2001 Worrell 1000
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Leg 8 From Isle of Palms to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina -- with a scheduled 6 PM Start (however,
it might be delayed to coincide with the "sports news" because local ABC affiliate TV is going to broadcast
it live
The wind has really piped up this afternoon as the sailors rest and repair during the day in anticipatoin of the evening start. The wind is expected to be 20 knots from the northeast for most of the evening, but then is expected to lighten up. Steve Lohmayer of Tybee Island said, "That would be great to have some good speed and then have it be light air around the Cape (Romain)."
This afternoon we heard a great many recaps of things that happened last night. Most of which we called in and had Mary post on our Hot Line Page. For those great and up-to-date stories, click Here!
This report was just now filed by our on-the-beach war correspondent, Cristy Schimmoller:
| All the boats sailed into Isle of Palms, South Carolina sometime after 11:00 p.m. last night to complete the 7th
Leg of the Worrell 1000. Team Alexander's finished the leg first (again), arriving at about 11:28 p.m. The first
night leg, fortunately, didn't produce too many casualties a broken spinnaker pole, a broken halyard, a small
hole in one hull (nothing duct tape can't fix, for now) and a possible bent rudder casting to name a few. Most of the sailors had a chance to sleep in this morning and feel pretty rested. With a little bit of time on their hands waiting for this evening's start of the second night leg of the race, the sailors are swapping stories of the events out on the water last night. I was able to catch up with Captain Rod Waterhouse of Team Guidant. Rod is sailing in his 11th Worrell, which makes him the most experienced "old man" of the race. "It's terrible to be 42 and be the old man!" he jested. I asked him to share with me how the race has changed over the 11 years he has participated, and how he feels about it. Rod's first race was in 1981. That first year he participated, the race was in Hobie 16s and it was a non-stop race. "It was an incredible race, incredible race. Quite a challenge." Rod was sailing that year with his then future father-in-law, Don Wood. They made it as far as the second to last checkpoint without too much trouble, but not in very good standing. Then things really changed. A storm blew in and the race was called. But it was called AFTER Rod and Don had sailed, and they were stuck in the gale. They capsized at least a dozen times during the storm and then found themselves facing a black tower. They were thrown headlong into the black tower', which turned out to be a sunken boat. With a force like that, the Hobie capsized and they were holding on for dear life literally. "I had been on the boat 30 hours and was about dead," Rod remembers. "We lost everything off the boat. All the safety equipment, everything." What they did have left was a red glow stick'. And that was how the coast guard finally caught sight of them. They drifted ashore still holding on to the boat and were picked up. Rod's teammate and future father-in-law, Don, had had enough and never sailed in the Worrell again. But Rod was young and he was hooked! The race has gone through many changes since then. The co-founder, Michael Worrell, was not involved for a few years in the mid-1990s.(from 1989 to 1997 there was no race at all, and for three years in the late 80's the race was named the World 1000 and run by others than Michael Worrell) Rod participated throughout all those years and its' many changes. "This is not Mike's race, it was a lot of peoples' race. Mike is the icing on the cake." Rod feels this race will always be here in one form or another. "Our sport needed it, a challenge like this." And Rod thinks, by the looks of it, it is only getting more popular. Take a look at Rod's crewmember this year (after two changes), Katie Pettibone. Though she has done the Whitbread and many monohull races, this is Katie's first multihull race and Rod thinks she's hooked now, too. (Rod and his Team Guidant were penalized 30 minutes for the second crew change. Rod says half an hour in this race doesn't amount to much.) It seems Katie has interested many of her Whitbread sailing friends to join her for one of the next Worrells. "Guys will be doing [this race] no matter what. It's an inspirational race for all." So how did Rod come to participate in that first race of his in 1981? "I was at the Hobie Worlds and saw a brochure." In the brochure, there were pictures of people dragging boats in, in the dark, and it looked like fun and challenging. He does think the original intent of the race is definitely gone. "In those days, navigation was it. It has become a technical race now, and it can't go back." There are so many navigational aids now, too much technology. He says he would throw out the GPS and then see how well everyone does! So how did he finish in that race in 1981? For 3 days they waited to hear what the plan was going to be for the continuation of the race. Finally, it was decided to consider the race completed at that point and, because Rod and Don were the furthest up the coast, they won the race! Rod, his wife and Don have a party each year to celebrate and commemorate. |
And Carl Roberts wrote about his ride last night in the dark (he asked to apologize for typos and errors as he is still quite groggy and tired):
| Night Sailing -Isle of Palms Leg Team "Sail for Sight"in the 2001 Worrell 1000 First, many thanks to our excellent ground crew -Bill Wallace -Dave Wallace -from St. Simmons, Surf Sailors, and to David Lennard sailing a great Worrell 1000 race this year .We sailed in some fairly tough conditions last evening with gusts into the 20 s and very short steep irregular seas . We flew the shute off the beach, leaving Tybee Island GA.around 6 p m, and arrived on the beach in Isle of Palms around 12-30, a fast run reaching speeds of up to 22 on the GPS. -Night sailing is unusual in that your sense of sight is largely eliminated, and use of your other senses have to take over, It was overcast, with storms and numerous lightening flashes hitting the water surface illuminating your surrounding area for brief seconds . We had one boat close for part of the leg to leeward who's silouett would appear with each flash,--then disappear-We finished 4th after starting in 10 th -we are still not sure which team it was but they sailed very well for the time we stayed close. -Several teams had damage - some loosing their spin halyards, some striking fish or other objects and loosing their rudders, --again not being able to see them to take avoiding action. -On a humorous note,David caught a fish last evening, it flew up,bounced off Dave and landed on the trampoline, flopping around for a minute before he could catch him and through him back in, seconds later another fish flew up,bounced off Dave.s life jacket and back in, though I don,t think it was the same one trying to get back aboard . The psychology of night sailing may be the most interesting aspect, the potential for collision plays on your mind, -an unlite channel marker, another boat,or competitor may appear in front of you with seconds to react, it can be very intense for several hours at 20 plus, steep seas,spray flying, bows stuffing into waves, all while your trying to keep the boat moving at top speed and stay upright, which many teams including Jamie and Brian on Alexander's did not do last night, yet still finished first .-Team Castrol also sailed a great night leg following the lead boats moves, 3rd was Brendon and Jim,team Lexus Nexus who in a gutsy navigational strategy went out and one gybed to the finish, -Team Tommy Bahama also sailed fast to a 5th place night leg finish . All teams out here are very good and fast, as any that can sail 1000 miles in the open Atlantic have proven themselves to be . The best advice to any contemplating the race to prepare would be to simply practice sailing at night, they are not all like last evening, some are very beautiful with stars, the moon shinning, warm water and smooth seas, but also as Dave can tell you, keep man eye out for the flying fish ! -Wish us luck in tonights night leg up to Myrtle beach, and a safe journey to all . -all the best - Carl Roberts |
Standby for the Start from Isle of Palms, South Carolina
But First -- TODAY IS MOTHER'S DAY, and here is our offering to all you Moms out there from our very own Todd Hart
of Cat Fever.
 Team Alexanders had the pole position and a great start |
The wind had been blowing hard all day -- around 20 out of the northeast. Many teams flattened out sail in preparation for the heavier winds, but 6 PM the wind was down to 12-15 mph. And by the start it was just over 10 mph. It is forcasted to die and go back to north this evening, with little or no air later and the same for tomorrow -- it could be a long, lonely night for these sailors.
There were absolutely no mishaps -- it was a close reach out through very small surf. Again, as in Tybee Island, the beach was packed with people.
Standby for the lastest and be sure to keep checking our Hot Line Page for hourly reports by Mary.
 Sail for Sight got a good jump out of the blocks today -- they had started down the line from Lexis Nexis, but managed to pull a lead and feed bad air back to the other team. |
 Chris Runge, one of team Castrol watches his team and fleet sail off before getting to work -- packing gear and sailing apparatus and then trucking hard to the next stop. |
 A weary Race Committee was up all night, along with other crew members awaiting their sailors. It looked like under the bridges condos in Miami. |
Sorry this report is late, but the rooms where phone lines were available were all taken by very, very tired people. And since Mary was keeping you informed on our Hot Line Page I didn't feel so bad.
"...and let their be light." And there was a little light, and there was Guidant -- the first boat to the finish line arriving just before 6 AM. Ground crews starting awaking and calling for help as Tommy Bahama and Sail for Sight came in right behind and there were more boats spotted on the horizon.
Soon the beach was stirring with blurry-eyed, bundled up folks staring off on the horizon with yellow and black binoculars held to their eyes. The big question was, "Where was Alexanders?" But, Alexanders was not far away and finished only about 35 minutes behind -- losing some valuable time to Guidant.
 After 86 miles and 14 hours some of the finishes were this close. Here Tybee Island just nips Spitfire out |
 Guess what broke? |
Keeping in mind that there is a lot of water NOT under the boat, this report was filed by our in-the-motorhome correspondent, Rick White:
| Prevent Defense The Miami Dolphins in the waning years of Don Shula as a head coach had tremendous striking power on offense. Dan Marino could easily explode for three touchdown passes and take a commanding 21-0 lead into the halftime. When that happened, I always cringed, "Oh my God! We are going to lose the game." My wife would always ask, "Your team is way ahead. What are you talking about?" I knew that when they got far ahead they stopped playing their game, stopped their offensive strategies, stopped being aggressive play, left their game plan behind as if the game was practically over. However, the other team kept their game plan, kept their offense alive, kept their aggression and usually came back to win the game. How does this relate to the Worrell 1000? Brian Lambert and Jamie Livingston of Alexanders could fall into the trap of being the Miami Dolphins. They had nearly a four hour lead and could easily fall into the "prevent defense" utilized by Shula in those days. We all laughed about "prevent defense" because every time it was used it prevented the Dolphins from winning. Last night Alexanders lost around 34 minutes of their lead. If they should fall prey to the prevent-defense mode, they could easily see Guidant or any other aggressive team slowly and steadily catch up and then overtake them before the grand finale in Virginia Beach. |
| Pos | Team | Total Time | Behind |
| 1 | Alexander's | 55:25:01 | 00:00:00 |
| 2 | Guidant | 58:29:52 | 03:04:51 |
| 3 | Tommy Bahama | 60:32:55 | 05:07:54 |
| 4 | Sail For Sight | 61:05:10 | 05:40:09 |
| 5 | Dinghy Shop | 61:47:30 | 06:22:29 |
| 6 | Tybee Island | 61:54:13 | 06:29:12 |
| 7 | LexisNexis | 62:42:50 | 07:17:49 |
| 8 | Key Sailing | 62:55:36 | 07:30:35 |
| 9 | Castrol | 63:28:31 | 08:03:30 |
| 10 | Fully Involved | 63:31:19 | 08:06:18 |
| 11 | Spitfire Racing | 64:21:44 | 08:56:43 |
| 12 | EarnYourPotential.com | 64:51:47 | 09:26:46 |
| 13 | Outer Banks | 65:14:06 | 09:49:05 |
| 14 | Pyacht Men | 65:51:26 | 10:26:25 |
| 15 | PI Sailing | 66:54:52 | 11:29:51 |
| 16 | Cat Fever | 70:16:38 | 14:51:37 |
| 17 | Redhook Ale | 71:46:53 | 16:21:52 |
| 18 | Australia | 78:19:25 | 22:54:24 |
More about Night Legs.
We have presented you with some pro and con on the concept, but the following is an editorial about the way this magazine really feels about it.
| Editoral about Night Legs on the Worrell 1000 by Rick White I don't want to beat a dead horse on this issue, but time after time Mary (Wells) and I have expressed our disapproval of having night legs at all. We feel that this venue is already extremely dangerous and perilous even in the light of day. Why multiply that danger and peril tenfold? These are our friends, children and loved ones that are embarking on hazardous waters with the sense of vision taken away from them. These are the seas from hell on the eastern seaboard, and yet we take away the ability to see the problems that may lie in their paths. In running these races at night we are certainly asking for dangers, damages, and perhaps even death. The other night my son was racing along at breakneck speed, unable to see anything due to wind, water, froth and spray, and even more so because there was no light whatsoever. The crew suddenly shouted out, "Stop the boat!" Somehow he did so. And in doing so missed going headlong into the rock jetty coming out from Charleston Harbor. The crash into those rocks at that speed would most certainly have badly injured these two, if not killed them. I don't think we want another Dale Earnhart story in the news this year. I feel certain that the continuance of these night escapades will lead to the death of a participant, then there will be a consequent law suit, and then an even more consequential end to the Worrell 1000. Personally, I love this race and look forward to it every year. Catamaran Sailor Magazine feels that it was partially responsible for the resurrection of the race in 1997 when Michael Worrell took it back on his shoulders. And that is still another reason we fondly wish it to continue it is like one of our children.., and none of want to lose any of our children. While some say that the night legs are traditional, if my recollection is correct, this race never had night legs after it switched to the "stop-after-each-leg" format. That is, until it was restarted by Michael Worrell in 1997. It was said that the new night leg idea gave a little flavor of the old, original "sail-straight-through" format to the newly formed version of the race. Perils of the Sea We have spoken over and over again of the problems of racing at high speed at night, but just as a recap, they are: *Reefs and Sandbars that are not visible at night, and quite often are not even charted on maps. A few years ago one team was ten miles off shore and suddenly found themselves surrounded by breaking surf. They soon came to a skidding halt on a sandbar. They turned the boat around and tried to head back out, but the ebbing tide had already dried up their entry way. They spent the rest of the night sleeping on the trampoline. At daylight the waves were again breaking around them, but now they could find the way out. This sandbar was totally uncharted. *Obstructions of any kind jetties, rocks, breakwalls, you name it are everywhere on this part of the coastline. *Flotsam there are stories of boats hitting floating shipping container and getting demolished, not to mention smaller stuff that falls off boats and ships, or whatever. If you hit something like that, it can tear off your rudders, boards, etc. *Turtles and other sealife there are any number of things you can hit out there that will wipe out a rudder, board or perhaps the entire boat, including turtles and cabbage-heads. *Storms when storms come up during the day, landing spots on shore are visible and you can see where you are landing. But when on foreign shores that are basically swamp or marsh, how do you find escape from storms that might brings winds that are up to 100 mph? *Tides In the Carolinas the tides can run up to 9 feet between the highs and lows. This means there will be a horrendous amount of water flowing in and out between land masses. Over the years of the Worrell 1000 and the World 1000 (renamed that after Michael Worrell stopped running the races in the 80's) there have been any number of awesome stories of sailors getting to close to the mouth of a tributary and getting swept inward and under low tressles.., all with considerable injury and damage. *Navigation navigation can win or lose this race for you, but vision is mandatory for you to navigate. And not just the vision of being able to see marks, land sites, or lighthouses, but more so the vision to be able to see your compass, your GPS, or even your watch. For dead reckoning you certainly need to know your speed and the time. In these nighttime conditions most sailors cannot even see, let alone read their watches or their GPS. So, not only are we putting these people on the water unable to see marks, water, crashing waves, or whatever, we diminish their ability to properly navigate as well. *Wind In order to promote a better, safer race one would find that the wind is far better during the daylight than at nighttime. During the day seabreezes occur which can build to 15 mph or more during the afternoons (making for fast, exciting passages), and the winds are onshore. This means that if boats are badly damaged and left floundering, the onshore winds will blow them ashore. This better wind also allows for better spectator involvement, more media interest, and more possibility for pictures, interviews and stories. On the other hand, at night land breezes reverse the direction of the seabreeze and the wind speed is much lower (making for a very slow, unexciting, grueling passage just like last night), and the winds are offshore. This means that if boats are badly damaged and left floundering, the offshore winds will blow them out to sea not a good thing! With these long, boring nights there are absolutely no spectators, the media is gone, and pictures come out ugly, so why take them? After these long nights sailors are exhausted and don't want to talk to any reporter, even if they were there. Land Problems As Well So, you thought the problems were all on the water. Not true! Let me just tell you a few of the logistics problems: *Expenses double For the most part these are all beach resort motels and despite being pre-season, in most cases, the room rates are quite pricey the cost can be above $200 per night. And many of the teams get at least two rooms, while the larger teams get three to five rooms. With the night legs the teams have to have late arrival, but are expected to be checked out by around noon the next day. What do the sailors and ground crew do for the rest of the day? One team crams everything into one of the two rooms and pays for an extra night (at these high rates) but still leave the room vacant right after the start at 6 PM. And you cannot blame the motel owners they get that much money for their rooms with or without the Worrell 1000. *Late check out, and late check in the ground crew has had to stay up until the wee hours of the night awaiting their team (some have waited until almost morning), and then they work on the boat all day. They shove their team off, load up and head up the highway normally a narrow road (not a freeway) with cars, trucks and buses zooming past in the opposite direction with headllights glaring into weary eyes. And finally arriving at the next checkpoint in the dark to fumble around trying to find parking for vehicle, trailer, or whatever, find the check-in desk, and then finally a room and perhaps a short nap. This starts to be not much fun for the ground crew who are only doing this for fun! *Beach Sleeping Since no one knows when the boats will arrive a designated ground crew has to literally sleep on the beach most of the night in anticipation of the sailors -- and waiting on the beach is cold and miserable. This, too, is a lot of fun. Summary We have lobbied for years to abolish the hazardous night legs entirely. If not entirely, at lease abandon the idea of doing them in the most perilous waters of the United States the body of water the call the Graveyard of the Atlantic. Michael Worrell himself has called the Florida part of the race, "...just the warmup..!" So, if this insistence of a night leg continues, at least have the night leg in Florida there are no sandbars, reefs or jetties 5 miles offshore and uncharted. If the reason to stay with the night legs is to wear everyone out both sailors and ground crew then it is very effective. However, tired sailors and drivers make mistakes. And mistakes can lead to injury and even death. The Worrell 1000 does not either on its resume. On our web site we have polled audiences for a number of years now, and most sailors around the country and the world agree that the night legs should be abolished or at least be held in Florida. And we at Catamaran Sailor Magazine whole-heartedly concur. |
| Stay Tuned for a Brand New, Constant Update System We are Attempting. We are calling it our "Hot Line Reports" by Mary which will bring you instant, brief reports of what is going on, or what is supposed to be going on, or what is rumored to be going on..
|
And Here is a great contribution about the ground crews by our own on-the-beach correspondent, Cristy Schimmoller:
| Each of the teams that participate in the Worrell1000 depends on a road crew (and sponsors) to help them get through
the race. There are many functions that these teams perform for the sailors: pushing the boat in and out of the
water, repairing the boat, checking in and out of hotels, dragging luggage from one stop to the next, preparing
meals, and supplying beverages (which means runs to grocery stores, etc.) And it helps to be a little psychic to
anticipate whatever a traveling race participant might need! The size of a team's road crew often depends on the
size of their budget. Not that too many road crewmembers actually get paid to do this, but the cost of housing
and feeding them can add up. And, it is nice to see that there are so many family members as part of the road crews!
Another plus for the growing sport of catamaran sailing. Team Tybee Island is going to need a larger sail pretty soon to accommodate all the sponsors! Team Manager Chuck Bergeron lives and works in Tybee Island, Georgia and has inspired the whole town, Chamber of Commerce and all, to take an active interest in the Worrell. There were more people on the beach in Tybee than I have seen on any other beach during this race so far. Chuck has been a part of this race, in different roles, for many, many years. In the early 80s, a friend had told him about the race and they made plans to go check out the landing on the Tybee Island beach that year. As they waited on the beach that night for the boats and the time was passing to the wee hours of the morning, he was beginning to doubt that there really were any boats out there! Then out of the darkness, one boat appeared and then another. One crewmember would jump off the boat and another one would jump on and out the boats went again for the next leg. And that year he set his goal to be a part of the race. Chuck got his local sailing club involved; first they watched, then they started feeding the sailors and the contributions grew from there. After sailing, officiating and crewing for others, Chuck was approached by two local business people about the possibility of putting a team together. That dream became a reality in 1999. Chuck says he recruits constantly, though it may not seem like it. He has just become a walking advertisement for Team Tybee Island. The clothing he wears, the hat he wears and sometimes the pins he wears, all say something about the team. And inevitably someone will ask what it means. And he nabs another sponsor! Team Alexander's has Rich, Pete and Eric as their road crew. This is Rich's fourth year, Pete's third year and Eric's first year as road crew. All of theses guys have real' jobs and take their own vacation time to play this important role in this race. All this because they love it! And the team is known for recruiting people who don't know a thing about sailing. Why, I wondered? Because then they can't offer sailing advice and imagine that they know better than the guys that are out there on the boat. Eric works with Pete and got interested after listening to Pete's stories upon his return. He is still learning the lingo of sailing - including the names of all the parts on the sailboat. And, more importantly, they are having a great time! Crewmember Don Tomko from Team Spitfire is lucky enough to have his wife, Tiffany, and his father, Terry, as part of the road crew for the team. They are joined by a friend, Andrew, on the road and a "fabulous" sail maker in San Antonio to round out the team. (Don got hooked on sailing catamarans in 1991 after taking one of Rick White's Sailing Seminars in Texas. Way to go Rick!) This road crew, too, comes to help the sailors because they love to sail. This is not a job to them but a labor of love. Team Catfever has two road crewmembers throughout the race. They did just have a change of crew in Isle of Palms when Marcus had to go back to work after a week away. Barry took over Marcus' role and joined Davis for the rest of the race. Davis sailed in the race last year so he is very good at anticipating what the needs of the sailors may be; and probably is giving his opinion if asked. He did not hesitate when Captain Todd Hart called and asked him to be a part of the road crew. "I'm a good friend of Todd's," he said, and that made it all the easier to say yes. Marcus used to work with Davis and was excited about the opportunity to join the team after listening to Davis' tales of the Worrell. Barry, too, is a friend of Todd's and a sailor. Do they get paid to help Team Spitfire on the road? "What?" said Marcus, "we get PBJs." (defined as Peanutbutter & Jelly Sandwiches) And there are still a few teams who create the budget out of their own pockets! Captain Chris Sawyer and crewmember Dave White make up Team Earn Your Potential, and it is one of those teams. If a part breaks on the boat, the credit card comes out of one of their pockets. Their road crew this year is Chris' brother, Steve Sawyer. Fortunately for the sailors, Steve enjoys cooking and even threw together a small cookout for the layover day Monday. "We keep it light because we're paying for everything ourselves." But Chris hopes to change all that for next year. He is writing a daily journal of the race and the local newspaper in Pensacola is publishing it as a running story. Then he'll start his campaign for sponsors when he gets back to Pensacola after the race this year. Or maybe he'll become a famous writer and sponsor the boat himself! |