New 1000 miler offshore cat race

New addition to the Tybee 500 up the east coast of the States

High-performance beach catamarans will once again be screaming up the Eastern Seaboard, from Florida and around Cape Hatteras, in two combined races totalling 1000 long and grueling miles.

The Tybee Island Sailing Association, organisers of the Tybee 500 that debuted last May, has teamed up with the Outer Banks Catamaran Club to produce two back-to-back 500 mile races starting next year. The contests will form a new 1000 mile annual challenge called the Atlantic 1000. According to race organisers, these two events the Tybee 500 and the Outer Banks 500 will culminate in a third award honouring the sailors with the best combined time for both.

Race registration will begin on 1 January, 2004, with surf sailors given the choice of entering either or both events. The Tybee 500 will run the same course as last year from Islamorada, Florida, to Tybee Island, Georgia over 10-15 May. The Outer Banks 500 will start on 17 May where the Tybee leaves off, ending at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, on 22 May. Each race will have five mandatory checkpoints between start and finish.

The unique alliance formed by these two sailing associations is committed to a well-organised, challenging event for the experienced sailor. Tybee's Chuck Bargeron and Outer Banks 500 organisers, Charles Thuman and Jon Britt, announce that both races will be conducted essentially under the same rules and procedures developed for the 2003 Tybee 500. In addition, the same key officials will follow through for both races and the entire 1000 miles.

Classes will consist of 18- and 20-foot production catamarans, factory spinnaker-rigged with beams of no more than 8.5 feet, including Inter 20, Nacra 6.0, Hobie 20, and the NAF 18.

Sailing a high-speed racing catamaran offshore is considered the ultimate test of one's mental acuity, physical and emotional stamina, seamanship, and luck. The event is expected to draw teams from a top field of internationally-ranked competitors prepared for facing anything from howling winds and crashing surf to calm seas with fluky coastal currents and zephyrs.

A team consists of two skippers for each boat and a shore crew of backup sailors to provide support. As the sailors make their way up the coast, land crews, travelling the parallel route by truck and van, arrive at the checkpoint ahead of time to meet the racers at the end of each leg. Crews cheer for their teams and help them negotiate their fragile lightweight boats in and out of the often-heavy surf, collect and compare weather data, help in planning strategies, make necessary repairs or adjustments to the craft, and see that the skippers are nourished and rested during the brief stopover of this strenuous event.

Each morning sailors and crew gather on the beach for final checks to the boat, sails, rigging, and equipment before the starting-horn signals another launch into the surf, and another leg begins. All boats are subject to safety checks and any gear replacement during the race cannot take place unless approved by the race committee.

Spectators at each beach checkpoint are welcome to observe not just the sailors and their catamarans but also each exciting launch and landing. Currently stopovers are slated for these participating towns in Florida: Islamorada, Hollywood, Jensen Beach, Cocoa Beach, Ormond Beach, and Fernandina. After the first race ends at Tybee Island, Georgia, the next northbound checkpoints are planned for Isle of Palms and Surfside Beach (south of Myrtle Beach) in South Carolina. In North Carolina racers will stop at Wrightsville Beach, Atlantic Beach, and Ocracoke Island before the finish line at Kill Devil Hills.

The names of beachfront hotels serving as hosts for each leg will be announced by the time registration opens on 1 January 2004.

TYBEE 500
May 10 Islamorada FL to Hollywood FL
May 11 Hollywood to Jensen Beach FL
May 12 Jensen Beach to Cocoa Beach FL
May 13 Cocoa Beach to Ormond Beach FL
May 14 Ormond Beach to Fernandina Beach FL
May 15 Fernandina Beach to Tybee Island GA (finish for the Tybee 500)

OUTER BANKS 500
May 17- Tybee Island GA to Isle of Palms SC
May 18- Isle of Palms to Surfside Beach (south of Myrtle Beach) SC
May 19- Surfside Beach to Wrightsville Beach NC
May 20- Wrightsville Beach to Atlantic Beach NC
May 21- Atlantic Beach to Ocracoke Island NC
May 22- Ocracoke Island to Kill Devil Hills NC (finish for the Outer Banks 500 and the Atlantic 1000)

CONTACTS:
Tybee 500 Chuck Bargeron (912) 786-5685 info@tybee500.com
Outer Banks 500 Charles Thuman (252) 441-6536 cthuman@earthlink.net Jon Britt (252) 261-4369 jon@norbanks.com