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05/19/2001 - Leg 13: cat-alist.com following Team Dinghy Shop
Leg 13 7:20 PM - The final leg to Virginia Beach. Team Dinghy Shop finishes in an incredible 6th place. It is over, so bittersweet. The hard work and grind is ending, yet this is what we come here for, what makes us feel alive. The good friends we have met again, made, gotten closer to, those memories of the excitement and exhilaration, fear and anticipation
- this is the Worrell 1000.
Leg 13 - Kill Devil Hills, NC to Virginia Beach, VA
- 60.0 statute miles.
Estimated arrival time: 4:35 - 5:00 PM EDT.
Leg 13 Results - shows results for leg 13 and overall.
7:20 PM Saturday - Mike Walker, Team Manager:
The final leg dawned with Team Dinghy Shop holding down 6th place. The job
to day is to attempt to overtake Tybee Island and to cover Lexis Nexis
behind us. The surf was still running and the wind was moving from off
shore. Some teams tried to start with the chute up, but the wind was
swirling around and it was difficult to tell whether to start on port or
starboard.
Dinghy Shop started in fourth position after a great finish last night. Kevin had created a hand paddle for Scott to use to help to get out through the surf. Also, since the bottom dropped after 6 feet to over your head, we had very little to work with to get the boat out through the surf.
At the start, the team powered right through the surf and made the turn to the left towards Virginia Beach. This turned out to be a crazy screaming reach. We could see Reigh's rudders cavitating from the beach has he attempted to keep the boat powered. Reigh's quote on the reach 20 minutes of "pure adrenaline and pray to the turtle god that they stay clear".
We left Kill Devil Hills in about 29C (celcius) and bright sunshine. When we arrived in Virginia Beach it was damp and foggy (just like last year for those there where there).
With little or not visibility, the crowds on the beach could not tell who was coming around the pier to the finish. When it was over, the results didn't change, but it wasn't for lack of effort. All teams covered their competition to ensure that they didn't lose any positions.
Team Dinghy Shop finished a very very respectable 6th place. That is an amazing finish for a pair of rookie Worrell 1000 racers. Neither Reigh or Scott are rookie sailors though.
Memorable moments:
Reigh: At Cocoa Beach, when the boat rolled in the surf, and the mast broke, Reigh was actually trapped underneath the boat for sometime before clearing the rigging from around him. "Gills would be real good right about now!".
Scott (memorable moment): Same place, same upset: "There goes $5000." (Actually, it was more, as they also destroyed a $2000 main sail -- all prices Canadian).
Favorite Moment: Last night (coming into Kill Devil Hills) screaming along with the Kite up at 20 knots, flat water, in the dark for a 4th place finish.
Kevin (Jenson Beach): Yelling at another boat to bear off as they were in our path. (You have to know Kevin).
Catherine: Watching the boat flip upside down at Cocoa Beach and the team's 3rd place finish at Jensen Beach.
Tami: Dancing on the bar at Mango's in South Beach Miami.
Mike: The team making it out through the mountainous surf at Jenson Beach and being only one of 5 teams that did.
Vic: Making Margaritas on the tail gate of the truck. Vic and Kevin had a 110V blender and an AC inverter that they purchased from West Marine. To do this, they wired and installed a 12V outlet on the back of the truck.
To bring a team like this together and to jam them all in a travelling road show for 2 weeks is no small matter. The days are long and hurried. You'd think that you would push the boat off the beach, jump in the car and drive to the next hotel, then lay on the beach until the boats arrived. Well, add to that, packing up the sailing teams wet smelling clothes, stand in line for the hotel, argue with the hotel staff and move a mountain of bags into each room. The sailing team eats a special diet each day and this has to be brought to the room so that it can be concocted.
I have learned 2 things about this race.
1) Sh*t happens. This race is designed to make sh*t happen (Dave Hopper from the 2000 Worrell).
2) I now understand the Eagle's song "Hotel California". You can check out, but you can never leave.
Some Thanks:
Karen-Ann Xavier for all the work she did to keep you updated on her website (www.cat-alist.com). She gave up paying customers to get this done. KA... Thanks!
Lastly, I would like to thank my lovely wife Karen (who has a passion for competitive sailing). She has done without me for over 2 weeks, while I was away having 'fun'. Karen, THANK YOU and I LOVE YOU!
To all of you, thanks for your involvement.
Mike Walker
Team Manager - Team Dinghy Shop
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