The 2001 Worrell 1000 has come to a close and will forever be remembered
as the upside down race. The early legs in South Florida nearly
decimated the fleet with huge surf and strong winds, while the notorious
Cape Hatteras was as tame as a pussycat.
The fleet beat upwind to the finish today with the windward hulls just
out of the water while the crews sat on the windward hull. Brian Lambert
and Jamie Livingston of Alexander's on the Bay put the finishing touches
on a dominating performance, winning the leg by one minute and 37
seconds over Team Guidant, sailed by Rod Waterhouse and Katie Pettibone.
Today's leg was another shifty affair. The day started with a Westerly
wind blowing off the beach at 12 knots. The boats reached along the
beach in flat water for nearly half of the 60 mile leg, but around the
Virginia border the wind shifted North and then the fog came in. Later
the North wind strengthened to 20 knots. For several miles the fleet
went upwind towards the finish in the fresh breeze, but it slowly
tapered until the sailors were unable to trapeze near the finish. "It
was definitely a day where it didn't pay to be the leader early," noted
Katie Pettibone of team Guidant, "we were well ahead, but then the fleet
caught up when the wind shifted and the fog came in."
In 3rd place, at the finish of today's leg, was Tommy Bahama, sailed by
Nigel Pitt and Alex Shafer. Pitt and Shafer improved dramatically
during the race. The duo are catamaran veterans and the new boat took
them a little while to sort out, but they will be back next year. "Our
sponsor really loved the race," said a tired but jubilant Shafer.
Rounding out the top ten were Sail for Sight, sailed by Carl Roberts and
David Lennard, in 4th, Castrol in 5th, Team Tybee Island in 6th,
EarnYourPotential.com in 7th, Dinghy Shop in 8th, LexisNexis in 9th
and Team Outer Banks in 10th.
Lambert and Livingston mounted a professional effort that drew on 5
years of groundwork that Beatle Bailey has been laying with Team
Alexander's. "The nucleus of the team and the shore crew have been
together for 5 years and Jamie and Brian have been with us for 4 years,"
explained Bailey. When asked how many years of work went into this
effort Lambert replied, "my whole sailing career." The final margin of
victory was 3 hours, 8 minutes and 18 seconds. Guidant took a 1/2 hour
penalty earlier in the race for a crew substitution and lost critical
time with a major rudder breakdown that forced them to the beach between
Jensen Beach and Cocoa Beach. But Alexander's would have won
comfortably even if Guidant were given all that time back.
Rod Waterhouse sailed with 3 different crews in this race, but he sailed
the majority of the legs with professional sailor Katie Pettibone. It
was Pettibone's first try at the Worrell 1000 and she ranked it as
challenging as the Volvo Ocean race. When asked how to prepare best for the
race she replied, "Train Hard." Waterhouse was effusive in his praise
of Pettibone, but he missed his partner Brett Dryland who was unable to
sail this year due to business commitments. "I really missed [Brett],
but we had a good time sailing together," said the modest Waterhouse.
He and Dryland have won this race twice previously.
The top two teams ran away from the fleet this year, but there was some
extremely close racing in the middle of the pack. Tommy Bahama was
third overall, less than an hour ahead of Sail for Sight. And 5th place
Tybee Island, 6th place Dinghy Shop, 7th place LexisNexis and 8th place
Castrol all finished within an hour, after more than 1000 miles of sailing.
To finish the Worrell 1000 a sailor must possess a unique blend of
skills. The ideal Worrell 1000 competitor is a fast beach catamaran
sailor in a wide variety of weather conditions. He or she is extremely
fit. He should be organized with logistics and have a steady hand with
a tool. She must have excellent heavy weather survival skills. And
finally, to compete for this trophy a racer must have the patience of Job.
The racers choose to enter the Worrell 1000 for a wide variety of
reasons. Some are here to race, some just to try to finish. Some see
the beauty in a sail up the barrier beaches of the South Atlantic coast.
Some others see a chance to challenge themselves and learn more about
how they will react to extremely trying conditions.
Race founder Mike Worrell has his own view. "To me it's the personal
challenge of doing something that puts yourself in danger where only
your wits and ability to deal with your surroundings can assure your
safety. Then overlay top competition and you've got an extreme sporting
event similar to the Volvo Ocean race. I don't know why these people do
it, but that's why I started it."
To finish the Worrell 1000 is no easy feat. This year the fleet eroded
slowly. Four sailors sustained major, race-ending injuries in the
strong winds and huge surf of the first 4 legs. At the finish of the
first leg, Sandra Tartaglino of team Guidant shattered her leg in 2
places when the boat stopped abruptly on the sand at the finish of the
leg. Tom Weaver of Pyacht broke his ankle minutes later as his boat
crashed down on top of him in the surf. Glenn Ross and Richard
Pleasants of team Bay Wind suffered bruised ribs and a demolished boat
in the surf at Cocoa Beach. Kirk Newkirk and Glenn Holmes of Key Sailing
and Brad Cavanaugh and Suzette Cruz of Redhook dropped out in the
infuriatingly light winds off Cape Hatteras, just one leg from the
finish. Racing a small catamaran in survival conditions on the open
ocean and suffering 16 hours of exposure in drifting conditions can test
a sailor, physically and mentally.
The boats are all up on the beach here in Virginia Beach and a big party
has begun with the racers, shore crews and spectators. Several thousand
people watched the finish today, cheering as the sailors surfed into the
checkerboard winner's circle. Two Irishmen joined the group taking
pictures. They asked Mike Worrell to autograph their Worrell 1000 hats.
A surprised Worrell asked them why they would want his autograph and
they replied that the Worrell 1000 is a huge event in their country.
They explained their plans for a similar staged race around Ireland.
Mike Worrell hasn't slept much for the past week. He worries about the
sailors, the race officials, the shore crew, and most importantly the
race. This race is a labor of love for Worrell. "I think this was the
toughest race ever," commented Worrell, "I couldn't feel better about
the future for this race, we are truly on the launching pad."
Let's hope that's true. This race is a tremendous opportunity that
beckons any sailor who's looking for a new experience, a different way
to experience sailing and the ocean.
