"Someone asked me once, 'How it feels?' It hurts to do the Worrell 1000.
It hurts, it's not a fun race. For two weeks and 1,000 miles it's going to hurt,
but when you sail across that finish line - there's just the sense of accomplishment,
there's a sense of having done what you set out to do
- that sums up what the race is all about."
- from the National Geographic Explorer, Worrell 1000 TV Documentary

The Race Director Looks Back By Mike Worrell Looking back over the seventeen runnings of the Worrell 1000 since the first race in 1976, I have never witnessed a more grueling race than the ‘98 event. Sure, Hatteras has closed out on us before, squall lines have raked the fleet, lightning has danced among the boats and masts have been dispatched like toothpicks. Sailors have even sacrificed their boats, almost their lives, and most assuredly stared deep into their souls in their determination to be counted among those that finish this event. But, never have I seen it all in one race. Perhaps Barbara Lloyd of the New York Times put it best when she wrote on Monday, May 4, 1998, "The Worrell 1000 tends to be unlike any other sailboat competition on the planet." And indeed it is. For while it is sailboat racing on a very high level, it is also as one competitor wrote "a special passage through the mind." As a unique, one-of-a-kind event, it continues to evolve, each year reinventing itself as it adapts to new situations, technology and ideas. 1976: The first race was a 24-hour, non-stop affair with no checkpoints sailed on Hobie 16s by two sailors with no ground crews. In fact, there is an interesting story about how the legendary 24-hour format developed. It was just after daybreak on the second day. After breakfast at the oceanfront motel where my crew and I had spent the night I called race control in Virginia Beach, Virginia. One of the three or so rules in that inaugural race required that each team call in by land-line at least once every 24 hours. I was informed that we were in last place and that the lead boat was preparing to round Cape Canaveral, roughly 100 miles ahead of us. In amazement, I asked "how was that possible, they must have sailed all night." The reply; "read the rules, there's nothing in there that says you can't." Indeed, there wasn't, for it had never occurred to me that anyone would sail all night in this race. Following our abrupt introduction to night sailing and despite the fact that we would go on to win that first race, I was uncomfortable that what I had created was really more of a contest of who could sleep the least rather than a sailboat race. After considerable thought rules were added for the next year, 1977, to require three sailors and a shore crew; two sailing and one with the shore crew following up the coast. This format would enable the sailors to rotate on and off the boat so that it was possible, though just barely, to sail 24-hours a day, non-stop. Still no checkpoints. 1978: Seven checkpoints were added. By 1982 there were eleven. And there was a very vocal group that felt the race would be ruined by the addition of checkpoints. This would become a familiar refrain with all further changes. 1983: The first of the really big changes was implemented. Stopping at checkpoints and the return to two-man sailing teams. I was really verbally tarred and feathered over this one. In fact, a very vocal minority wasted no opportunity in pointing out my insensitivity to the world order of things. Regatta method of point scoring was tried. The next year elapsed time scoring was returned. 1985: The second big change. End of Hobie 16 era. Open development rule was introduced. Basically anything was allowed within 20-foot length, 8-foot beam. Many say that this race introduced spinnakers to beach cats. The following is a quote from August, 1985 Yacht Racing/Cruising Magazine, "It was sails that made the difference. They were unlike any cat sailor had used before and spinnakers stole the show. Manufacturers cannot ignore this landmark event. This year's innovations will likely be the standards of the future." 1986: Beam increased to 8.5 feet. A prototype Nacra 20 (essentially a Nacra 5.8 stretched to 20 feet) designed and sailed by Roy Seaman wins. The boat becomes the Nacra 6.0 1987: Beam unrestricted, 400 lb min weight. Development of boats for the open class takes off. I sold the race in October. It was run for two years in 1988 and 1989 by the new owners and discontinued. 1990 - 1996: No race. 1997: Race returns as production class event. Boats must be mass produced by a boat manufacturer and be class legal. One exception to class rules - spinnakers. No restrictions on size or spinnaker equipment. 1998: No changes except for small fine-tuning of rules. 1999: Only small fine-tuning of rules. Nacra 6.0na the dominant boat of choice. 2000: Race returns to its One Design roots. The Inter 20 catamaran manufactured by Performance Catamarans of Santa Ana, California is the only boat allowed. It is the only catamaran manufactured in the USA that comes out-of-the-box with a spinnaker.

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