I don't know the reasons for ALL of the dropouts, but I do know about five of them.

The Hobie 16 sailors later admitted they were in way over their heads. They made it as far as Angelfish Creek, but they were not able to get through it. The current was going against them, and they were having a hard time tacking, and kept going back more than they went forward. So they very wisely decided to sail back to Gilbert's.

Carla Schiefer and Clive Mayo on a Marstrom 20 broke a rudder. They pulled ashore just north of the Card Sound Bridge on the first day to try to jury-rig something (I am told), and that explained their late finish the first day. They opted not to sail on Sunday.

Charles Thuman and Jon Britt did not sail on Sunday because Jon was sick.

Chris Runge and Terry Greene had to drop out on Sunday about 3 miles north of the Channel 5 Bridge, because their dolphin striker had let go, and, as a result, their main beam broke (well, cracked badly), and they were afraid they would lose the whole rig.

The Hobie 20 with Lenny and Saramy dropped out on Sunday because they did not feel comfortable with the conditions (too much wind).

The only ones I don't know about are Karl Langefeld/Ben Keener and Alex Lefur/Todd Berget.

Any additional information would be appreciated.

Everyone did a great job of calling in to the race committee. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />