East Coast endurance race, would you do it?

A friend and fellow Worrell 1000 competitor asked me to gauge the interest in a race from Miami to Virginia. Seems there may be someone willing to put the race on (probably in 2013). It would be NON-STOP with 3 man teams. Boats would have to carry functioning trackers, and all logistics( where to swap out crew,etc.) are up to the teams, including any permits wherever you decided to land. First team to pick the check up off the bar at the finish ,gets it. The details aren't sorted out ,but probably any One design cats would qualify.

Would you do it?
And I mean really do it ,not just type about it.

yes, except for the OD part.

Box rule, anything goes...

-Mike

I'd be willing to crew.

Not that I have any say in it, but that seems like a way to kill it before it starts. You'd end up with a couple of F-20c and maybe a Marstrom, and an RC. Who would build for one race?
You're one design Mike, what would you be worried about.

I am not a worrell guy, or a tybee guy...
but this ain't gonna happen

You're on! I'll make a small wager it does happen.

If it's in 2013 (after worlds), there is plenty of notice and it's NOT BOX RULE... F18s or Carbon 20s only i think. We are 110% in... myself and several NE teams are dying to do the Worrell.
And PTP, keep your opinions to yourself, there are plenty of people that want to see this happen, we don't need detractors. Thanks.

Anyone have pix and history of the Worrell? How many years it ran? How many H16s completed?

+1
Round the clock sailing? Bring on the racks, man.

Todd? F18 and F20 only? WT F?

And N-20, Tornado, F-16,etc...one design. I would assume.
I'm just a sounding board for this and really know no more than I've posted. They may want to do a box rule, (he said one design) , don't know , but to me that would just create a hellacious arms race and reduce overall participation, just MY opinion.
It sounds as if they may be shooting for absolute minimum hassle from an organizing stand point ergo the Teams are responsible for everything deal, safety, lodging, bail,etc..
And PTP thanks for the vote of confidence ,if the interest and participation aren't there, then you are right it probably won't happen.If there is interest ,hopefully it will.

From what I can tell, the Worrell never had more than 20 participants. It seems to me that you don't need to gauge interest from the sailors, if you put it on, they will come. However, without sponsors the whole thing dies.

My money is on the F32SRX

I'd be willing to crew with enough advance notice.

I don't care about the details particularly but it's a great idea. I'll buy a shirt, decal, cap or any other advertising stuff.

I think Mike wants to pull a Randy.

Yeah, but even this is a little different than the Worrell. The Worrell was very structured with stops, layovers, starts (including evening starts for night legs), etc. It was setup this way so media could follow it.

Sponsorship is a whole 'nother animal too. Let's face it, the Worrell, Tybee, etc., never really got THAT much out of sponsorship (and this race appears to be reducing the management costs so that it shouldn't be an issue). People drove these races to happen and found ways to barely make ends meet. Team sponsorships have never amounted to an incredible amount either - most teams pay 80 to 90% of their own expenses out of pocket anyway even with the appearance of a big sponsor.

This race sounds like a different animal and would be hard to compare against the Worrell...it's closer to the structure of the WaterTribe events (Everglades challenge) but without specific checkpoints while providing the ability to switch crew. You have the option to sail it how you want to sail it - take your time, create your own check points, or full out sail through every night and try to get there first.

My own personal delima is about how our team would approach the race and this plays into whether or not I would want to do it. Within our class, there's probably not much chance I can keep pace with the leaders in endurance and my time to prepare/train is at an all-time low for the time being. Outside of our class, there's little chance an F18 could win it. With winning out of the picture, I have to ignore the fact that there is prize money and find our own approach, and motivation, to do the race. Do we take it low and slow, take our time, and get there over the course of two weeks for the sake of sailing the distance (bucket list), or do we see how hard we can push ourselves and see who we can beat along the way? The possibility for a lot of night sailing factors in there too.

I guess one of my concerns is that it's possible I don't see another boat, or team, along the entire distance.

Perhaps it's possible to break the distance with one or two checkpoints that require boats that arrive between midnight to midnight to restart together the next morning at 10am the next morning with starts for several days...or, perhaps, takeaway some structure from the Archipeligo Raid...

Team Seacats is a prospect for the race and are interested to see how it would be structured.

Too me, part of the challenge is selecting/building the right boat for the event. I'd love to modify the F20c with racks, monster spin, code zero, etc...

"Do we take it low and slow, take our time, and get there over the course of two weeks for the sake of sailing the distance (bucket list), or do we see how hard we can push ourselves and see who we can beat along the way? The possibility for a lot of night sailing factors in there too."

I hadn't thought about that. Such an approach would be tailor made for the Tiki, any of them, or any other cruising cat.

I'd be willing to type about it. Give all kinds of opinions about it. Then not do it.

Yeah....I Don't see that happening. hasn't worked that way in the past, I wouldn't expect it to now.
As far as sponsors go, that would be up to the teams. These guys aren't trying to make a business model or spectacle out of it.

I knew I could count on you. I reckon you'll have a big team.

But that is severely limiting the participant pool. You are already limiting it to people who would be willing and to do it. By forcing the sailors to come up with the money themselves, you are also limited it by those who can either afford it, or drum up their own sponsorship. These are radically different skill sets IMHO. The kind of people that are willing and able to sail a beach-cat 1000 miles (possibly non-stop,) are not the same kind of people who are well moneyed, nor are they the kind of salesmen that they can get companies to cough up the necessary cash. Sure there are examples of people who can pull things together well enough for a one-off type event (crossing the Atlantic or whatever,) but an annual race is a whole different ballgame.

Either way, asking sailors if they are interested is pointless, you don't need a whole lot of sailors to participate. What you need to make this sort of thing successful are organizations.

Didn't Worrell start out as a bar bet?

I see the beginnings of the "1,000 Ruble Cup" race. I'd even be willing to post the prize of 1,000 Russian Rubles if I can find some...

Not having competed in Watertribe events, I like the concept: a few stops where you register your team, date, time (so you know where your competition is if they're out of sight), you complete at your own pace, and there are loose classes in which to compete in if you choose.

If you want to build to an unlimited class, that's cool.

If you want some OD action, get others in your class to sign up.

If you just want to "bucket-list" it, show up.

What I have no clue about (amongst my vast expanse of cluelessness) is how difficult the organizer's job would be (and how costly) to set up the lock boxes and other stuff behind the scenes?

Really??? Are you looking for a handout?

I've done 4 Worrell 1000s and 4 Tybee 500s, and a ton of other distance races. I suck at getting sponsorship, and I'm a carpenter( not exactly rich). If I can make it happen ,anyone can. I never had a Race organizer pay for anything, haven't even heard of it. No race organization is going to fund you to race, be realistic.

And how'd that work out... not too good.

I would be interested in it more along the bucket list effect. No way in hell would I have a team that would even be close, but I would love to be able to gibe it my best shot and complete the distance.

Are any of the beachcats able to do it non-stop? Carry enough provisions and three guys to sail 1,000 miles?

By non-stop, it means that the boat is non-stop and just beaches in pre-determined places to swap one crew member and then carry on. the crew member is driven to the next stop and catches a few z's on the way.

Those guys went from Long Island to France a few years back on a beach cat (or similar). Thats 3,636 miles (via plane). For some reason i couldn't find directions on Mapquest how far the "drive" would be

If that's the case Richard and I'll do it if we can get an Orma 60, or maybe borrow Playstation for a week or so...

Hang on a second. How many 4ksb's make this trip routinely? The trip itself is doable, how fast is the question.

I'm thinking a young, skilled crew (3 lean, smallish guys) on a 20 something could make the trip without stopping on the beach to switch anything.

A beach cat endurance race organized with legs and stopovers with entertainment and such seems like a better idea. It might be quite difficult to promote an offshore race that is 'go as fast and as long as you can' and stop wherever, from a media stand point. I think not having defined stops also is a recipe for fatigue, poor team planning outcomes, and lack of general race support and cohesion. Just my two cents.

There's a huge difference between doing it on a 4ksb and an open beach cat. I've done a lot of racing offshore, and it's not too hard to push a boat 24 hrs a day when you can go below, get some hot food and catch some z's off watch. Doing that on a beach cat would be impossible...

Now if I can build a monster set of cat trax for the R33, and get a team of pushers - it's game on!!!

I'll be surprised if you don't get a few youngish volunteers wanting to do the impossible.

A bit off topic (i know how everyone loves that)...

a real exciting race would be.... a race from the keys to x, who ever goes the furthest without stopping.

I am sure the logistics of this would be insane, but that would be exciting to see

wouldn't even have to have a defined start/finish date. Just post your GPS track from a specified starting point (say Smather's beach, Key West) and wherever it touches land, that's your "official" stop point

So you could have this "race" all year long with everyone posting their trips... End of year winner is tallied and gets a sweaty sock.

Hold that thought. That's kinda what I had in mind with the Raid Ybel. You and I of course are the current world champions...

You're talking about anything from 96 to 170 hours of time on the water. Planning to sleep on a beach cat over that time span would be impractical. Only in light to moderate conditions could you possibly catch any z's while underway - and you can't plan for those conditions to happen. I wouldn't think a non-stop trip is practical on a OD racing beach cat under 20' where on-board sleep will be required.

If someone does sort it out, carrying the third person and provisions for the entire trip would be more of a time/speed penalty that pulling into the beach every 12 hours.

Ah, but the glory!

Any marathoners, Iron Man types out there? Can this be done?

I can supply Rubles,it is only $30, after all.

Can I do it solo? If so, I'll start shopping for a boat.

Two guys sailed a beach cat across the atlantic... Of course it can be done. (They ended up in the hospital when they finally made land though.)

There was a solo guy too. He did alright, without hospital.

I thought opinions were what was being asked about. Like I said, not being a tybee guy limits what my opinion is worth, but as soon as I read 'securing permits' for landing sites I, personally, surrender.
Wasnt the tybee 'cancelled' last year due to lack of interest?
Is a relatively non structured open water race on open cats a good thing for our sport?

No opinions or suggestions were asked for. The question was simply "would you do the race as described"?
I think it would be great for the sport . The Worrell certainly was.I'm sure a bunch of douchebags that were never involved with it will now bring up it's demise.

Vlad,
If anyone could do it solo it would be you. The organizer is reading the thread so it should be considered.

I'd be interested, but not for a while. I need to do some distance racing before I tackle something as major as 1k miles. As of right now I just like the idea, but don't know if I'd like the experience.

Would that be referring to me?
No, I wouldnt do the race as described.

I know - i thought the same thing too...BUT, if you're just hitting the beach to swap out crew memeber(s), I think you can probably do that under the radar without a problem. If you broke down and needed to spend more time on the beach, I can't imagine the law enforcement making you take your non-seaworthy craft back out into the ocean.

We have had some experiences having to beach in restricted access parks and such and it's usually not a problem if you have a good reason to do so.

I'm trying to wrap my head around the sailing rotations - what a challenge!

I like the idea. But if you made it from Sarasota to Charleston, I'd love it! Put a mandatory bell-ring checkpoint at Smather's Beach, so you know everyone made the "offshore' run to Key West OK, then the punch-drunk only need to keep the beach on the left all the way to Charlie town. For me, I think VB gets logistically too distant to want to plan the shoreside issues. But keep me posted.

I like that idea.

Nope. I didn't see you write anything disparaging about the Worrell. Do a site search for Worrell and you'll see the trend whenever the name comes up, just don't want to cloud this thread with that BS.

Canaveral and Camp Legeune would obviously be NO GO areas. For everywhere else, I'd think you'd be in and out before anyone could do anything.Plus you could plan where to swap out and the lower profile spots would make more sense. Like Jake said ,as far as repairs go I can't imagine being turned away.
Crew rotations and night time cape roundings were what I've been thinking about. Seems you'd need 2 solid skippers, with one being crew at times and a super crew. It'd definitely take some serious thought.

You've got a year and a half, get crackin'. If I knew you wanted distance race experience I'd have gotten you to crew Steeplechase for me.

When is it? I'd probably be game if you're crew finds out what you're like.

Trust me My crew already knows.
It's in about 2 weeks, already pulled the plug for this year. Great race though you oughta try it. I've done about 10 of 'em and it's still one of my favorites.

FYI- Pete has done the Trans Pac a number of times and some other open water stuff. This is the type of challenge that brought him to catamarans in the first place. I assume there are other mono sailors interested as well.

Does your friend dictate that the race can only be Miami to Virginia? I could understand the nostalgia of past races, but would a different course be more conducive of greater interest? I'm asking lets say a race from Tampa around the tip of Key West or through the Keys, and up the east side to where ever? You could have multiple beaching points, check in points and like the GT 300, others could come out and race legs or sections for experience and a taste of the action. If you allowed others to take part you might generate intest for future years with large groups of racers. Given you have a lot of folks in Florida that would do it also. Even if they weren't racing, how many might be willing to man or volunteer at a check point to be a "part of the race?" Just an idea.

Forrest
I-20

Didnt Randy win the Worrell one year with a custom built cat with racks? That was my reference.

If increase course distance, budget, and helm time is an issue?
I would like to see sailing team municipality rules. (a la A1GP)
My dineros would be on Team Fort Walton ?
By country it would be 1st Australia ?, 2nd ??

>A1 Grand Prix (A1GP) is a 'single make' open-wheel auto racing series. It is unique in its field in that competitors solely represent their nation as opposed to themselves or a team, the usual format in most formula racing series. <

>Unlike almost all other forms of auto racing, drivers do not score points individually; instead the points they earn are ascribed to their national team. This means that teams can change drivers between rounds, which is often necessary because some drivers have commitments in other formulae, and still accumulate points to their score.<

Todd,

I got so excited about the thought of a 1000 mile race - it forced me to finally join the bloody forum!

Jake - we are in!!!

Frank

Pensacola to Miami
Checkpoints, East point, Cedar key, Sarasota, Naples, Key West, Key Largo, Miami...

I Dont know how close to 1000 miles that is, if its short by much you could always throw a leg into and out of Tampa Bay somewhere, and it'd be a great race. The tactical options in terms of routing on the west coast of Fla. add a totally different challenge versus the drag race up the east coat. Cut the corner? Stay near the beach, offshore, inshore? etc..Plus the logistics are simpler given how big the community of beach cat sailors in the start and finish areas is, and in Florida generally. It may lack some of the extreme conditions that you tend to get around hatteras, but getting to key west and then to Miami is big water and unpredictable.

Oh lord, here we go! Todd - you can put us in the "confirmed serious" column!

the Marco - Key West leg sounds like a potential problem area to me. These are coastal beachcats we're talking about, and a straight shot to Key West involves sailing beyond sight of land. I don't think this would bode well if something broke 1/2 way to KW.

Maybe put a check-point in Cape Sabel and another in Key West, you'd have the option of running to the east or west side of the keys

As for "manning" the checkpoints, would a lock-box with a log-book suffice? or Ping your GPS?

Are you volunteering to hang out at Cape Sable? It's a lonely place.

to be honest, I've never seen Cape Sabel in daylight. We have bumped the keel once or twice at night in that general vicinity as a yute on our family boat back in the 70's

Oh, isn't that area west of the Keys the Navy's exercise area for the fighter jets out of that base down there? It would suck to get nuked while trying to make Key West check point (would probably leave a mark, too)

No, Cape Sable is the very tip of the Florida peninsula. It's a bad place to hang really. Nice beaches, a tidal creek and Lake Ingraham. Good place to camp.

Shark River is just north and a popular anchorage.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Sable

Yes I would do it in a heartbeat... but take a lesson from the worell and the tybee AND watertribe races. www.watertribe.com

IMO, don't waste time arguing about OD crap. I'm with mike, run what you brung FOR REAL. As long as your making the competitors manage their own race, make a token prize for everyone that dares to enter from FBI (first bich in) to DFL (dead f-ing last). Run your 4ksb, snark, kayak with sail, puddle duck, Aquacat, H-16, R33, F-20 who cares I mean really. If you want endurance racers interest or to spark new interest, you'll have to leave the OD table and talk to some wall flowers.

Also, FYI the watertribe is already running great races in florida and NC like the North Carolina Challenge and the Everglades Challenge. They are TRUE run what you brung and it is awesome. EC 2011 had 90 entrants!!!! If I never race OD again that would be ok.

-Alan
www.sailnaway.blogspot.com

And to that point, I don't think anyone does this with an eye on the prize money. Most of us are realistic enough to admit that we stand very little chance of earning it.

Part of me wants to see OD but I have to admit it would be more fun doing it with more people OD or not. Even in the watertribe events, everyone finds their own challenge within the boat limits and classes will be born within the group. Alan has a point.

I believe he ate it in the surf on the second wave after the start, but I could be wrong.

It's not my decision to make, but I have raced against a few of the "open" class Worrell boats a long time ago and the monstrosities built were not only costly but dangerous. I think an open class would certainly be a spectacle but would not drive up participation. The watertribe races ,as awesome as they are, strike me as 1/2 race 1/2 obstacle course. The one offs built for that would be far different from what would be built for this. I'd venture to guess the attached pic would be on the tame side of what would get built.

Haha, ok. To each his own.

Costly and dangerous sounds like every other interesting thing one can do with ones life nowadays. I for one cannot afford a OD boat that can do what I want. But I can build one. Driving a car is dangerous too. It is lack of experience that is dangerous. Hence the reason for waivers and self managed races. I think open class by definition drives up participation. If you don't want home built boats in the race that's cool too. I just think it would be a cooler race that more people would enter. Run what you brung doesn't mean that OD cant enter or have a "class" its just ALL inclusive. A race like this will be as much about the boat as the sailors. Breaking down in a million dollar carbon eggshell is not fast and neither is staying awake for 11 days straight. Those watertribe races have a 50% finish rate for a reason and it's not because half of the boats break down.
-Alan

Ok, looks like we have ground crew that is chomping at the bit to want to do it with us. If it happens, Team Chums will be at the start for sure. OD, Open or what the f' ever it is, it's on with us.

Beware of Lee. He's just returned from a land where the men are men, (and the sheep know it).

Alan,
If you can't afford a used N-20 or F-18 how can you build something faster for less. If you can, you're missing out on a great business opportunity.
My idea of dangerous is 18-20 ft. boat with 10' beams and 8-10' aluminum frame racks on each side. With all the righting moment they will pitchpole and with a 15' drop to the mast it's just a matter of how bad you're gonna be hurt, not if.

I guess cost of a OD boat in this case includes assumed cost of regattas which is the point of owning one. Anyway, its beside the point. You may be right about a great business opportunity but this is not a goal of mine. I didn't claim faster for less. Only "what i wanted". It might be faster, don't know yet.

Racks can be dangerous...So what? I agree a boat like the one you describe could be a nightmare but for this theoretical long race, where the goal is to finish. Pitch-pole causing racks don't make a lot of sense since pitch-poling and getting hurt is also not fast. All races have to have some rules. A simple box rule for multi's in a open style race where anything goes could weed out the crazies right? F18's and N20's pitchpole all the time given the right conditions. Is the only argument against an open format one of safety or liability?

Maybe compare to economics (as much as I hate economics) Run what you brung being akin to a free market. Innovation, interest, unique solutions, tinkering. All things sailors can't get enough of.

But like I said, have an OD "class" sure for those who like to race man to man. In the end, 30 or 40 boats with an open class too is better than 10 OD's right? Were talking about interest here.

Todd,

Sorry, I've thrown this off topic.

What I meant was.... "I'm in".

-Alan

As I said before it's not up to me. As far as having a box rule, I'm not against that either, I sail an A cat and love the development. I've also got some plans and a bunch of parts to steroid up a N-20. I do know for a fact if you open everything up the mainstay racers on "normal" boats will say screw it. It's a race for a cash prize. If it was my race and my decision to make ,I'd have an unlimited class (run what you brung rule/ box rule) that was not eligible for the prize or a portion of it based on how many there were( assuming entry fees make up the pot), and an OD class that has to meet a minimum rating( like Steeplechase, so it's timely and not a 3 week race) that would compete for the prize or the other portion.


That's not my argument at all. My argument is you drive away more competitors than you get.As an example, Many of the stock F-18 guys (and there's alot of them) are not going to race straight up against a F20c or M-20 tricked out with racks ,custom sails and other goodies. The track record shows they should ala GT-300 (Sorry Mike ) but alot would not even attempt it. For me it would be about numbers. Historically OD distance races have had larger numbers than open development races. It's just numbers. I'd love to see the machines that would come out of such a race (open) but unless I was on one I wouldn't race an OD boat against one either.

Excellent. Now to get you on my team.

p.s. I put alot of thought in to that last post that I didn't need to write.

Todd - you act like you've never seem him build something. Dude's got mad skillz. http://www.sailnaway.blogspot.com/

My favorite Alan construction pic has the best of both (actually, three) worlds:

You're going to have a tough time sailing Playstation since it became a camera platform for Morning Light.

To confirm....Team Seacats = in. We're already in the planning/scheming stage and most of the personnel have expressed commitment.

I know he's got mad skills, I'm an Alan fan. Skills or not you couldn't get the materials to build a faster (my words not Alan's) than F-18 or N-20 boat for the cost of a used F-18n or N-20. And it is a race so why would you want to build something slower unless you were testing some new ideas, which would be my guess on his plan.

You know Chris and I are in! Bet Dave L can build em......although, those trax might be a little scary........

"Excellent. Now to get you on my team."

Ok, so now I should open the floor to bids for my skipper or crew skills for this as of yet theoretical race to help pay for my less expensive than OD boat.

Also, I'm gonna go ahead and say that she's gonna be at least as fast as an F-18 or a N-20. BAM!

Right on.
Theoretical smack talk for a theoretical race.
This is the tri in your blog, I take it?
Looks awesome.So what will you have in it after hardware sails and everything? And will it beat Scizzors?
Oh yeah, I fixed your post.

I haven't added it up yet but i work at a boat shop so i do a lot of dumpster diving.
Will it beat sizzor? I don't know. Like you said it's an obstacle course. Randy's gonna switch to a kayak for the river so he'll be faster there but I will be 2^up so I should be able to get there first if I can go nonstop. Who knows. By river I mean rock-garden http://rogermannadventures.blogspot.com/

F-18 skipper looking to crew this race. 6'1" 240 can fly in and bring my own gear. Any teams looking for a third?

I got confused. What's the course again? Miami to Virginia, around the FL Penninsula, or everyone ganging up on the Everglades challenge?

Come to think of it, I'd suspect that a good gauge of participation in "the race" would be who enters other distance stuff like GT300, Steeplechase, RTI pensacola, etc.

Might also be a good way to "cross-sell" this proposed race to other similarly experienced and interested teams.

Can I sail my Stiletto 23? Please? It holds so much more beer than a Nacra

If you don't want one design limitations, but you also don't want someone showing up with a custom made boat. Simply make a rule that whatever boat you sail, there has to be at least 500 others just like it in existence. (Change the number if you think that is too high/low.)

That way, if someone wants to make a custom boat, there will be an incentive to make a new class.

I'd do it.
I've done Rough Riders over 12-15 times; GT300 5 times
Currently 156#'s, tip top shape (Masters Swim Team), etc.
And, I'd bring some awesome homebrew beer!
Who needs a team member?

Alan's ties run deep in the TVS crowd. He already knows who he'll be sailing with (Bailey and me).

So, if this does come to fruition, TVS would probably put a boat on the line. Sailor vs. sailor, not vs. boat.
OD!

Tad, Derek, Ryan, Allie, and Dr. Kate will surely see us up the coast.
Bailey, you dig?

Sounds cool. We could have a great team with TVS. My only concern is safety. Last Tybee our greater team had a guy get separated, get in a very scary situation, activate his EPIRB and get rescued all by noon on a Tuesday morning. It really shook up his team but in the grand scheme of things it was really mild compared to what the 1Ker could bring. (catchy name - 1Ker?)

I know others have done it before, but I don't want to see anyone get seriously hurt. Any thoughts on what would help avoid a serious situation where boats are spread out, it's dark and cold in heavy air, and something really bad happens?

<**** event. The boats will definitely be spread out, it will be dark 1/2 the time, and depending on when they run it it could be cold(It was in may,at night). The safest way to negotiate all of these obstacles is to stay home and play video games.

Shouldn't we get Team Watertribe? I mean we should have no problem with finding ground crew volunteers. and we may talk Randy into it.

Colin and I are in 100%.

The specific rules don't matter we are down for whatever race gets put on.

As far as the type of boat, OD, etc. I think it should be as open as possible to encourage participation. There should be some upper limit so that a cruiser doesn't just do the race non stop. I'm thinking a big broad box rule ie less than 22 feet no cabins or engines, ok go. It needs some more detail, but I like the line of thought.

No lower limit. They did the course on hobie 16s in the past, why not again?

Todd is right no matter what its not going to be 100% safe, and that's part of the fun.

In the 2000-2002 Worrells there was quite a bit of sponsorship. Obviously it wasn't NASCAR, but there were sponsors. The sponsors dwindled after the Worrell died, I think largely do to the Tybee for a variety of reasons never being as well publicized as its predecessor. The Worrell was in almost every newspaper up the coast and I can remember multiple evening news stories.

Whatever race forms, marketing is the key, not just to the competitors, but to outside parties. Distance racing is cool and there is always plenty of drama. I haven't done a Tybee that wasn't full of great moments and stories, from both the racing and the people. Its a matter of getting those out to interested parties. If the world cup of handball can make ESPN 3 so can we.

You guys need Dana Brown. I think that's his name. He did "Dust To Glory" which was about the Baja 1000, and his father made "Endless Summer".

Why not add the Corsairs / Farrier trimaran classes?
They can sail cleanup
(if the regatta could use a bit more safety/insurance/towing an offshore dis-masted cat/or fallen crew pickup?).

They we go. Now I'd be in. Must be gettin' old...

While we're at it, why not just allow power boats too?

And airplanes.

Ocean sailing is inherently dangerous which is part of the draw. By mandating tracking units on each boat and personal EPIRB's ON each sailor, you will be solving 98% of the worst scenarios. The other 2% can't be eliminated and you should stay home if you don't like it.

I would like to see it as an open race to all boats from 18' to 22' spinnaker equipped. This would actually give me an option to do the race. I am not going to go out and buy a boat to do the race and would not really care to charter one.

Am I correct in assuming that once you flip on the EPIRB, you will pretty much be abandoning your vessel?

I don't think the coasties are in the vessel-tow busines, right?

Most of the situations in which you activate the EPIRB are due to the fact that for one reason or another, said boat is unavailable to the sailor activating the EPIRB.

(Translation: "You dun fell off the dang floatie thing")

You are correct. My statement was the worst case scenario which is loss of life (lost at sea). You can activate the SPOT trackers to send a help message to your road crew. You can also tie your SPOT tracker to automatically contact Boat US if "Help" is pressed. "Basic Membership" is $34/year, "Unlimited Salt Water Towing" is $159/year.

Each boat should also have cellphone and VHF radio to coordinate outside assistance, along with other Tybee 500/GT 300 type safety equipment.

I was just addressing the safety issue, not the property issue which is of lot lesser concern. If you do this race, you should be prepared to abandon vessel in worst case. If you leave the vessel, you can reset your SPOT to track so you can find the boat again.

Or VHF Channel 16? a trailing fleet of Corsair / Farrier trimarans, if time is of the essence?

Any progress? Tentative dates?

Nothing yet.

Rescue Laser Flare?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfyTjqfP13o

You can damn well be sure I'll be putting another TVS boat on the line (and I already have the 2 sailors and ground support team needed to make it happen, they just don't know it yet). I'll run whatever, OD or tricked out N20/F18. Just tell me where the start is and I'll (hopefully) see you at the bar at the finish.