DATE: Monday, May 5, 1997                   TAG: 9705050155

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C8   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY BOB HUTCHINSON, OUTDOORS EDITOR 

DATELINE: FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA.             LENGTH:   75 lines

WORRELL 1000 FIELD READY TO SET SAIL MICHAEL WORRELL IS BACK PROMOTING THE RACE, SCHEDULED TO FINISH MAY 17 AT VIRGINIA BEACH.

Today sailing promoter Michael Worrell of Virginia Beach will get to scratch the itch he has had since 1988.

The slight, balding Worrell will get to fire the starting signal for the sailing adventure bearing his name, the Worrell 1000.

An impressive international field of 13 crews will launch their twin-hull catamarans, none larger than 20 feet, for a 960-mile Atlantic Ocean odyssey scheduled to end in Virginia Beach May 17.

The teams will sail 12 legs, with overnight stops along the way. While most legs will begin at 10 a.m., two will be all-nighters, with 6 p.m. starting times.

It will be the first time the race has been sailed since 1989 and Worrell's first involvement since 1987.

Worrell, co-founder with his late brother Chris of the popular Worrell Bros. night spot on the Virginia Beach strip, sold his interest in the race in 1988.

The new owners ran the event two years, then dropped it.

Worrell, 43, said he has been ``itching to get back to the race'' ever since he had to sell it in the face of mounting bills.

``This year, everything finally came together,'' he said. ``Personally, I never really wanted to give it up. But the real reason it's back is because the competitors wanted it back.''

Right on, according to Randy Smyth, 42, the two-time Olympics sailing silver medalist competing in his fourth Worrell race. Smyth earned medals in the Tornado class in the 1984 and 1982 Olympics.

``It's a great experience,'' said Smyth, who won the Worrell 1000 in 1985 and 1989 and holds the course elapsed-time record of 99 hours, 45 minutes, 31 seconds.

``This is hardly your normal around-the-triangle sailing race. It's a challenge, of you and your equipment. It's an adventure, a great, demanding adventure.''

Smyth and teammate Jason Sneed, 25, of Fort Walton Beach, Fla., are early favorites, although the field also includes former winners Greg Richardson, 43, of Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Rick Bliss, 46, of Mansfield, Mass.

Smyth, a native Californian living at Fort Walton Beach, Fla., will be skippering Team Chick's Beach, sponsored by the Virginia Beach sailing store.

Bliss and crewman Chris Hansen, 24, of New London, Conn., will be aboard Team Rudee's Restaurant, sponsored by the Virginia Beach eatery, while Richardson and teammate Tim Reynolds, 37, of Key West, Fla., will be aboard Team Key West.

The field also includes two Russian sailors on Team Russia and two Dutchmen on Team Holland.

For more international flavor, Team Alien features Vladimir ``Kuli'' Kulinichenko, 37, a native Ukranian, and Chris Webster, 40, a native New Zealander. Both live in Florida.

The only Virginia resident in the field is Hans Meijer, 36, of Virginia Beach. And he's a native of Holland. He and John McLaughlin of Baltimore are on Team Pomodoro.

The Russians are Vladimir Klostov, 38, and Sergey Poulkocv, 27, both of Moscow. The Dutch team includes Gerard Loos, 43, of Zandvoort, The Netherlands, and Piet Heemskerk, 49, of Lisse, The Netherlands.

Others in the field include:

Team Florida, Louis A. Adiano, 37, Orlando, and Richard C. Shipes, 36, Eustis, Fla.

Team G-Cat, Al Levine, 44, Centerport, N.Y., and Steve Vanderbol, 33, Fernandina Beach, Fla.

Team International Insurance, Clive S. Mayo, 40, Miami, and Bobby J. Bailey, 43, Pembroke Pines, Fla.

Team Nokia, Martin C. Peacey, 36, Indiatlantic, Fla., and Scott B. Hubel, 37, Rockledge, Fla.

Team Smith/Barney, James W. McCarthy, 39, Windham, N.H., and Garrett J. Norton, 36, Cambridge, Mass.

Team Tackle Shack, Woody M. Cope, 48, Tampa, Fla., and Clark A. Keysor, 63, Largo, Fla.

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