Worrell 1000

Worrell 1000 is a 1,000-mile beach catamaran race between South Beach, Florida and Virginia Beach, Virginia. With a motto of "Iron Men, Plastic Boats" this race is more than a simple weekend regatta.

History

The origins of Worrell 1000 can be traced to a bet in a bar at the Worrell Bros., a Virginia Beach resort restaurant. The bet was between the owners of the bar, Michael Worrell and his brother, Chris.cite web
url=http://www.worrell1000.com/m_raceinfo.html
title=About the Worrell 1000 Race
publisher=Worrell 1000
accessdate=2007-05-11] The bet was that it was impossible to sail a sixteen-foot catamaran from Virginia Beach to Florida. On October 1, 1974, Michael Worrell and his crew Steve McGarrett left the Virginia Beach oceanfront with hopes of reaching Florida in one piece. Although they did not win bet they still sailed through two hurricanes and had to make multiple boat repairs. After twenty days, they had to stop in Fort Lauderdale, Florida due to their catamaran being in poor condition.

Later, Worrell thought of turning the 954-mile journey into a regular regatta. The inaugural race, called "Worrell Bros. Coastwise Race", took place in May 1976. Four teams participated in the race. For that first race, limited to 16-foot hobie cats, there were very few rules. The participants could sail day and night, but they were supposed to come ashore and phone the restaurant once every 24 hours. The course was flipped with the start in Fort Lauderdale and the finish in Virginia Beach, to take advantage of the prevailing winds. The only team to finish the first race was that of Worrell and crew Guerry Beatson.

In 1979, Michael Worrell sold his half of Worrell Bros. to his brother Chris, who shortened the name of the race to Worrell 1000. In 1985, the rules were changed to allow any boat within 20-foot length, 8-foot beam, instead of just hobie cats. In 1987, the rules were changed to allow unrestricted beam. [cite web
url=http://www.worrell1000.com/ri_lookingback.html
title=The Race Director Looks Back
author=Michael Worrell
publisher=Worrell 1000
accessdate=2007-05-11] There was no race from 1990-1996, but it returned in 1997 as a production class event. Since 2000, the Inter 20 catamaran manufactured by Performance Catamarans of Santa Ana, California is the only boat allowed. Recent Regattas have been canceled to sponsors not covering their financial commitments [cite web
url=http://www.thebeachcats.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=42
title=Worrell 1000 cancelled for 2003
publisher=TheBeachcats.com
date=2003-03-29
accessdate=2007-05-11] , however, each year the race is planned.

Fees and Prizes

The grand total for the prizes rewarded is $1,000,000 USD. [cite web
url=http://www.oceannavigator.com/article.php?a=5154
title=1,000 miles on a cat pays $1 million
author=Twain Braden
publisher=Ocean Navigator
month=May
year=2003
accessdate=2007-05-11] The prize for first place is $400,000 second place $200,000 and third place $100,000. To cover the prizes the entry fee was raised by 8,000 dollars to 20,000 dollars in 2003. The entry fee covers the boat with sails, hotel accommodation along with safety gear.

Winners

One of the competitors in the 2001 race team spit fire gave some words of advice and somethings that they learned after everything was over.
* Stay inshore. If it means jib reaching instead of flying the chute, stay in. If it means throwing 120 or 150 tacks in a leg, stay in. And if it looks really good offshore, stay in.
* Get two complete sets of graphics for the sail. If you lose a main, the sponsors will be much happier if their names show up on the new one.
* Take two vehicles. We had a 1981 Chevrolet 21' rv; it was adequate, but not that nimble. We had to unhook the spare boat every night to run errands or just to park at the hotels.
* Never tank, no matter how far back you feel. Three days from the finish, we were 12th, but less than 15 minutes separated us from the next two boats. One of them broke a rudder casting at Hatteras and carried it the rest of the way to Kill Devil Hills, giving up just over an hour, and while the other stayed ahead, Kirk Newkirk of Key Sailing withdrew from a top-10 place in the race because he was unwilling to face the prospect of another 16-18 hour light wind leg. The rest of the fleet held positions, and we had our top-10 finish.
* If something feels wrong to the sailors, it probably is.On measurement back in Houston, it was found that the bows were 4" closer together than the sterns. This damage to the main beam from Jensen explained the rudder toe problems.
* Raise more money.

References

External links

* [http://www.worrell1000.com/ Official homepage]
* [http://www.bluewaterweb.com/newsletters/5-01worrell.asp=News&file=article&sid=42 Worrell 1000 Catamaran Race] by Dior Hubel
* [http://old.cruisingworld.com/smythwor.htm Keep the Beach to the Left and Go Like Hell] , by the 1997 winner Randy Smyth.