Tuesday, May 11, 1999
By Thatcher Drew
The Top Finishers Are In - Day 3 – Daytona Beach
Once again, Rudee’s Rest. beat Chick’s Beach to the finish line – but only by seven seconds. Rudee’s skipper Brett Dryland said, "It’s amazing we can sail 70 miles and finish within seconds of each other… Randy (Smyth of Chick’s Beach) found himself back in the middle of the fleet and had to pass quite a few boats to catch up with us. I wouldn’t like to be in his position… But there at the end it was quite a duel over the last mile."
It was a different kind of battle today than we saw on the first two legs. The wind came around from the North so the boats finally had an upwind leg. Taipan liked the windward leg and came in fourth, about 9 seconds after Pomodoro. Several skippers commented on Taipan’s boat speed going up wind.
Tybee Island was only 20 minutes behind the leader in fifth place. Worrell Bros. was sixth. Outer Banks and Big Bros./Big Sisters just arrived in seventh and eighth places.
Worrell Bros. Crew Change Causes Problems
As reported yesterday, Clyde Mayo has replaced Robert Onsgard as skipper of Worrell Bros. Today the switch caused problems when Clyde’s extra 40 lbs. inverted the mast. That means that the wind is blowing the top of the mast to leeward, but the weight of the crew is pulling it to windward in such a way that the mast actually creates an "S" shape. "It’s as close to a broken mast as you can get and get away with it." said Eric Douglas, a crewmember in last year’s race.
For a few miles after Cape Canaveral, Worrell Bros. was reportedly in first place or close to it. In the light stuff (under 5 knots), the weight did not seem to make any difference. When the wind picked up to the 5 to 12 knot range, Worrell Bros. lost boats fast.
Turtle and Lyons International Renew Rivalry
Lions International beat Turtle to the finish line again today in yet another tacking duel, this time upwind. The duel, lasting 45 minutes was finally won by Lions International when the current inshore forced Turtle to tack to clear a jetty.
The two skippers, Alexander Korakis and Carl Roberts have finished together on all three legs.
Cape Canaveral Security
Unlike last year Cape Canaveral security did not send PT boats to warn racers off the point. "In fact there was a fisherman out there," observed Alexander Korakis of Turtle. The boats passed close to the point.
The Surf Makes For Special Rules
We asked Mike Worrell about the pending protest between Entegra and Michigan. The result may depend on a whole set of rules particular to the Worrell 1000. You can find the rules on this web site.
There are no special rules about rounding marks. There are no marks in this race. The exception might be the pins at the finish line which are big Orange flags on poles held by race officials and spaced about 50 yards apart. The race officials keep the poles right at water’s edge, moving in and out with the tide. If a boat hits a pin (with race officials running for their lives) or misses the line, it must re-launch and re-finish. A boat has finished when any part of the hull has cleared the line. Randy Smyth’s boat was spun up on its side and capsized in the surf last year at Tybee Island. The boat crew pulled it across the line tipped up on one hull, which is perfectly legitimate under the rules.
Boats are required to clear the line immediately. Everyone can pitch in. The crew chief typically runs down with the wheels. Seven or eight people may help lift and drag it up the beach. Mike Worrell can’t remember anyone running up the back end of another boat at the finish, but it’s very possible it could happen on a day with plenty of surf. With surf running, the boats don’t have a lot of control coming into the beach. Once the boat is committed to the surf, the skipper has few options.
Perhaps the most extreme example was at Cape Hatteras last year. The boats were finishing in a severe Nor'Easter with the wind blowing right off the beach. The first barrier was an offshore bar with fifteen foot breaking waves. Once through the outside breakers the boats had to sail through 200 yards of swell, but now they were in the lee of the dunes so the wind was gusty, unpredictable and sometimes died away all together. The boats would flub around in the swell, knowing that they had to get some speed and steerage to get square to the next set of ten foot breakers that were breaking with tremendous force on the beach. They are like a surfer paddling hard to "catch" the wave.
If they did it right at Hatteras (or were in luck) the boats "caught the wave" surfed straight in, slid onto the sand and were carried fifteen or twenty yards up the beach. Several boats could not get speed or steerage and were slung sideways in the shore break. The wave rolled them onto the beach. They lost both the mast and the boat. They were scored as having finished, though the rule says the boat must cross the finish line under control of the crew.
The special Worrell 1000 rules apply mainly to starts and finishes in the surf. The surf is considered an obstruction. Normal right of way rules are not in effect in the surf. Boats starting are required to head straight out into the surf and maintain that course until they clear the surf line and can safely turn without interfering with another boat. Boats finishing must head straight in on the waves, though it would be hard to do otherwise.
The Third Leg Begins
All boats got away at the start of the third leg today. Everyone had a virtually perfect start except Entegra and Michigan up at the windward (south) end of the line. It looked like Entegra (starting at the south end of the line) lost control in the surf and headed off (north). They forced Michigan to do the same. Both boats ended up sideways to the swell. There was no contact.
Entegra is racing with two feet of duct tape on the starboard bow. The boat is not taking on water. Michigan offered Entegra a new hull last night (after their collision yesterday). Entegra refused, though they are sailing with Michigan's spare spinnaker pole.
A protest has been filed by Entegra against Michigan for the collision at yesterday's start. The protest has not been heard.
Race Update - 10:30 AM
A half hour after the start the wind has dropped from 10 knots to a near calm. Two boats in shore are in a calm. The rest of the boats off shore are moving slowly toward the point at Cape Canaveral.
At the cape there is often a breeze very close in shore. Regulations require boats to keep well off the point. If there is activity at the launch pad PT Boats patrol the area.
