Myrtle Beach, SC
5/15/2000, 8:00 PM
By Zack Leonard
Leg 7 of the Worrell 1000 turned into an endurance test as light winds dogged the fleet for most of
the night. The wind was 12 knots from the Northeast at last night's start, but it died altogether
between 1 and 3 AM and the fleet sailed in a very light Northwesterly through the night. Smyth and
Struble of team Blockade runner extended their overall lead, winning this leg by 3 minutes and 40
seconds over Rudee's Restaurant, sailed by Brett Dryland and Rod Waterhouse. Brian Lambert and Jamie
Livingston of Alexander's on the Bay were third, followed by Team Holland, and then one hour later by
Team Sunnucks.
After the lead pack finished, the breeze kicked in hard from the Northwest at 25-32 knots. It got
extremely cold and the waves offshore looked like a sawblade from the beach. Most of the sailors wore
drysuits, but several were caught unprepared. Brad Cavanaugh of Van Dyke Racing was wearing a pair of
board shorts and a cotton sweatshirt. He was cold, but happy that his boat was able to finish after the
beating they took on the rocks the previous night. Scott Klodowski of Team California looked a little
ragged after he finished. He spent most of the night "calling the dolphins". He was seasick 6 or 7
times and got cold from inactivity in the lighter air. "We each spent a little time wrapped in the
spinnaker for warmth," said Kodlowski's teammate Brendan Busch. "Once the breeze filled in I got back
into it and felt a little better," said the dazed Kodlowski.
The English team of William Sunnucks and Mark Self sailed the whole race in the top group only to run
afoul of navigational problems in the last few miles. A frustrated Mark Self described their problems,
"We were doing well and it went pear shaped. We had the wrong waypoints in our GPS. We sailed around
in circles for an hour, then we stopped and asked a fisherman where we were. We couldn't figure out if
we were here or not." Quite an existential navigation problem.
Team Tybee Entegra is up on the beach about 20 miles South of the finish. The crew, Bill Wallace has
run out of gas and will be replaced for the final 20 miles of the leg. Race rules allow once substitution
without penalty.
The night legs have lived up to their reputation. The spread between boats has been much greater and
the veteran teams have begun to shine. Barring a breakdown, Rudee's and Blockade Runner are in a race
by themselves for the lead. Lambert and Livingston, Sunnucks and Self, and Team Guidant sailed by
Sandra Tartaglino and co-skipper Carl Roberts have quietly but consistently crept forward in the
standings.
Tybee Entegra, P Yacht, Outer Banks and Bay Wind have not finished yet. They have been on the water
for nearly 15 hours now and will be exhausted. The fleet will have a day and night to recuperate
before the start tomorrow morning at 10 AM. Look for an update this evening.
