Sunday, May 9, 1999
By Thatcher Drew
6:30 PM
Team Rudee’s won the first leg of the Worrell 1000. Chick's Beach was right behind. The two were the clear winners in boat speed and strategy on a leg that tested both. "We went off shore at the beginning of the race and then had to come back in for the second half," said Randy Smyth. The leaders both talked of "luck."
Four other boats finished together, trading places near the finish. Tybee Island came out on top with Pomodoro right behind. Worrell Bros. seemed elated to be in the first six. They felt they demonstrated the kind of boat speed needed to win future legs. Taipan did well. It is a brand new class of boat from Australia.
4:30 PM
The wind has dropped to about five knots from the south south east. The boat that was reported as a speck on the horizon in our last update is still a speck on the horizon. It has not been identified.
Perhaps a hundred crew members and spectators are gathered on this narrow beach in front of the Holiday Inn. The finish flags are flying limply. So too hopes for an early finish are flagging as well. What a difference an hour makes! From a cracking 22 knots to these listless puffs, the weather profits say that thunderstorms passing to the north and south of us killed the breeze. It will return.
3:30 PM
The wind has picked up, blowing 18 to 22 knots from the south south east, which would put most of the boats on a broad reach. Thunder and lightning has moved over the race course south of Jensen Beach.
The first boat is in sight... still just a speck on the ocean. As we write, the wind is dropping to 5-8 miles per hour locally, but the thunder is rolling almost continuously from the south.
