Race Essentials

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The leg to Fernandina Beach began with a 10 - 12 knot Southerly breeze which built to 15 - 20 during the morning. Boats started in a rough surf with breakers topping six feet. Team Velocity suffered rudder damage early, possibly because of the surf, and had to hit the beach for repairs costing them more than twenty minutes early on in the leg. Team Tybee was first to arrive after six hours of reaching, with the rest of the fleet finishing in the next forty five minutes. Team Seacats had an unfortunate capsize on the approach to the finish line, but recovered after being passed by the close following Team Marleys White. Team Cat in the Hat also capsized about a half mile from the finish, and ultimately dismasted. No one was injured, but the boat was a wreck. Undaunted, Team Cat in the Hat and two ground crew dragged what was left down the beach to an official finish. The determined sailors have repaired their boat, and plan to start the final leg to Tybee Island tomorrow.

The teams are lined up for the start in Daytona Beach

The starting area is hectic just a few minutes before the gun

Team Tybee won the leg today, and this push didn't hurt their effort

Team Cat Fever and Cat in the Hat battle for position at the start

After trailering their boat to Daytona, Team Marleys Orange show tremendous poise coming in third to the finish in Fernandina

Team Velocity overcame a broken rudder and a 35 minute repair to finish fifth, just 26 minutes behind the first place boat

Team Cat Fever brings their Hatteras style to Florida

Team Seacats was leading Team Marleys White until they flipped over about 500 yards from the finish

Team Cat in the Hat gets a little bit of help getting across the finish line after being dismasted about a mile from the finish

These guys are tired as hell, but full of heart

The weather reports for tomorrow are varied. The only certainty is an early start at 0900 for the final leg of this grueling 500 mile race.

We expect to have boats here in an hour or less. The breeze is strong at 15 - 18 knots out of the SSE with stronger gusts. Watch the comments for times.

Just a quickie here - Team Moose-Burd dropped out of the race this morning at the skipper's meeting. They broke too much stuff yesterday, and could not get the parts they needed in time to make the start this morning.

We're sitting here at the Snack Jack where we always stop on this leg to eat lunch and watch the fleet go by. Team Velocity broke a rudder and is on the beach waiting for the replacement part. Team Tybee is out front, followed by Marleys Yellow, Marleys Orange, Full Wave Audio, Marleys White, Team Seacats, Team Cat Fever, and finally Team Cat in the Hat. It's 11:12 local time, and we're about 15 miles from the starting line. More to come from Fernandina.

The Cocoa to Daytona leg started with a stiff offshore breeze slightly North of East. At the horn, sailors headed straight for the three mile delimiting markers ringing Cape Canaveral. Unfortunately for some of the fleet, it was to be a day of broken equipment and costly mishaps.

The first breakage occurred when the jib onTeam Marleys White began to part from the forestay. Realizing it was a lost cause, they turned back immediately, losing about twenty minutes with the replacement.

The next vitcim of circumstance was Team Marleys Orange, who lost their forestay and dismasted outside the Cape Canaveral marks. Teams Seacats and Marleys Yellow stopped briefly to assure that no one was injured. Team Cat Fever turned around from far ahead and stayed with the downed boat for twenty minutes, for which they were given redress by the R/C.

Team Moose-Burd was the next to suffer, shattering a daggerboard halfway through the race. They were able to continue in the reaching conditions with only one board until their spinnaker blew up and they were forced to limp in to the finish.

Team Tybee finished first, after Team Velocity momentarily lost crew near the finish, and came in a close second one minute later. Team Marley Yellow finished one minute after that, with the rest of the fleet following a half hour or more later.

Several teams had difficulty finishing in the rough surf, and Team Marleys White had it the worst. Coming in under spinnaker, they were swamped by a large swell in the midbreak, which stuffed their bows straight onto the shallow sandbar below, nearly throwing both sailors from the boat, and breaking the spinnaker pole in the process.

On a positive note, Team Marleys Orange was able to repair their rig, and will restart with the rest of the fleet in the morning for the leg to Fernandina.

On another positive note, Team Cat in the Hat has quietly eclipsed their previous performances by completing the leg to Daytona, as well as setting a new personal record for completed legs. It is rumored that skipper Larry Ferber will chop his locks on the beach at Tybee if they are able to complete all six legs of this year's race.

Team Velocity won the previous leg for the first time ever and got to start on the pole

The fleet gets underway for the Cocoa to Daytona Leg

It wasn't just the racers taking advantage of the conditions at the start

The fleet on their way to round Cape Canaveral

Team Cat Fever approaching the finish in big surf at Daytona Beach

Team Marleys Yellow had the best performance of the day out of the three Marleys Teams that started the leg, and are only ten minutes out of first place overall. They finished third for this leg.

Team Tybee won the Cocoa to Daytona leg for their third daily first place finish in this year's race

The big surf and shallow sand bar provided a difficult finishing area for many teams today. Team Seacats had a little bit of trouble, but their ground crew came to the rescue and pulled them across the line without losing much time

Team Marleys White got swamped from behind by a large breaker, which jacked them up and slammed their bows into the sandbar, breaking their spinnaker pole in the process

Team Cat in the Hat is quietly having their best showing so far in this event, currently sitting in 7th place overall, and just over 17 minutes out of 6th place

The forecast for tomorrow's start in Daytona calls for 8 - 10 out of the South. It will clock Southeast at 10 - 15 for the finish in Fernandina Beach.