This past week was a huge success as many spectators gathered on Folly Beach to watch the Worrell 1000 race!
The Worrell Race is an offshore long-distance catamaran race in the Atlantic waters between Hollywood Beach, Florida, and Virginia Beach, Virginia. This exciting 1,000-mile race featured 13 two-person crews from 6 countries around the world who were filled with persistence and dedication.
Although the race is 1,000 miles as of today, it was not always like that. The origins of The Worrell 1000 started when the Worrell brothers, Chris and Michael, placed a bet in a bar that it was impossible to sail a sixteen-foot catamaran from Virginia Beach to Florida. Michael Worrell then began to gather his crew and set sail in hopes of winning the bet. They, unfortunately, had to stop in Fort Lauderdale due to their catamaran being in poor condition. Although they did not win the bet, they still sailed through two hurricanes and multiple boat repairs. Many years later, the Worrell brothers changed the 954-mile journey into what today is known as the Worrell Race 1000. These crews set sail for 12 days, with overnight stops along the East Coast. This year, one of those stops was our beloved Folly Beach!
As this race moved away from its 24-hour continuous format, it adopted a more spectator-friendly checkpoint-to-checkpoint racing arrangement, mainly to cater to the excitement that faster and more powerful boats provided for spectators.
Once sailors arrived on Folly, they settled into their rooms at the Tides hotel and met across the street at Loggerhead’s Beach Grill, where they were treated to a local Lowcountry Boil and BBQ to start off the evening. During the event at Loggerhead’s, they offered a 5-minute Facebook Live featuring interviews with the racers that were broadcasted live via their Facebook page. It was a great chance for the locals to enjoy some great drinks and food with the racers before they sailed off to Surfside Beach the next day. Thank you so much to Loggerhead’s for hosting this amazing evening for the racers!
It was so exciting to see such a huge audience turnout to cheer on the competitors. Along with this grand turnout, many pups also enjoyed watching the race take place from the beach as sailors set sail to begin the 7th leg of the 2022 race along the tides of Folly Beach. This event was a great way for the Folly Beach community to gather together and enjoy a day at the beach as they watched one exceptional race.
Some new and exciting elements have been added to the race this year, including a Champion’s Perpetual Trophy for the winning team! As well as the chance to be named the recipient of the new sportsmanship award of a fellow sailor and Worrell alumni, Sandra Tartaglino – who was taken from us far too soon. Congratulations to Team Australia for finishing first place with a final-leg victory after two weeks and hundreds of miles at sea a time with an incredible time of 87:40:44.
For more information about the Worrell 1000 and their next in-person race, make sure to follow their social media accounts below!
Instagram: w1krr
Facebook: Worrell 1000 Race
