Worrell Canceled - Press Release Just In!

Here is the full press release from Michael Worrell:
PRESS RELEASE

The management of the Worrell 1000 regrets to announce that the 2003 Worrell 1000 is cancelled. A key investor defaulted on his financial commitment to fund the acquisition of charter boats and subsequent efforts for alternate financing simply ran out of time. Neither Bimare Catamarans, the North American Bimare Distributor, W.F. Oliver, nor the F-18HT class share any responsibility in this matter.

Worrell 1000 management will now focus completely on making the 2004 Worrell 1000 the most successful event ever. The 2004 race will start on Sunday, May 9 and finish on Saturday, May 22 and will be sailed on the Nacra F-18, a Formula 18 class boat manufactured by Performance Catamarans of Santa Ana, CA. http://www.performancecat.com
As special compensation for those teams who paid their Worrell 1000 entry fees for the 2003 race in compliance with the rules of entry schedule, a special discount will be made for the 2004 event. Teams leaving the $5,000 entry fee on file in our escrow account shall receive a credit of $3,000 dollars toward next year's entry fee.

To receive a FULL REFUND send a request in writing to:

Worrell 1000
P.O. Box 446
Virginia Beach, VA 23458-0446

Teams that receive a FULL REFUND will still be credited $1,500 towards next year's entry fee which includes three rooms, vehicles, charter boat, and safety package.

Rental Vehicles
http://www.worrell1000.com/penske.html

Hotels
http://www.worrell1000.com/c_checkpointinfo.html#end

With my most sincere regrets,

Mike Worrell
Race Director / Founder
Worrell 1000
Post Office Box 446
Virginia Beach, VA 23458-0446
U.S.A.
Telephone: 757-422-1000
Facsimile: 757-422-1099
Web Site: http://www.worrell1000.com
Email: [email]mworrell@worrell1000.com [/email]

What a shame! I will certainly miss following it on this website! Rick and Mary my thanks for the great job you've done in the past. I am a fan of the Tour de France, but the Worrell is by far my favorite major sporting event! I hope all the competitors are able to take Mark Michaelson's view/attitude, and will plan to race next year! All the best to you all, Brian McCarter

Brian
Mark does have a good attitude about the Worrell, but our team is real disappointed about not having the race this year.
I think a lot of teams spent a lot more than the 5,000 entry fee. Our team bought a boat to practice with and prepare (it seemed to break something about every time we went out)just for the worrell - $13,000, new sails - $2,500, new boards - $800, new rudders - $600, and new rigging, flares and equipment, shirts with sponsors and the name worrell 1000 2003 on them, plus lots of money spent traveling and practicing.
As far as the 2004 Worrell, I don't think that there are very many teams getting that kind of sponsorship to be able to afford to enter. The years I have been in the race as a sailor or ground crew there were very few teams that had a 30,000 dollar sponorship. It would be hard for me to go buy a Narca F18 to practice on when I already own a Tiger, but if you want to be competitive you need to get the boat tuned and learn how to sail it fast before the race. I also think Mike will have a harder time getting the race going next year with all those charter boats, rental trucks, charts and equipment. The race is just getting to complex and there does not seem to be any big sponsors.
This is the first year for the Tybee 500 and I bet there will be 40 entries more than any Worrell 1000. Why? Because it does not cost so much, you can bring the boat you own - you don't have to go out and buy a new boat every year. If Mike Worrell would have chosen to do the race on the I 20 this year we would all be going down to South Beach in a few weeks because teams already had boats and equipment.
I hope Mike Worrell can pull it off and have a great race in 2004 and find a big sponsor.

Just my opinion

D Lennard

What I still don't understand is WHY oh WHY teh Worrell doesn't go true Formula 18 and allow all boats Mysteres, Tigers, Nacras, The lot ! To compete

Participation garanteed, more then enough boats in the US already. You wanted foreign participation ? Well with the F18 set up you've got it.

Do away with that charter boat [censored] and let everybody bring their own boat or lend one from a friend. The number of tigers and Nacra F18's is already bigger than any charter boat type can supply. And it shaves off a [censored] load of costs.

The answer is so easy and still so much ignored.

Wouter

I'm with Wouter. Why not start the first REAL formula event in the US? (face it - even our formula classes consist of one manufacturer's boat) Nacra's F18 certainly needs a boost in the U.S. and having it as the Worrell boat in 2004 might be what it needs - but I don't think the Worrell needs it. If you look at it from the Worrell standpoint, there aren't many Nacra F18s in the U.S. now and that means that almost every team will have to buy a boat. After being stung with buying a Bimare this year, that's asking a lot.

I'm sure the mood is not cheery in the Worrell camp, but I find it interesting that the "official" web site for the race has yet to post their own press release announcing the race cancellation. It has the eerie feeling of a ghost town on that page . . .

I think it would have been nice for Mike Worrell to have contacted the the teams before canceling the race to see what their thoughts were after all it takes racers to have a race. There were a lot of teams that already had boats and the 10 charter boats from the alter cup. I think there could have been at least 20 to 25 boats for the race. Mike could have given credits to teams using there own boat and had a drawing for the remaning charter boats. It would have been nice to be asked our thoughts.
I think a F 18 format would be great and bring your own boat and have some charters for overseas teams. F 18 is already big overseas. Leave the prize money out of it or keep the amount small so teams come to have fun and work together to make it up the coast.
I do the race for fun and the challenge of the ocean and good competition [color:"blue"] [/color]

On closer examination, I see that the page listing registered teams has been quietly removed from the www.worrell1000.com site. That being the case, I'm appalled by the organizers' insensitivity and lack of direct communication with the sailing community that has supported the event over the years.

For fans of the race that don't frequent this catsailor site there must be some head scratching going on. (Then again, we know that this site is THE source for the latest info )

Don't be sad and come to Europe,

Registration for Round TEXEL starts today !

http://www.roundtexel.com/index.asp?ID_Language=2&ID_Group=1

the political climate between my home country and europe is not encouraging recreational travel :P

We just received an email copy of a story by Lee Tolliver from The Virginia-Pilot ad in Virginia Beach, VA. The story is as follows:
Promoter cancels catamaran race
By LEE TOLLIVER, The Virginian-Pilot
© April 1, 2003


VIRGINIA BEACH — The 2003 Worrell 1000 catamaran race has been canceled because financing for the event has fallen through.
The 20-year-old sailboat race from South Beach Miami to Virginia Beach was scheduled for May 4-17 this year.


“I had a private financial backer default on me,” said Mike Worrell, the race’s founder and director. “I ran out of time and had to cancel.


''Every waking hour was spent on this situation, and it was a very painful decision for me. But I couldn’t put the teams at further expense.”


Worrell’s race has had prior financial problems. In 1987, faced with mounting unpaid bills, Worrell sold the rights to the race. He reacquired the race in 1997.



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For teams entered this year, Worrell has promised to return the $5,000 entry fee, but that might not offset what most teams already have put into the race.


Many have purchased boats, equipment, plane tickets and spent considerable time and money in preparation for what was to be the race’s 21st running.


“Brian and I have put a lot of time and money into this year’s race,” said Jamie Livingston of two-time defending champion Alexander’s on the Bay.


Livingston’s teammate is Brian Lambert.


“We’ve been working on this boat to get it ready for this race, and it’s been a lot of prep work,’’ Livingston said. ''


But we started hearing about this a few weeks ago when we heard the boats hadn’t been sent yet. Mike hasn’t been very up front with people involved, and it’s going to hurt him. Our team and a lot of others have a lot invested, and now there’s nothing.


“Now he has these grandiose plans for next year and wants us to change boats again.”


Worrell said during last year’s race that the catamaran for this year would be an F-18HT Class made by Bimare, an Italian boat builder. The boats sell for about $14,000, according to W.F. Oliver, a North American distributor.


Instead of waiting for the boats Worrell was to make available, many teams opted to purchase their own boats so they could be fine-tuned and used for practice before the race.


Worrell says he still plans to hold a 2004 race but with yet another change in boats. His plan is to use a Nacra F-18. Also for the 2004 race, the registration fee will increase from $5,000 to at least $8,000. In addition, teams must make a $20,000 payment to an escrow account that will go toward a cash purse. Worrell said the purse will be $1 million if he has 50 entries.


“I can’t do it,” said Beetle Bailey, team manager for Alexander’s on the Bay. “We don’t have the money to keep up with Michael. All our money comes from donations and sponsorships, and I can’t keep asking them for more because he can’t make up his mind on what he’s doing.”


Several teams are angry about the late cancellation.


“It is very upsetting,” said Mike Eason of Team Rudee’s. “People have put a lot into this, and a month before it starts he cancels the race and changes boats.’’


Several teams already have plans to compete in the Tybee 500, a new catamaran race from Islamorada, Fla., to Tybee Island, Ga., from May 12-17. The success of that race could put Worrell’s 2004 plans in further jeopardy.


“This is the end of the road for him in my opinion,” said Randy Smyth, a six-time Worrell winner. “But I’m not shocked. Now he’s coming off the wall with this million- dollar thing. That’s not prize money; it’s a pyramid scam. “It’s ridiculous.”


Despite ill feelings in the sailing community, Worrell vows that the 2004 race will be bigger than ever. He says several European teams have e-mailed him to say they likely will participate next year.


“I’m very confident,” Worrell said. “People have written us off before, and I’m keenly aware that people are upset.


“But I had no choice.”


Reach Lee Tollliver at 222-5844 or at ltollive@pilotonline.com

Sadly, Randy may be right if some serious damage control isn't begun soon.

I see a huge lawsuit in Mr. Worrell's future.

I'm just curious about those teams that purchased boats for this years race only to find out that next years event has switched boats again?
Doesn't make sense.......
Cheers
Steve Fields

What's your home country? North Korea?
Europe loves America, it just dislikes its brainless president. Comments like yours are frightening.
But this is not a political forum.

I agree with the other replies here, you will have not have problems apart from the occasional person asking what your opinion on the issue is. But then again that is what happened when I was in the USA too. So no difference there.

This is of course assuming that the visitor doesn't display an "in you face attitude" because that may have the effect of waving a red flag.

And Oh yes, respect for proper protocol with respect to carrying flags on boats has recently gone through an extremely strong revival. Be sure to familiarize yourself with it.

Apart from that you will treated as an individual with character trades that some may like and others may not. No different from the past.

With dismay I read how new (virtual) enemies are created by the world leaders. Apart from a few terrorists these enemies simply only exist in the minds of scared people.

Wouter

I think the there were several mis-steps coming into this year's Worrell. As soon as the rumors started to float around about a $1mil. purse I laughed.

Now two of the highest reguarded Worrell sailors speak out. A major sponsor needs to pick up the race. Oracle, Barton, GM, someone like that needs to be involved to get a million dollar purse and good race management.

I think it will take more than a great sponsor - sailors are getting tired of putting up with a race dictated by one person even though he has done a good job in the past. It is just too much work for one person. None of the 2003 teams have gotton their money back yet as promised or even been able to talk to Mike. Why would anyone want to give him more money?

We did the Tybee 500 this year and it was run better than any of the three Worrell's that I attended. Chuck and all the officeals did a great job and many thanks. The Tybee is run by a comittee, not one person, and it is set up to accommodate the sailors. The race was also a lot less expensive and you did not have to go out and buy a new boat. The Tybee had more boats turn out than any past Worrell. There is also a rumor that OBX may pick up the second half of the race to make it a 1000 mile race next year. Just my thoughts from a sailor that has sailed both events.
Heading to Texas in the morning to sail in the Great Texas 300 (never been to Texas before).

See attachment.

Have Fun
Mike

Tell that to my friend Lauren, who went to France right in the thick of the dispute over Iraq.

She'll be glad to tell you about the 13 times she was spit on, on the street, assuming because she had a small american flag pinned on her backpack. Ask her about the restaurants that wouldn't serve her.

Yeah, you really love Americans, but not all of you.

Maughan,
Yeah, that is just like the big, brave french, to spit on a woman walking down the street.

Our company is owned by Delachaux in France. We have very close ties with them. I have seen good and bad. On the bad side, I believe 100% that there are area's in France right now that if you are American, you can forget about any type of hospitality. Our VP of Sales was in Paris just two weeks ago. He is from Canada and speaks French very well. Anytime he spoke English in public, everyone stared and someone tried picking a fight with him one evening. He said there is a lot of anti-American sentiment.

On the good side, the engineering people I work with competely understand the difference between the politics and the friendship. They love coming to the US.

I will probably get flamed for this, but I have to try and explain what I feel about this situation.
I am very surprised to hear about people spitting at others on the street.
I am not surprised that ordinary French people are anoyed at the personal way Americans have reacted to a political decision by the French Government. (I will not get into a discussion on the rights or wrongs of the Iraq war.)
If any two countries have had disagreements over hundreds of years it is Ireland and England, we still do not agree politically about who should govern Northern Ireland. That's politics, but, we visit each other's countries, we have good friends, we attend each other's sailing events (when ferry prices allow), we do not boycott each other's products etc. The UK is an ally of the US in this war, but the British and the French are still visiting each other's countries, they are not attacking each other on the streets (unless there is a football match), or insulting each other. My son was racing at Carnac recently, there were 2 Irish Spitfires. The rest of the Spitfire fleet was a mix of French and British sailors - everyone got on well, no agression.
Why do Americans take it personally when anybody disagrees with them. They talk about people having freedom to make decisions. But then agresivly attack anyone who disagrees with them. I have seen it so many times on the old forum and now it is appearing on this one, with, what could be called, racist generalisations like the following: "Yeah, that is just like the big, brave french, to spit on a woman walking down the street."
People in Europe are talking about McCarthyism again rearing its ugly head. We hear about "Freedom Fries", "Boycott French Products" and "We should invade France next" etc.
Now, Americans are surprised at Europe's reaction. I can only say America has asked for the reaction it is getting.
The people on this forum have always been very helpful to any sailors who have problems, no matter where they are from - lets keep it this way.

PS I am just watching, on television, a French rescue team risking their lives trying to get a child from the rubble of the Algerian earthquake.

I wont go into the reasons why the above statement is completely false in the interest of protecting the fragile peace on this board.

However, France will definitely have to rescue more than just one child from the rubble of an Algerian Earthquake to ameliorate the opinions of frenchmen inside Algeria. And you think we hated the french :P

What will happen if I walk through Birmingham Alabama with a French flag spinned to my back pack ?

Worrying about being served will probably be the least of my worries.

This isn't one-sided guys, although some prefer to believe it is.

Wouter

Hi Wout

Its a shame the Worrell 1000 was cancelled,-
as an entrant I can forgive the errors as unintentional and hope things are set right .
{a thread topic beginning with the W-1000}

When Chirac and crew backed the U N resolution 1441 then after basically lieing to Colin Powell sided with Saddam and then calculated the lack of resolve to enforce the resolution to further Saddam,s regime by subversion and coersion attempting to influence numerous other countries and now understanding the extent of 12 billion in loans and interests as motive it is not going to be easy to forgive them.

Saddam slaughtered thousands and is responcible for the deaths of an estimated one million over his 30 year reign.

Difficult to argue in favor or support that for any except the extremely pompus .Seems the French would be well served to get rid of Chirac and crew ,--quickly .

The reason for distain towards Chirac and crews manipulations are well founded in fact.
-many of us have friends -family serving overseas ,-A very nice young man was killed in action in Iraq from my hometown ,-A huge service was held that thousands attended for him ,-this duplicated around the country numerous times.

Driving home from the Tybee 500 through West Virginia it was very noticable how proud everyone is of PFC jENIFER lYNCH the prisoner who was rescued by special forces .

Many recognize the U S very diverse often crass culture and the resentment of its influence ,-but hardly reasons that can ever equate to the political subversions that cost U S lives.
Hope you comprehend the difference --
comparing the two --

Cheesy politicians like Chirac are a brief unfortunate footnote in history , hope all recognize this .
I,m not in favor of banning French products built by people that may disagree completely with Chirac ,-but will condemb those like him .

Please spare me the distorted out of time sequence historionics in responce ,-heard them all -

Much of the world is in an ongoing war with terrorist organizations and factions , It is great to see so many Euro countries understand this and work together against it while attepting peace initiatives to resolve centuries old hatreds ,--These will take time .

Best regards
Carl

Although this thread has gotten pretty far off the topic of sailing, I do appreciate the comments from those who have chosen to contribute in a thoughtful manor. Those who have chosen to punctuate their remarks with inflammatory statements, however, run the risk of letting this forum disintegrate in the same way as the old forum, rather than focusing on the common ground that brings us all here (sailing!).

While the Iraq war remains an emotional topic, it’s not the only thing that seems to elicit the personal attacks here at catsailor.com. I have received personal e-mail from participants in this forum telling me that the south doesn’t need any more of my northern comments. (It is for that reason that I recently removed my e-mail address from my profile.) When something like that happens, I go through a period of thinking, “I don’t have time for this crap,” but my love of sailing cats brings me back to the table. The reality is that I haven’t found a better resource for the sharing of cat sailing ideas anywhere else on the web.

Please, let’s keep it civil.

The sad truth is that if you walk through Alabama with a French flag on your back a good number of the people probably wouldn't know what it is. I also doubt that many of the other 50% would really care. However, there are extremists everywhere - just like the "spitters" in France - and I'm sure you might find one or two if you hung out in a bar with said shirt.

To Maugan:

Explain us what do you know about French Algeria relationship?

More generally, I am French, living in US. I cannot believe
how otherwise reasonable people got trap in the French bashing thing. France disagreed with US on the Iraq war matter. Is it a crime? Does it deserve such treatment? Does that means that wohever does not agree with the official line will be treated like this? Sorry, guys, but this is not my idea of the Democracy. It looks to me more like soviet union. By doing this You are very well undermining the Ideas your are defending when going to Iraq and You lose a lot of credibility.

I said that I wouldn't instigate anything further. Lets just say that my senior thesis focused on the "French / Algerian relationship" if what happened in that state since 1832 could even be considered a "relationship."

Jacques,

For me, one of the most disturbing things about the Iraq war (and the Gulf War) was how it was treated by the media. Equally disturbing was how the American public accept what they hear from our "super bowl" style news coverage as the one truth. In today's age of global connectivity and the many perspectives available on the internet, I was amazed at how few sought to look beyond the spin that Fox News or CNN put on the stories.

I was in Mexico when the war began. No electricity. No TV. I learned via word of mouth. When I arrived back at a city with TV, the stations available were Mexican, German, and the BBC. There was quite a contrast to the coverage folks were watching at home in the US.

Let me follow up by saying that I am an eight-year veteran of the Air Force. I enlisted at the tail end of the Vietnam war. Following that, I spent 10 years working in a government office. Additionally, I spent time working as part of a US sponsored consulting team in the Gaza strip following the 1993 Oslo peace agreement. (I was working in Gaza when Arafat returned from exile in 1994.) During those experiences I had plenty of opportunity to compare the media view with my own perception of events on the ground. I can assure you that what you see on TV news channels does not accurately portray reality.

As to the question of how much Maughan knows about the French Algeria relationship . . . well, even in the ivory tower, the learning is not always hands on. (History is written by people, with their own cultural biases. Hence, you can study the same topic from universities on opposite sides of the world and get completely different views.)

The moral of the story is, if you can't be there yourself (and even if you are), remain open to a variety of perspectives. There's more to what's happening than what's being portrayed by the major news networks (that are tied very closely to business and political interests).

Drawing a phrase from the culture of my youth, "Peace, man."

[/quote]
Drawing a phrase from the culture of my youth, "Peace, man." [/quote]

STOP!
I don't join in the discussions as much as most of you.
Most of the topics are about cats which are mainly sailed in the US, and US events. When I think that I can be of some help I contribute.
Over the past year and a half I have followed the threads on this forum. From your postings I have got to know something about each of your personalities. You are all pasionate about your sailing and your cats. You all try to give advice and help each other. Up to now you have kept politics out of things. I am partly responsible for continuing this discussion. Let's get back to sailing and let this thread die. Let this be the last post on the subject.
I had a great sail today. After a wet and very windy few weeks, the sun shone again. I think that Summer is finally here.
Peace to everybody.

I think thats something we can all agree on