Will/Did they start early today due to the length of the leg?

Nope. 10:00 a.m. start, coming up any minute.

Page D2 of Wednesday Sports Page in the Columbus, Ohio Dispatch is a b/w picture of two 6.0's leaving the beach (387 and 146) with caption "Setting Sail: Teams participating in the Tybee 500 endurance catamaran race take off from Hollywood Beach, Fla., to begin the second day of the six-day 540-mile race from Islamorada, Fla., to Tybee Island, Ga." Picture by Susan Stocker, South Floirida Sun-Sentinel.

Everybody stopped to have lunch as they usually do at the Crab Shack or whatever it is on the way to Fernandina, but when they got there the boats had already gone by -- so the "Shack" lost a lot of business. Usually it is packed by the ground crews waiting to see the boats go by, but this year only a few stayed to eat.

Anyway, at about 11 a.m. the order of the leaders passing that spot was:
1 -- Space Coast
2 -- Tybee
3 -- Castrol
4 -- Oz

Man...

I miss this leg.

We used to stop and see Nacho Mama in Flagler Beach (At the Campground) for Lunch!

Borritos the size of a football...

Report from Rick Loewen. Here is the order of the boats passing St. Augustine at about 10 minutes to noon.

1 -- Tybee
2 -- Castrol (about 3 minutes behind)
3 -- Space Coast
4 -- Oz
5 -- Key Sailing
6 -- Toshiba

Anyone know the ETA for Fernandina? I want to leave work in time (Jacksonville) to make it home in Fernandina and catch the finish at the Surf.

Thanks,

All right, that's it. If you guys insist on publishing not only pictures of awesome sailing, but chicks in bikinis as well, while it's still snowing!! off and on around here, I'm moving to Florida.
Somebody find a job for me, ok? (I'm a pharmacist)
Al

A Canadian pharmacist!!!
CHEAP DRUGS! CHEAP DRUGS!
We need to talk

Tybee and Castrol are now on the horizon -- looks like Tybee in the lead. They should be finishing by 3:00 p.m.

Tybee is in first, by about four minutes over Castrol. Six more boats are on the horizon, so they will be finishing in about 15 minutes or so.

Here's the rest of the finish order so far:
3 -- Toshiba
4 -- Oz
5 -- Outer Banks
6 -- Space Coast
7 -- Howard's Pub
8 -- Key Sailing
9 -- Seacats
10 -- Morada
11 -- Mezzo

12 and 13 are still on their way, but it looks like it is going to be Jaypro in 12th place and Windy Hill in 13th.

Thanks again to Rick W., Mary, John...and Rick Loewen

For Keeping us all updated!

Looks like a nice sail for the fleet again today - about 12 at 120 right now, forecast to build for a while, then lighten and clock a little as they get up the coast. It'll be interesting to see who goes in and who stays out on the rhomb. With a week's worth of easterlies, there should be some breeze offshore, but there have been big losses as well as big gains on this leg historically.

Expect to see today become several little races within the bigger picture. Folks have picked out who they want to beat, stay close to, or split from for leverage. Game plans in some cases are as simple as "ok, we're doing what that guy's not."

For those teams that are only going this far, its the last day and relief is only 100 miles away. For those continuing north, it'll be a much needed break to rest and recover a little. Steve Lohmayer of Tybee Island continues to sail with a very sore hand sprain and Chuck has a well-qualified back up sailor waiting in the wings.

For those that are arriving in Tybee with boats and hopes for the OBX 500, today will be like the passing of the baton. They'll anxiously watch the approaching weather, take some time on the beach after the boats come in to go over the leaders' rigs to see what's been working, and begin their final prparations (mostly mental) for the next start.

Good luck Tybee fleet!

Some great posts by John Williams and others. John has some excellent commentary with good shots. I sure miss the actual legit HOURLY updates page like the old days (Mary's hotline). It was easier to peruse and did not open up into a new window and forum format. While this is perhaps easier for the extras to add, the original Hot Line was a great idea.

I am tempted to put this info on a dedicated page; it actually deserves its own space for future archives and easier access.

Nice work by all that have posted results. The second half of the Atlantic 1000 is coming through Wrightsville next week. Plan to be out there. Miss the Worrell but this is a fine replacement.

Great work John and others.

Kelly

On the way to Tybee Island now, the fleet is spinnaker reaching in 10-12 knots. No incidents reported in the start and they're moving along very well. Not much chance for reports during the day as there aren't many spots from which to spectate... it's like the blackout period when the Apollo guys were re-entering the atmosphere. We just have to cross fingers and hope for the best!

Kelly,
Actually, I love doing the "Hotline" as a forum thread because, as you said, everybody can access it and add to it.
Plus, everything is in chronological order as posted, from top to bottom. In my original "Hotline," the most recent was at the top, so it was very confusing and difficult, after the fact, to have to read from bottom to top.

Plus, when somebody wanted to add something to the Hotline, they had to either call me or e-mail me, and then I had to post it. This way the middle man (me) is eliminated. I think you get more information this way than the other way, and you can immediately see the relationship between the various, and sometimes conflicting posts.

Also, when there is a reporting error about something, and there is a post to correct that error, it's much easier to go back up the thread and get the context than if everything is all run together.

And, by the way, if anybody does want to add something to this thread but doesn't know how to get on the forum, they can still call me, 305-451-3287 or e-mail me, [email]mary@catsailor.com.[/email]

Hi race fans !

Enjoying the race coverage ,-thanks -

The teams have 2 long rock jetty,s to clear after the start --jagged rocks --we caught a wave over it but was a high risk move last year .

The Tybee leg ,though shorter now ,is still a long one ,many years it finishes well into the night ,so hope all sailors are -were prepared for the colder night temps. and have lights aboard ,with extra snacks and drinks .

The shark population in the shallowes along the coast is huge ,-we have had hammerheads about the length of the boat close enough to touch going right underneath us on the wire . A cold chill goes thru as you and your crew look at each other and both exclaim --did you see THAT !!

The approach to Tybee Is is guarded by mud flats just S that extend far out offshore ,-at night the tendancy of sailors is to head straight for the lights of the Island and straight for them ,--no fun at night .

wISHING ALL A SAFE FAST LEG -
gO kIRK AND gLEN

Well it looks like it's going to be an exciting last leg of the Tybee. Thanks to all the posters for a great week of enthusiastic coverage. I've been glued to the computer just hoping to get a bit more info all week! And I was lucky and got to go down to the beach on Tuesday and wednesday to see them arrive and leave from Hollywood (I have my screensaver full of great photos of that day). Sorry I couldn't get them on the website (slow connection etc.
Anyway, I can't wait for the Q&A session to Jake Kohl on this site to hear all the details of the race

At 13:30 local time, the leaders along the beach appear to be Tybee, Howard's Pub and Key Sailing. Forecast be damned, it's backed around to the ENE. Part of the fleet has gone offshore, but the buoy reports (4 knots) aren't encouraging. Castrol is apparently offshore. Breeze closer in is 10-12, and the leaders are nearly close-hauled. NO SPINNAKERS.

more to come...