DATE: Sunday, April 20, 1997                TAG: 9704180250

SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON   PAGE: 18   EDITION: FINAL 

COLUMN: THE EDITOR'S COLUMN 

SOURCE: Lee Tolliver 

                                            LENGTH:   65 lines

MIKE WORRELL REVIVES POPULAR CATAMARAN RACE UP THE COAST

The Worrell 1000 is an idea too good to die.

The catamaran sailboat race up the East Coast was intensely popular among hardcore sailors for 13 years before a postponement of the 1990 event ended what was a marvelous race.

Now, eight years later, founder Mike Worrell has brought back the 960-mile race from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to Virginia Beach.

Will the race be able to make a comeback to its earlier glory? Only time will tell. But this year's test run is already being met with excitement from those who sailed in previous events.

``It was a great event,'' said Mike Eason, the team captain for Team Rudee's who raced in the last three events and finished second his first time out. ``It's a test of the boat and equipment and a test within yourself.

``It is a grueling event.''

Worrell started the race in 1976 and five boats made the jaunt up the coast. Worrell was the only one who didn't attempt to sail a la LaMans - nonstop up the coast.

``They told me to read the rules when I asked them what they were doing after I had called to check in and found out that the other boats were 100 miles north of me,'' he said. ``We had slept overnight in a hotel and they had kept racing. There was nothing in the rules that said they couldn't do just that.''

So the race was run nonstop - except for quick stops at checkpoints to fix equipment and change one racer - for several years. There were times when conditions pushed the boats faster up the coast that race officials could keep up with. Boats sometimes landed at checkpoints in the middle of the night.

But there were no cameras or media coverage at times because of the way the race was run.

So Worrell opted for a more media-friendly race in 1983 - going to an 11-stop race where contestants stopped overnight at each checkpoint and all teams started again the next morning. Elapsed time determined the winner. Running the race in such fashion made it a media event, with crowds of spectators lining the sands to watch the start of each new leg.

``It was a logistical nightmare the old way,'' Worrell said. ``More people could watch the starts the new way.''

But to the dismay of some and the delight of others, Worrell sold his interest in the race to a pair of local businessmen. The handwriting was on the wall. Just two years later, the race was sold again and the new owner couldn't even pull off one race.

Over the years, the race was still talked about and others even tried to copy the event. Races like the Hogsbreath 1000 in southern Florida also died. But Worrell said there's still enough interest to warrant another try.

In this day of high-tech computer and communications systems, the race will be watched as it unfolds. Worrell believes that new element will be the reason the race survives once again.

This year's race begins May 5 in Fort Lauderdale and includes a couple of night legs to make it interesting. Boats will hopefully scream onto the Oceanfront sands at the Princess Anne Inn sometime in the afternoon of May 17.

And hopefully, this race that brings catamaran teams from all over the world to race in what is probably sailing's most unique event will make another lengthy run. ILLUSTRATION: File photo

When Mike Worrell started the Worrell 1000 Race in 1976, just five

catamarans sailed up the coast.

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