Isle of Palms, SC
5/14/2000, 6:00 PM
By Zack Leonard
Leg 7 of the Worrell 1000 began without a hitch this evening. The fleet pushed off into the 2 foot
surf and began the 86.3 mile beat to Myrtle Beach, SC. The wind was out of the Northeast at 12 knots
and has been dying steadily all day. It is expected to back to the Northwest throughout the evening.
This was the first start to really favor the Northern slots on the line that are reserved for yesterdays
winners. Randy Smyth and Matt Struble of Team Blockade Runner occupied pole position and got a fantastic
push from their shore crew. They reached over the top of the fleet to blanket Team Sunnucks and
Alexander's on the Bay and extended a 100 yard lead immediately. The trick to the upwind start is
to keep the bows down so the boat reaches forward on it's lines even before the rudders and boards
are down. If the main is trimmed to early before the rudders go down the boat weathervanes and stops
in it's tracks.
The Shoreline runs Northeast out of Isle of Palms, then halfway up the leg it turns to the North.
If the breeze begins to move to the Northwest the shore is likely to pay, if the wind stays Northeast
the leg may turn into a starboard tack fetch after the shore bends.
Smyth and Struble have opened up a 1/2 hour lead on Dryland and Waterhouse of Team Rudee's.
The Dutch team of Loos and Heemskerk who led early in the race stumbled on the last two legs,
but they remain upbeat. Heemskerk is looking to sail more conservatively, " I want to cover
today, to be more careful." He also thinks that they may have an upwind speed edge. "We have
tuned the boat better for upwind, we changed the spreaders," he added.
Leg seven will be the final night leg. The fleet could finish anytime from 12 AM to 4 AM
depending on wind velocity and direction. Look for a morning report on the finish. The fleet
will take a break tomorrow to recover from the night legs. The start of leg 8 will go off at
10 AM on Tuesday the 16th.
