End is near for Worrell 1000

Kill Devil Hills, NC (May 20, 2022) – The expansive beach at ORV Ramp 49 in Frisco (near Cape Hatteras) was filled with spectators; Most, here for the spectacle that is the Worrell 1000. Not because they’re sailors or that they know anything about racing these F18 beasts….they just know that this is exciting.

This was the second-to-last leg from Hatteras to Kill Devil Hills, and all 13 teams were still on the line. Team Restream – which took a DNF just the day before – were rigged and ready to go. It remains remarkable for all teams that started Leg 1 in Hollywood, FL – more than a week ago – were all here. The excitement that was building felt incredible.

The winds and the conditions for this leg were extremely favorable: 12-14 knot winds out of the South meant the teams would enjoy what salty sailors call a “sleigh ride”: The teams would launch their spinnakers, lean back and just let the boat go. But first they had to get through the surf first at the start, and as all teams were permitted two pushers today, this would help for all but two of the teams.

Within yards of the beach line, two boats were hit hard while they were sideways to the surf and flipped. Team Fast Forward Composites (Tommy Gonzales and Sam Ingham) were able to float their boat back to the start line, right it, and get pushed back out rather quickly, with only a top batten in the square-top main snapped. Team Allen, William Sunnucks and Mark Self of Great Britain, would not be so lucky.

Every batten in their main sail was decimated, launching ground crew into action. Cordless drills and replacement battens materialized out of nowhere, and a collective, focused effort of all was committed to get Team Allen patched up and back out on the course.

While these repairs were being made, Team Australia was heading back to shore: they lost a rudder-arm tendon connection to the tiller cross-bar. They made a quick repair and re-launched through the surf, but they experienced a spinnaker tack-line failure and had to beach on Cape Hatteras to lash the tack of the kite to the tip of the spinnaker pole before relaunching yet again. They finished 8th this day, with their repairs still in place.

The conditions prevented any team from really pulling away from the pack with all finishing within an hour of each other. This resulted in zero change in the overall standings with just one, short leg to go. Regardless, the 2022 event has solidified a position in Worrell history as a staggeringly difficult event, and yet – all 13 teams are poised to complete the course. Tune in tomorrow for the final leg to the finish at VA Beach……

Race details – Entry list – Results – Facebook – Photos

Schedule – 12 stages
• Day 1 – Monday 09 May 2022 – Hollywood, FL –> Jensen Beach, FL
• Day 2 – Tuesday 10 May 2022 – Jensen Beach, FL –> Cocoa Beach, FL
• Day 3 – Wednesday 11 May 2022 – Cocoa Beach, FL ->Daytona Beach, FL (CANCELLED)
• Day 4 – Thursday 12 May 2022 – Daytona Beach, FL -> Jacksonville Beach, FL
• Day 5 – Friday 13 May 2022 – Jacksonville Beach, FL –> Tybee Island, GA
• Day 6 – Saturday 14 May 2022 – Tybee Island, GA (lay day)
• Day 7 – Sunday 15 May 2022 – Tybee Island, GA –> Folly Beach, SC
• Day 8 – Monday 16 May 2022 – Folly Beach, SC -> Surfside Beach, SC
• Day 9 – Tuesday 17 May 2022 – Surfside Beach, SC –> Wrightsville Beach, NC
• Day 10 – Wednesday 18 May 2022 – Wrightsville Beach, NC -> Atlantic Beach, NC
• Day 11 – Thursday 19 May 2022 – Atlantic Beach, NC -> Hatteras, NC
• Day 12 – Friday 20 May 2022 – Hatteras, NC -> Kill Devil Hills, NC
• Day 13 – Saturday 21 May 2022 – Kill Devil Hills, NC ->Virginia Beach, VA

Source: Beverley J Simmons