Thursday, May 13, 1999
By Thatcher Drew
Michigan Capsized
Michigan’s crew has called the Coast Guard on their radio to report their position. They are capsized 20 miles south of Tybee Island and have not been able to get the boat upright. The crew has not requested help. The team manager has asked the Coast Guard to rescue the sailors. A 41-foot cutter has been dispatched to the scene.
Why they can’t right the boat is a mystery. Bart Hall and Adam Aldrin have already proven the ability to cope with the mechanics of offshore emergencies, re-stepping a fallen mast ten miles offshore on Day 1 of the race.
Lions International has not been heard from. The wind has shifted to the northwest at about 15 knots. Race officials will man the finish line all night if necessary. A strobe light, stuck in the sand, marks the beach.
Thunder Storms Pursue Finishers
Turtle, Worrell Bros., Outer Banks and Team Extreme all finished between 10:00 and 11:30 at night. All encountered thunder storms. All capsized or pitchpoled in squalls.
Outer Banks was shaken by a particularly violent pitchpole. A gust from aft lifted the whole boat, and threw it violently forward over its own bows. Robert Johnson said, "We righted the boat, rested for a minute and then set the spinnaker again and headed for home."
As of 11:30 PM, it is raining violently. The wind has shifted to the northwest, gusting to 40 knots. Michigan and Lions International have not been heard from. On the beach the race officials have rescued the strobe light from being blown away in the gusts. The sea is occasionally lit by distant lightning.
1:00AM Update
U.S. Coast Guard and Tybee Island are under way at 1:00AM to assist Team Michigan 15 miles south of Tybee Island check point.
9:00PM Update
The last boat to arrive was Taipan. She had a broken spinnaker pole.
Though it is night, flashes of lightning illuminate the sea to the south and east. No boats are visible in the flashes. Half the fleet (six boats) are still out there.
Thunder storms are just as likely to becalm boats near the cell as they are to deliver gusty and powerful winds. All the boats still out have roller furling for their jibs. They can reduce sail quickly. The only two boats without roller furling jibs are Randy Smyth and Big Bros./Big Sisters.
Jim Stone of Entegra (another local boat) is at the finish line feeling much better. He was forced to withdraw this morning after a bought of sickness left him unable to continue.
Rudee's Restaurant finished first at Tybee Island,
2 minutes and 12 seconds ahead of Chick's Beach. The duel between the two champions, Randy Smyth and Brett Dryland, continues with Brett regaining the overall lead.
Brett Dryland said that he was in about sixth or seventh place at one point, but regained the lead by heading in shore until the seabreeze set in and the fleet of boats was caught in variable winds. First one boat would forge ahead... then another.
According to Brett, Tybee Island was threatening for the lead until she was caught just a little bit too far off shore. At that point Brett and Randy took the lead near the shore while those further out were left behind. The two boats pulled further ahead being swept forward in advance of a thunderstorm. The same storm cell caught the rest of the fleet, slowing them down.
Team Pomodoro came in third after capsizing twice, once in a thunder storm and once in a dead calm (it happens).
Tybee Island came in fourth, having pitch-poled in a gust about five miles out. The crowd cheered as they swept up the beach without their spinnaker. Steven Lohmayer and Rick Pierce couldn't get the grins off their faces after an exhilarating ride. There were congratulations all around. The sponsors gathered by the big green truck trading team tee shirts.
Big Bros./Big Sisters finished in fifth place. Team Taipan finished in sixth.
As the sun set a large and violent thunderstorm swept through just north of the beach. Six boats are still out.
Tybee Island has been called Georgia’s best kept secret.
There are about 3,700 full time residents, a figure that doubles in the summer time. It is a beautiful little town. Property values have tripled in the past three years. It seems the secret may be out.
The island has always been an important stop in the race. It is the first inhabited beach north of Jacksonville that can handle the race. It is also the terminus for the longest leg, over 120 miles.
Now, for the first time, Tybee has its own Worrell 1000 racing team. The town loves it. Sixteen sponsors put up a few thousand dollars each. Their names are on the "Tybee Island" sail: Oracle, Memorial Health, Gill www.sailinggear.com, Spanky’s, WSAV3 Savannah, Beach Dreams Bed and Breakfast, Communication Design Group., etc.
About twenty five others have given straight donations of fifty to a hundred dollars. One person donated a flag in the shape of the Tybee Island Lighthouse.
Chuck Bargeron raised the money, organized the team, and is crew chief on the road. He drives a big yellow Ryder truck donated by Matt Gay Chevrolet. The name is on the sail. He rides around and drives with a spare mast on top. The back looks like a movie crew grip truck only instead of lights and stands it is filled with beach chairs, spare spinnaker poles, a spare set of sails, battens, lines, and hardware. Chuck installed hooks and shelf brackets. There is a little closet for hang-up clothes.
Driving north in the yellow truck from Jacksonville Beach, Chuck is on the cell-phone donated by Bell South Mobility DCS (their name is on the sail). He’s trying to find a local Tybee sailmaker. The new spinnaker is splitting at the glued seams and Bargeron hopes to get it fixed before tomorrow’s start. "It’s one race for the boats up the coast. It’s another for the crews. It’s like Willie Nelson singing ‘Like a Band of Gypsies We Go Down the Highway.’"
There’s a move on the island to cheer the home team. It’s called the "pack the beach campaign," with posters on the trees and in store windows. "We ought to have a pretty good crowd." Says Bergeron. "Here’s a race where you can get up close and personal when they come into the finish line.
"You want to take as much of that burden off the sailors as possible. Get ‘em rested. Get ‘em fed. When we arrive at the checkpoint we get the beach set up. Get the wheels down -- a cooler with something cool in it for the guys to drink right off the boat. We put up the Tybee Island banners… a flag in the shape of the Tybee lighthouse, decorated with the names of donors; and a City of Tybee Island Flag."
Rick Loewen is riding up ahead in a white van. Rick is the pusher and mechanic. He knows how to repair fiberglass. He can fix almost anything on a catamaran. Rick is also the emergency crew in case one of the sailors can’t go on.
Chuck’s wife, Judy, is a physical therapist. She takes care of nutrition and provisions the boat. She makes sandwiches and serves breakfast in the room. At the end of the day, there are snacks, chips, and dips before dinner. The crew burns an awful lot of calories.
Chuck has been a friend of the race for fifteen years, usually crewing for other teams. Now he has one of his own and he obviously is going at it with all his considerable energy. The trucks are beautifully organized. The team has great morale with their yellow "Tybee Island Sail Team" tee shirts. On the front is the ubiquitous Tybee lighthouse and the names of the sponsors.
It all got started last fall (1998) when Mike Scarborough (a boat captain) and Jack Boylston (with Memorial Health Sports Medicine) came to Chuck and got him thinking about getting together a team like this. He asked advice from Harry Sprities, president of the Tybee Chamber of Commerce and owner of the Ocean Plaza Resort where the checkpoint is located. "Harry cut the $500 check for the entry fee. From there it was like a pin ball. I’d get someone to make an introduction, and they’d make another introduction. I’d make my pitch, and we started signing up sponsors."
Prudential, Southeast Coastal Properties, Bonnie Gaster, "Rock Solid on Tybee." That’s one of the names on the tee shirt. "Bonnie Gaster was the first sponsor to cut the full check. I called her and told her about the race." When Chuck told her the name of the team, she said ‘count me in’. She didn’t even know what she was getting into, she just said, ’count me in.’"
By November, Chuck had about $7,700 in the bank and went looking for a crew. Chuck’s good friend Rick Bliss had separated his shoulder and couldn’t take on the job. When Chuck asked around for suggestions one name kept coming up, Steve Lohmayer, from the Florida Keys. Steve took the job.
In December they bought a used boat in Florida (the boat Randy Smyth sailed last year) for under $10,000 (a good deal). By February, Chuck had all the money he needed. Donations since then have paid for extras like a new spinnaker. About half the money goes for spare parts and crew expenses.
As Bargeron approaches Tybee Island, he rounds a corner and says, "Look at those trees. You know what, them boys got air. And it’s a downwind leg. And they’ve got the big chute too. You know what them boys might get in early." Chuck likes his team’s chances in a stiff breeze downwind.
The Island will be out for the finish tonight. It’s no longer just a race, it’s the Tybee Island team. They’ve advertised a "pack-the-beach" campaign as far away as Savannah. Tomorrow (Friday) is a lay-over day. The boats will start at 6:00 PM for the long night leg. During the day, the Chamber of Commerce is throwing a "low country boil" (also known as Frogmore Stew). Take sausage, shrimp, potatoes, onions, and anything else you want. Put it all in the pot. Boil it. Scoop it onto a table in a big heap. Everyone grabs a couple of handfuls.
If this wind keeps strengthening from the south, Chuck Bargeron expects it to be a victory party.
Two finishers are in sight as of 6:30PM.
The wind is blowing from the south at 18 to 20 knots.
