Its just about this time of year

That I get really, really sad.

Tonight would be the night that we're out partying in Islamorada or Hollywood with all of my sailing buddies... we'd have setup the boats, or we would be finalizing repairs to Brett's boat in preparation for a 500-some-odd mile north to Tybee Island.

Its no secret that I've been out of catsailing for the most part for a long time - since the Tybee stopped I'd gather. Someone moved my cheese - and I've yet to find the motivation to find new cheese to get me back on a boat regularly.

The Tybee was more than just a race to a lot of us (I named my dog after the race) - I know Trey feels the same way I do... every regatta we used to roll into would be just another primer and practice for the "big dance" in early May. Its almost like a job getting ready for it, and keeping in shape for it, and keeping the boat in order, and doing the logistics (well ok, Allie did that for us Thank GOD) but when it stopped happening - a big part of what made me get up every morning and made me motivated to make myself better stopped happening too.

I know its just not me, I've spoken to others in the community that ache for it to come back again. I just drove home this afternoon from a nice day on the beach at Flagler. I had my dogs with me, my wife, and my fishing poles and the WHOLE time I was looking at the wind on the water and wishing that I was on the Nacra out there crashing through the first set of rollers.

I just hope it happens again before I'm too fragile to do it - because I really want a reason to start sailing again.

Hang in there Tad... you have plenty of catsailing left in you before you hang it up.

The Tybee and Worrell will always be the gold standard for those of us who, for whatever reason, never did one. That can't be taken away from you.

I am proud to have sat with you and Bailey at CSC on New Years Day. I am proud that I have had warm (and not so warm) dialogue with Todd (how many Worrells, Down the Bays, Tybees, Steeple Chases?). I am happy to have casually known Trey, Jake, Mike, Todd, Brenden, JW and a host of others.

Don't give up. I quit for 25 years and came back. I still have a few Mug Races and such in me left at 70. Maybe another Steeple Chase.

Rick White is older than dirt. I struggle to keep him honest.

Well, grab a box of Kleenex and go do the GT for Pete's sake. Jeezus, it's not like there isn't an option for our distance racing addiction. What is with the East Coasters not ever coming to do it? Jeez, we'd spend close to 10k to make sure we came to do the Tybee AND the GT just to try to coax you boys to come race with us. I don't get it. Are youguys afraid of the mosquitos or what? If you ever make it here, I'll supply the Vagicreme to help you through the first two days.

Tad,
I understand exactly how you feel. If the Worrell was my heroin,then the Tybee was my methadone, now I guess I'm suffering withdrawals. My cheese is missing too, bro. Mother's day feels weird not racing up the coast.
Sorry Lee, the GT is great but it doesn't fill the "East coast, headin' North" void for me.

The GT seems like a great event - it just isn't the race that the Tybee was for me.

It was more than just pushing off of a beach, and turning left. It was the good times of hanging out with people I cared about and respected.

I remember the first year we did it... holy crap Trey and I are lucky it was an easy year and we didn't die. Woefully underprepared and unaware of what really could happen out there.

Thankfully guys like JC, Krantz, Captain Kirk and Todd (in his own, special way) encouraged and helped us rather than laughed at us.

Its hard to replace that.

Tad, if that is your passion, why not organize a new race?

I agree, I know what you feel with a connection to the race. The GT is it for me since it's the first major distance race I ever did. If the Tybee was on my coast line, I'd feel the same way about it. Although I haven't done it as many times as ya'll, I still have an empty feeling inside that it isn't running anymore.

What would it take to get this going again?

Mike

I'd encourage anyone who's feeling nostalgic or restless to give the GT300 a serious try. It is far away. It is in the Gulf. The hotels aren't as big or posh. I know. But it's happening and I think you guys would be surprised (I was) how much of the feel is still there. My worry is that, like the Hog's Breath, the Worrell and the Tybee, it is sustained by the passion of one guy, and the numbers seem to be shrinking. One guy can't maintain it - the rest of the matches in the pack need to catch fire. It really is no logistically harder to do than the East coast races were. The hotels are far less expensive.

It would be a salve to my soul to see a Worrell reunion, no doubt. Some Queensberry stories? Neil's dry humor. Chuck's down-home wisdom served in dollops of white gravy. And the slew of sailors carried out by the tide and returned home on the waves, changed.

Yep.

Never did the Tybee because my boat was not allowed but I was lucky enough to work it the last year. Hope I was not part of the reason it failed. All of the distance races are struggling now.

I have also been getting that distance itch and my Key West run this year got thwarted. Rob and I went out playing in the Gulf Stream Saturday an reaffirmed that I need to do a Bahamas run.

yes, it was your fault. hah.

The distance races have always struggled. At least for the east coast races, it was one passionate person that pushed it and made each one happen. Like John said, it's so close to the rest of the matchbook catching on fire but it hasn't gotten there yet.

I've done the GT, so I'm speaking from the experience of sailing in it. I didn't feel the same connection to the Worrell or the Tybee that you must feel reporting on it. Otherwise I would be doing it every year. It's a great race, I enjoyed it immensely (mostly Thanks to Lee) but not the same. Logistically it is more difficult, especially for east coasters. Unless you want to camp on the beach, the hotels are a ways away for the first couple of legs, and you best have 4 wheel drive to get on and off the beach. It's an awesome race, much more isolated, but different than the Tybee or Worrell was. I truly hope Steve and company can keep it going.

It won't until a bunch more F-18 guys get bitten by the bug. The focus of spinnaker rigged cats has shifted away from distance racing with the popularity of the F-18 with it's great marks racing courses and well organized class. Many of the guys are scared they'll scratch their bottoms or damage their boat in some way. Yeah, you probably will, that's where the passion for it comes in.

Todd no matter how many times I tell you you don't seem to comprehend that you are not speaking for the majority of F18 sailors when you comment that F18 sailors are scared of scratching the bottom or damaging the boat. In addition, it's not that we're not "bitten by the bug" it's just not our priority and there isn't time or money for all of it.
Catacup is a perfect example, those beaches are not at fine at Florida's yet most of the teams drag their boat on the beach. There are also a lot of breakdowns here, more than I ever saw in Tybee (though there are more boats).
Steeplechase is another example.
The majority of the reason is that we are all focused on the bigger picture which is "marks racing". We all only have some much vacation time and money, we chose to use it for big events such as NA's or Worlds. When we did the Tybee that was our focus for the year, now it's the Championship events.
I would really like to do a Worrell and I think there are quite a few other people from our fleet that feel the same way. It would require enough notice (maybe a year and a half - 2 years) for us to allocate our time and funds to be able to do it in addition to any championships or make a decision way in advance to not attend the championships that year. But then again, how can you guarentee we will all still be sailing catamrans in a year and a half - 2 years.

I don't like scratching my bottom but it's a pretty new boat. The top N20 guys didn't like it either. We did it, got a bottom job from a buddy and that was that. If that's what is holding people back it is a lame excuse.

I know we've got a pretty good mix of distance races on our schedule. Most of them start and end in the same spot, which is really nice but doesn't have the feeling Tad wants. I can say even our Chesapeake races are better prep for Tybee/Worrell than any buoy racing we ever did on the 20; reaching down short chop in 20+ kts of breeze isn't a cakewalk. So you boys with your F18's and N20's might want to add them to the calendar. We have at least 6 boats on the line for Oxford already. Get enough support and I'll organize the Chesapeake 100. This is a lot closer for most than the Florida races, but also in the middle of the summer racing season for NE.

I'd love to do a Worrell. Clearly enough interest in the scene to make it happen but we need to start planning it now. Like Todd my leave for this year is already booked by buoy racing. Throw in a ski trip this winter and I don't have leave for a Worrel, if I still have a job and a boat in 1 year to pay for it.

I wasn't involved in the back end of organizing the Tybee, I know a bunch of permits are required but what is the upfront cost to the event organizer? How much paperwork are we looking at? Does someone "in the know" still have the checkpoint lists and contact information for all the towns we need permits for?

Why is distance racing dying while cat racing in general is exploding? I'm asking the guys who regularly buoy race and are very competitive but haven't done a major distance race.

Todd R, what do you mean we won't be sailing cats in two years???

Mike

It's funny that you should respond about scratched bottoms, you were the one that told me that.
Either way the track record of commit vs. follow through is pretty lean. That's why the Tybee is on hiatus.If I was organizing a race I'd be pretty hard pressed to trust that the follow through would be there in 2 years. " Oh cool, worlds are here, screw the distance race" Your remark about the "bigger picture" just reinforces my point(actually your whole post reinforces what I said), the passion is not there for distance racing. You can cry about time off all you want. People made it happen in the past (2 1/2 weeks for the Worrells) and still did their nats and stuff. If it's not your priority, then you are not bitten by the bug. Plain and simple.

We're all going to be riding hover skateboards. Didn't you watch "Back to the Future"?

Oh yeah, I forgot. Wonder if I'll be able to convert my Dishwalla board? That would be cool, since it's never had its wheels installed.

On the other hand, maybe the AC45s will be available for cheap money. How wild would it be to round the capes on a fleet of those??? You'd probably need to recruit local high school football teams to use as pushers...

Mike

+1. If it was up to DL we'd all be riding flying phantoms.

I think there is enough momentum to run a Worrell once every 2-4 years. I know a lot of people talk the talk but I'm pretty sure you have 5 boats right here in this thread that will pay the entry fee tomorrow. Sustainability just might not be there.

I haven't heard any rumblings out of the Tybee camp in far too long, any chance of a 2014 comeback?

Nothing is stopping a few of you from going old school. Just race the boats up the course the way it all began. You don't need anything but a few commited boats. Agree on the stopping points and keep your own time. This is how most of these races began.

True, but things aren't quite like they used to be. On many of the Florida Beaches, if a catamaran shows up on a beach overnight without a permit it gets ticketed or worse. Organizers of late spend weeks traveling up and down the coast to get the required permits and every beach / municipality has their own rules. For instance a quick search shows Pompano beach here:



Other places like St Augustine deem any catamaran left overnight on the beach as "trash" and can come pick it up and chunk it with no notice. It's hard to tell how closely these rules are policed but I'm a little hesitant to risk my racing machine to this kind of end.

I know the first Worrell was a bar bet and done on Hobie 16's, but how many were racing in the first one? Was it just two boats, or was it just one boat, going all the way from Ft. Lauderdale to VA Beach?

Delray allows cats on the beach. Vero used to allow cats on the beach. No problem at Cocoa. No problem in Daytona. No problem at Fernadina. St Simons has a cat club. Looks like the on problem may be the first stop. I think alot of the permits was because it was an event. It may be different with just some cats sailing up the coast.

I believe the first "worrell" went North to South (from VA to FL), but I don't know about the first "official" race...

Si Senor. One boat, Va. Beach to Ft. Liquordale with one hurricane in between, if I recall correctly. They flipped it the following year to take advantage of the prevailing winds.