Lay Day and Leg 7 of the Worrell 1000 – An Eventful Account
Folly Beach, South Carolina – Emerged as the new “lay-day” checkpoint for the Worrell 1000 race this year. Traditionally set at Tybee Island, Georgia, the relocation was decided under close cooperation between the local tourism and development council, the city officials of Folly, and race organizers. The new checkpoint, recently blessed with a major beach re-nourishment project, boasted expansiveness and beauty. The soft, wide sandy beach offered excellent resting ground for Saturday’s teams and facilities for boat work.
The racers were treated to a fantastic low-Country Boil Saturday evening at the Folly Beach Park Dunes Pavilion, courtesy of Visit Folly, bringing warmth to the otherwise wary teams. Their initial apprehensions of not having the lay day directly following the longest race leg from Jacksonville Beach, Florida to Tybee Island, Georgia quickly transformed into appreciation for the event organizers’ planning.
Sunday Brings Reality Check
Sunday, May 19th brought everybody back down to earth as the 7th leg of the race to Surfside Beach, South Carolina was forecast to endure painfully light winds from the North with sporadic thunderstorms predicted along the route. The forecast rather dauntingly suggested a likely, unintended night leg for the 85 miles sail under just main and jib.
The 11 fleets cast off the beach under a dismal 5-knot wind, all bearing spinnakers aimed to maximize what they could squeeze out of the minimal winds. However, the sails had to be retracted for the northern tack into would turn out to be even weaker winds.
Uneven Weather Impact
While the forecasted scattered thunderstorms did afflict some of the teams, others remained unscathed. The entire day saw the affliction of swirling, converging, and indecisive wind patterns across the fleet. The first boat arrived by 11:15pm, marking an excruciating 13-hour leg for team Australia 1 (Brett Burville & Max Putman).
On the flipside, Team Rudee’s (Randy Smyth & Dalton Tebo) sailed in for a respectable second position, marking their best performance to date. On the same bright note, Team Meerkat (Mark Modderman & Mike Siau) secured 6th place, pushing their standing to 8th overall, up from their previous 10th position.
Last to Arrive
The final team to touch shore – TCDYC (Chris Green and Jean Bolougne), arrived at 2:29am on Monday. Heartrekingly, one team remained unaccounted for…
Stuck Ashore
Team Roo in the Hat, led by Brett White of Australia and Larry Ferber of the US, fell victim to a starboard hull filled with water, forcing them to shore over 20 miles from the finish line, in a rather remote area. They decided to rest before trying to push out in the morning.
Their decision was announced by their team manager and ground crew Chris Lim, who reported to the Race Committee the team’s decision to rest before mapping a suitable beach to land on.
Race Continues
Despite the mishap, the team continued their race. By May 20th, 2:30 pm, the team had been retrieved and were en route to Wrightsville beach. They aimed to line up for the leg from Wrightsville to Atlantic Beach on Tuesday, 21st May. Although scored a ‘DNS’ for leg 8, their spirited determination and safe rescue brought relief and cheer, revitalizing the spirit of the Worrell 1000 race.
Enthusiasts can stay tuned for more updates regarding the grand finish in VA Beach on May 24th on the event’s official platforms. This fascinating journey called the “Worrell 1000” has proved to be the epitome of endurance, spirit, and determination.
