling winds of the Outer Banks blasting through the inlets of the small islands. One year the entire fleet was almost knocked out the race here at Hatteras.

One year the surf was as steep as a three-story building. That was the year the Robert Onsgard and Jamie Livingston plowed their bow into the sand off a steep wave. The boat stood straight up on one bow, did a pirouette and landed upside down on its mast. Onsgard was thrown thirty feet and landed on his back. Livingston amazingly hung on to the boat and landed on his feet like a cat.
That was the year that Peter Cogan was pinned under his boat when the surf caught the boat, smashed it down on its mast and breaking it off, then pinned Cogan under the boat. It was night and pitch dark, but several people conjured up enough adrenalin to lift the boat off before the sailor drowned.

And if you had followed this race in the past few years, you would know that Cape Lookout and the inlets along the outer banks have claimed many a Worrell boat in the past. One year alone we had six boats knocked out of the race and one boat completely lost to the sea, abandoned with no hope. Sailors found themselves marooned on deserted islands. Those were tough times.

This year does not look like it will be perilous. But you can rest assured it will be demanding.

And yet, it is certainly not over. With at least five boats in strong contention it could be anyone's race.

Here we are on the brink of the "Graveyard of the Atlantic" and the teams are ready to jump in headlong. Cape Lookout and Cape Hatteras have reputations that strike fear in the hearts of the bravest seamen. This is the area where northerly and southerly currents clash violently on the reefs and bars extending far out to sea.., and suck the life out of ships and their crew.

Wind is Picking Up
At 1PM on the beach at Hatteras the wind is blowing a good 15mph and straight from Cape Lookout. So, the boats are probably going to be broad to beam reaching to the cape, and then it will be tacking downwind with spinnakers the rest of the way.
It will probably be between 3 and 5 pm before they get in.

Instead of Pay-Per-View, these great Sponsors are helping foot the bill. Please Click on their ads and see what they have to offer! Thanks!

Communication Have Been Great In years past we have been limited to telephone lines in the hotels to get info up to the website. It was always hit and miss – usually miss. Phone lines in hotels go through a lot of switches which reduce the ability for good data transmission. And it Hatteras last year I was only able to upload at 8K. But this year we have done it right. We have our own satellite dish that we have to install at each stop. But it gives near-DSL speeds. That is why have been able to upload video files. On the first day we had trouble dialing in the dish, so I did my usual thing and borrowed the phone in Carl Roberts' and Dave Lennard's room. One video clip of one minute took nearly 2 hours. That forced us into getting the dish working. Thanks to Tom Leobold who had the perseverance to keep after it until it was done

Stand by for finishes – they may be as spectacular as yesterdays.

Instead of Pay-Per-View, these great Sponsors are helping foot the bill. Please Click on their ads and see what they have to offer! Thanks!

Yesterday's Great Finishes at Atlantic Beach -- Finally the Videos

Due to logistics of getting the RV to Hatteras to get the satellite dish set up, we had to have the dish and RV leave at 6 pm Wednesday evening. That gave Tim Johnson just 35 minutes to get the following clips edited. But we had to wait until the bus got to Hatteras, set up the dish to get them uploaded.

So, here they are. They are also in Leg 10 as well.

The Athletes in Action capsized just before the start and dragged by boat across the line on its side.

(To view the video of the finish click on the above image. If you have dial-up connection, click on ME!)

Instead of Pay-Per-View, these great Sponsors are helping foot the bill. Please Click on their ads and see what they have to offer! Thanks!