Worrell 1000: Hollywood Beach, FL to Jensen Beach, FL

The 2019 Worrell 1000 Reunion Race brings back the beach cat contest which held 20 editions from 1976 to 2002. Beginning May 6 from South Florida, three teams take on the 1000 mile offshore adventure to Virginia Beach, VA. Here is the latest update from Beverley Simmons:

May 6: Leg 1 – Hollywood Beach FL to Jensen Beach FL (approximately a 100 mile leg)
After a 17 year absence, the Worrell 1000 has made it back to the start line – On Monday, May 6th three daring teams of catamaran sailors pushed off at 10:00am on their way to the first checkpoint at the Courtyard Marriott on South Ocean Drive in Jensen Beach, FL. The sailors and their ground crews had arrived the Friday before – spending 2 long days setting up their boats, making sure their safety equipment, navigation tools and equipment were all in order. Although a few were new to the event all knew it’s history – the tales from all those years past were what drew them here in the first place.

At 09:00 on 06-May, the teams and the event PRO (Principal Race Officer) came together near the boats on the beach for the Skipper’s Meeting. Excitement was high – for the last 2 days the beachgoers and nearby hotel guests had been curiously buzzing around the boats – some, sailors themselves while others – enchanted by the 18 & 20-foot catamaran designs. The race teams were happy to speak to them – any chance to talk about the sport they love and to encourage people to be a part! By the end of that weekend – the entire beach was chatting about the launch to happen Monday – And the beach was full that morning to cheer them on.

By 09:45, the race teams were fully geared and ready to push the boats to the start line. At 09:55 the race committee sounded the horn signaling the commencement of the 5-minute countdown. At the 3-minute mark – the boats rolled to the start at the shoreline – The two holders held the bright orange “Worrell 1000” flags, marking the start line where the boats launched from in between. As the timer got to 30 seconds to launch, the crowd behind them erupted into cheers – clapping and shouts of well wishes almost drowned out the horn that blew as the timer hit zero. They were off.

Team Australia was the first to pull their spinnaker almost immediately after getting off the beach – A large, 3rd sail launched from an elongated bag attached to a “spin pole” that sits between the two hulls. More sail area means more power generated from the wind – there was a mere 5 knots at the launch. Team Cat in the Hat, the home-town FL team was 2nd to launch their spinnaker – they soon fell in behind the Aussies as team TCDYC from Texas soon followed suit. They were on their way. Mindy Worrell, widow to the race’s founder, Mike Worrell, cried as she watched and said that Mike was watching somewhere – “Proud as hell”.

The remaining ground crews and the race committee had to pack up and get on the road to the next checkpoint – they must arrive before the boats to set the finish line, and to be prepared to help the racers and their boats up the beach. With a light breeze, they were sure to make it in time ahead of the boats. Live trackers for each team allowed race officials and fans alike to track them online throughout the day. There was some concern as the tracker for Team Australia went offline about 30 minutes into the leg. The team could still be reached via cell phone, and all were reported OK.

Team Australia stayed close to shore the majority of the race, only venturing farther out to catch a better breeze – a good tactic, as they arrived at the checkpoint well ahead of the other teams, officially hitting Jensen beach with an elapsed time of 6 hours, 8 minutes & 49 seconds. Roughly, an average of 12 knotts for the leg. “Smooth Sailing!” said Rod Waterhouse, skipper for Team Australia.

The second team to arrive 2 hours later was Cat in the Hat. They had sailed through 2 storms, were soaked, tired, but stoked to have made it in 2nd. Larry Ferber, skipper, simply said “We made it!” and
credited the race committee for setting up the blinking, high powered strobe on the beach that pointed their way home. Their official elapsed time was 8 hours, 5 minutes, 28 seconds.

The last team to arrive had capsized in one of the storms. Tracking was disabled, tensions were high. It took some time, but they were able to right the boat and phone in to ground crew. All were OK – slowly making their way. Their mast and hulls were full of sea water – an additional hinderance in low breeze. When they finally came to shore just before the sun went down for the day, Team Australia, Team Cat in the Hat, spectators, crew and race officials – all helped to bring their boat ashore. They were tired, they were hungry – but still excited to be there. Christian Vuerings, crew to Skipper Chris Green was all smiles, hugging and high-fiving everyone on the beach. “It was awesome!” – yeah he’s got the bug.

With the teams all accounted for, the boats stowed, everyone warm and safe – We all said goodnight – and we’ll see you on the beach in the morning. Leg 2 – Jensen Beach to Cocoa Beach.

Event details – Tracking – Results – Facebook