Worrell 1000 Race to make stop in Surfside Beach
SURFSIDE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) — The Worrell 1000 Race, known as one of the toughest offshore catamaran races, will be stopping in Surfside Beach this weekend, giving people a chance to watch them race to and from the shores.
The race began as a bar bet between two brothers in Virginia Beach in 1974 and has grown into an internationally-known event.
This year, officials said 11 teams will race 1,000 miles from the beaches in Hollywood, Florida to Virginia Beach.
It started on May 12 and ends May 25. There are teams from six countries including Australia, Germany, France and the Netherlands.
John Williams, a principal race official, told News13 the combination of coastline and challenging waters makes this race unique.
“Of course, the Outer Banks famous for being the Graveyard of the Atlantic, where many vessels have been struck by bad weather and sunk. South Florida has a lot of shipwrecks, so there’s just nothing else like it,” Williams said. “There are other distance races, both here in the United States and elsewhere in the world, but none of them are 1000 miles and none of them are through such challenging waters.”
Officials explained the starting process as teams race to each of the 13 checkpoints.
“We do start on the sand, they don’t start in the water and it makes it very exciting for the people to come especially in the start,” communications director Beverley Simmons said. “[It’s] rewarding to see all of the posts lined up on the beach, they have their Skipper, they have their crew and they have a ground crew that helps push them down into and through the surf.”
Williams said once they are through the surf, the race is on.
“They’ll race as fast as they can, for about 60-80 miles a day to the next checkpoint, where they’ll come across the finish line and collect their finish time,” Williams said. “As they accumulate time over the two weeks, the team that has the shortest elapsed time from start to finish will win.”
You can watch the teams arrive in Surfside Beach on Sunday from 3-8 p.m. near the Holiday Inn Oceanfront Resort. The teams will sail from the shores at 10 a.m. on Monday to race to the next checkpoint in North Carolina.
To find more information on the Worrell 100 Race, click here.
* * *
Savannah Denton joined News 13 in July 2023 as a reporter and producer. Savannah is from Atlanta, Georgia, and is a graduate of the University of Alabama. Follow Savannah on X, formerly Twitter, and read more of her work here.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBTW.
