RECORD EARLY FIELD FOR NEXT YEAR'S 2003 WORRELL 1000

VIRGINIA BEACH, VA. June 21, 2002 - Within a month of the end of the XX Worrell 1000 on May 18th there are 12 teams registered for the 21st running of this extreme sailing race scheduled for May 4 - 17, 2003.

"We've never had this many teams registered so early. Included are Brian Lambert and Jamie Livingston, the 2002 and '01 race winners and Randy Smyth, the winner of the 2000, '99, '98, '97, '89 and '85 races and Rod Waterhouse, winner of the 1988, '83 and '81 races," says Mike Worrell, the race director and founder. "I also find it particularly interesting that a good 20% - 25% of inquiries are coming from non-catamaran sailors."

While a lot of the interest can be attributed to the growing awareness of the Worrell 1000 around the world, a new turnkey entry fee structure is also proving to be very popular. For 2003 the entry fee has been increased to $5,000. However, this fee includes a boat charter, two hotel rooms for 18 nights, and a one-way vehicle rental for the shore crew. With this new entry fee structure a team can virtually fly into Miami for the start of the race and fly home from the finish without the hassle of buying a boat, renting shore crew transportation or dealing with 14 different hotel reservations.

"Of course there is more to it than that, but the real 'heavy lifting' of entering this race has been combined into one complete turnkey package." comments Worrell, "For me it was simply a matter of taking the redundancy out of the logistics. Wherever there was a logistics issue that was common to all teams I've tried to combine it into a package. I have relationships at each of the 14 hotels and cities involved in the race that go back over many years and I can represent the race as a group much more efficiently and economically that the teams can individually."

Another major change for next year is the selection of the Bimare Javelin 2 as the official boat for the 2003 Worrell 1000. The Javelin 2 is a new 18-foot catamaran, manufactured in Italy, that falls within the Formula 18HT Rule, a new class for lightweight, high tech catamarans.

Three years ago the Worrell 1000 implemented a "one-design" format. All boats had to be exactly alike. The Inter 20, a 20-foot catamaran manufactured by Performance Catamarans was selected and has been the official boat for the last three races.

"The Inter 20 is a great boat and Performance Catamarans is a great company, but, in my opinion, the boat is overpowered for some of the conditions that can exist in the Worrell 1000, says Worrell, who started the race in 1976. "After the 2001 race when the majority of the fleet suffered major boat damage launching and beaching through big surf, I began looking for a lighter, stronger, and smaller boat that would be more manageable in big surf which is a major component of this event."

Also look for more female participation in 2003 as a result of this boat change. When it's really blowing and rough there is no room for error on the Inter 20, one inattentive moment by all but the best of catamaran sailors and the boat is upside down. It is a big, powerful beach cat that requires a lot of upper body strength and in the Worrell 1000 it grinds down all but the strongest teams. In contrast, the 18-foot Bimare Javelin 2 is two feet shorter, has less sail area, is over a hundred pounds lighter and is considered by many to be almost as fast as the Inter 20 in many conditions.