Tybee 500

Might have missed it, but what is the latest on the remnants of the premier distance race in the US? Last post I see on their homepage says 2011 event postponed til May 2012.

http://tybee500.com/

Its dead from what I hear.

GT300 is still going strong. Much faster average conditions. I believe the slowest average speed for the slowest GT300 is still faster than the fastes overall speed for the fastest Tybee.
I am bummed that the Tybee is on hold or possibly dead. I absolutely loved that race. I hope Chuck puts it on again.

As of last fall Chuck had alot of stuff going on in his life, that took priority over the race. That along with a downturn in recent attendance caused it's hibernation.
Does anyone else find it ironic that a few years ago the F-18 was going to be the future of the race and instead it turned out to be it's demise. Not many(there are a couple) of the F-18 folks seem to want to scratch their hulls(per Ricky) or go the distance. Also it seems even less of any type boat sailors are willing to make the time commitment.

The extra 200 miles may have something to do with that. Salesman much?

I too am very bummed - especially now that I live in FL.

I understand that Chuck has other priorities in life - and thats fair. There's also speculation (and always has been) that he wants to sell the race off.

The time commitment for the race itself isn't huge. Its a week and a day usually if you're within driving distance of the start or the finish. The real time commitment for us was always the planning and preparation. Literally devoting every free moment of your time from October to May just to do a race was a bit taxing - and I have to admit that I'm enjoying the extra week of vacation that I now get (even though I can't use it)

The race will return, but I think it needs to start in Key West and end in Jax just to mix it up a bit

Just pointing out that it's a bit more windy on average. Although shorter distance, it isn't any less challenging. Not selling, just like to see more out of state boats show up...maybe that is selling.
I sincerely hope the Tybee starts back up, it's a great race that requires a lesser of a degree of commitment than the Worrell (which I haven't done).

Or start Cocoa and end Wilmington, NC to give a little different flavor and make it a little more reachable for the northeast teams.

Hey I like that !!! Drive to FL and sail home.

Well..at least you are still watching!

Instead of Wilmington, make it the Outer Banks ,and then you get to round Hatteras.That was one of the best parts of the Worrell. Now that the National Park Service has closed off most of a recreational area(Cape point) because of 2 frickin' birds, it's probably the only way you could get to see it up close from the water. Still close to home for you David.

You're pretty much back to the OBX500 route then...not that there is anything wrong with that. Just make sure we finish on Sat. so I can spend Sunday driving home.

Only 10 (5 teams) of us ever did the Outer Banks 500, so what difference would it make?

I can't "make sure you finish" anytime.That'd be entirely up to you.

none.



True.

I'm in - Tybee to Va Beach.

I'll even throw some sponsor money in, if we can get someone to run it.

I can run it. The competitors shouldn't expect much more than me tooting a horn and yelling go and writing down what order they finish in though.

Yea, but not as close as to yours

There's just a little more to "running it" than just that.

True, I guess I could tell you when/where the start is, and where to finish.


I don't know why you guys feel this needs to be some big ordeal. If three boats want to do it, pick a date and place to start, pick a place to finish, and just go at it.

And get your boat confiscated when you land on a beach without a permit or insurance for your event.

Bingo!

Ok you wouldn't get your boat taken - They would just give you a nice ticket/fine.

Per foot of boat.

Oh. My. God. A ticket tad? Are ****ing serious? I'm sorry, I didn't know about that. Better just let this one die.

I think the point being made was that there is a good bit of leg work to be done to acquire the permits needed to have the boats on the beach at the various stops and re-arranging the race if you can't get them. It's more than just picking the points and saying "go".

Jake is right.

The point was is that if you want to do it legally and properly - there's a lot of work to be done. I had the pleasure of having breakfast with Chuck one morning when I was in Tybee Island visiting friends and I ran into him at breakfast club. He talked frankly about what was involved to put the race on and its not a small effort by any means. Getting the hotels and municipalities and the insurance to all play nicely with each other - plus meet the demands of any of the sponsors you've picked up for the race is a lot to handle for a guy that has a full time job already.

My point is screw the legality. Land where you want to land, launch where you want to launch. What are they going to do? Sure you might get a few tickets, but that's not exactly the end of the world either. An idea would be to not have scheduled stops where you all hit the same spot on the same beach on the same day. Ground crews could meet with their teams where ever they need to.


Making it a smaller effort is what it needs to survive. I don't know if I have any interest in doing the Tybee myself, but I think its easily the coolest catamaran race in the US. I've got nothing but respect for you self loathing SOB's who do it, and I don't want to see it go away permanently.

I agree, which is why I don't feel i need a driver's license. Heck, I know how to drive a car already...

Hahaha. Wrong dude to tell that story to. I didn't have a driver's license from 17 to about 24. It just cost me more to get to work than a licensed driver.

I'd bet the same would be true running the T-500 as you suggest.



Every year I watched the T-500, I wondered just how ugly the original Worrell was. H-16's going the wrong way through that crap... yeowch

Trust me, for some reason the cops/security guards only stop by at 2:00AM to tell you that you can not park your RV or trailer or boat there...

^^ Makes for a relaxing journey

A full time job to say the least!

Few years back I played with the idea of hosting a race down the CA coast from Santa Barbara to Long Beach, with doing a few tours out and around Catalina and the Channel Islands... After talking with my lawyer about what possible liability exposure I have personally she said none as long as I set up an LLC and run the race under the auspices of the corporation. But that was not a guarantee. OK not a problem I know the steps here as I have done this before with an airplane partnership.

Then I had to figure the permits, insurance ($1M plus for each of the government entities involved), logistics, chase boat (required by the insurance), yacht club support, awards, race shirts, give-a-ways etc...... all in all I was in the hole a few grand before any of the boats even hit the water... They way I figured it, is I would need at least 15 entries @ $450.00 each to make this thing fly and do it right.

Wasn't going to happen, hell we have to struggle to get 5 boats to make a class for the one day distance races we have here.

Maybe if I hit the $100 Million plus lottery and I have money to piss away I’ll reconsider this.




Use to live on the beach in Ventura, CA... for a few years I would launch my Prindle 18 from the ramp in the harbor, sail it around to the beach for the summer holiday weekends and leave it there overnight and have beach/sailing parties...living the California dream as they say.

The last time I did it I got a $75 dollar fine, and could not launch the boat to get it back to the harbor. Basicly they made me take it off the beach and it had to be done before sunset that day... thank goodness for beachwheels.

God bless Texas. No permits, cats welcome. Open beachs.

Someone is suing the state and challenging the open beach act. Guess where they come from?

> Californistan.

Cite?

So Flump..there are no permits or insurance required to run the GT300?




Here ya go Pete

Hopefully she loses in the long run.

Sitting here from my lame desk, I see three ways to do this race:

1) The way it has been done in the past, proper organization, insurance, hotels etc.

2) No holds barred. Everyone starts at the same place and time, finish location is fixed. Run what you bring. Fend for yourself on the stopping, food, sleeping etc. Could allow rotating crew.

3) Elapsed time. Course is set but you run what you want, when you want. Race is scored against the previous record. Again, logistics are up to you/team.

Frankly I could give a piss about cops, fines and insurance. Yes it would completely blow when you hit the beach at midnight looking for a few hours of shut eye and you have to deal with The Man. The real hazard would be a situation where you are forced between dropping the rig, hauling the boat off the beach etc. or heading back out to sea in a nasty blow at night., but those are logistics your team would need to be prepared to handle...

Trust me, I wouldn't be interested in burning a week or two of vacation time for a race in which I might have to spend a third of my time dealing with the law enforcement and paying fines instead of sailing. No thanks.

Our GT300 fleet insurance policy is cheap. No permits required, other than one with the USCG - who are very supportive of the event.

Think this is more of an evident domain case if anything which is a guarantee she'll lose.



Same here, that is everyone was very supportive as long as I filed for the permits and paid the fees, and had the right insurance...