Myrtle Beach, SC
5/16/2000, 10:00 AM
By Zack Leonard
The fleet pushed off the beach into an 8 knot Northerly this morning. Once again the Northern and
upwind end of the line was favored as the fleet worked upwind off the beach. Today's leg will lead
through the treacherous Frying Pan Shoals, around Cape Fear and on to the finish at Wrightsville
Beach, NC. The length is 80 miles. The wind is expected to clock from the North to the East as a
sea-breeze fights with the dying frontal breeze. Look for a return to the tricky positioning game
we saw in the earlier legs of the race. The Northerly wind will shut off and positions will shuffle
as the wind gods decide which boats will get the new sea-breeze first.
The Frying Pan Shoals off Cape Fear can serve up some unique sea conditions. Opposing currents meet
over rocky ledges just beneath the surface to create geysers of salt water that can shoot 20 feet in
the air alerting sailors to hidden dangers. The fleet can choose the inner course, skirting the shore
at Cape Fear, or the outer channel. Both are unmarked and treacherous. The navigation is by eyeball
and a keen look-out is crucial.
Smyth and Struble lead the race by more than 1/2 hour over Dryland and Waterhouse of Team Rudee's.
The two leaders have worked out a nice lead over the pack, but the next 4 legs will challenge the
fleet with dangerous underwater obstacles and the potential for a huge shore break which could end
the race in a matter of seconds. It was two years ago that Jamie Livingston and Bob Onsgard executed
their famous pitchpole, pirouette, beach landing at Hatteras. None of the teams here want to try that
again.
4 Teams arrived late yesterday afternoon. Outer Banks and Bay Wind were caught far off-shore when
the strong Northwest wind filled in and had to crawl upwind for several hours in 30 knot winds to make
the finish. P Yacht, sailed by Weaver and Deppe were also caught off shore when the wind filled. They
capsized in a large gust and couldn't right the boat without cutting the main halyard to pull the main
down. This meant that they had to sail 6-8 miles upwind with just a jib. They finally pulled up on
the beach 14 miles to the South of Myrtle beach and flipped the boat to hook the halyard lock on.
They began sailing again, only to notice that the rear beam was becoming disconnected from the Starboard
hull. There is a metal plate glassed into the hull at the beam bed. The beam bolts tap into the plate.
Somehow the plate had delaminated and pulled out from the hull. Weaver and Deppe were forced to lash
the hull to the beam and limp several miles to the finish. P Yacht finished just after noon for an
elapsed time of over 18 hours. Weaver and Deppe were exhausted and struggled to remove their sailing
clothes.
Tybee/Entegra pulled up on the beach twenty miles south of Myrtle Beach. They had run out of gas.
A replacement crew jumped on and sailed the boat to the finish, but the team has pulled out of the
event.
The racers spent the day relaxing and the shore crews worked busily through the afternoon rebuilding
the boats. Everyone enjoyed an evening off. Lee Queensberry, Mike Worrell's right-hand-man, hadn't
slept since 6 AM the previous day. He caught a wink from 5 to 8 then went out to dinner with the
race officials. "It's OK, I'm used to working at night," said Queensberry, "I'm a repo-man."
Sailors, shore crews and race officials all felt tired this morning. Many complained that the taste
of pleasure had made it even more difficult to face the start this morning.
Brad Cavanaugh unwound with a beer at lunch and described his experience, "We're like the Vikings
coming into town, but we're too tired to rape and pillage."
We'll have a report this evening from the finish at Wrightsville Beach, NC.
