Five-time Worrell 1000 victor Randy Smyth with crew Matt Struble hit the surfline at the finish in Cocoa Beach.

COCOA BEACH, FL — Worrell 1000 race official Davey Crockett said it best, "Some days you're gonna get the bear, and some days the bear's gonna get you." Crockett's famous ancestor once uttered those words and they proved à propos yesterday since most of the fleet capsized at least once while sailing a hairy, three-sail, double-trap reach to the finish in this coastal burg.
In an 18-knot southeasterly, the fleet finished another leg in record time as the one-design Inter 20s are beginning to show their prowess. Once again, Randy Smyth and Matt Struble's Blockade Runner Resort surfed onto the beach in first place, edging Dutch sailors Gerard Loos and Mischa Heemskerk by a scant 14 seconds on the 79-mile leg. The Dutch team led for most of the race, but the layline to the finish undid them. Steve Lohmayer and Kenny Pierce finished third, two minutes off the pace, followed by Brian Lambert and Jamie Livingston on Alexander's on the Bay and Brett Dryland and Rod Waterhouse on Rudee's Restaurant.
The day began with a protest ruling by Race Chairman Mike Worrell, who handed a one-second-per-mile penalty to the Dutch team after reviewing evidence that some gear on their boat did not conform with class rules. They quickly acknowledged their error, changed the gear, and took the penalty in stride. In fact, it seemed to strengthen their resolve as they rolled over Smyth at the start of the leg. Smyth's flailing start pushed him back to fourth, a position that he held until late in the race when the boats in front of him either flipped or overstood the finish line, forcing them to douse their kites and jib-reach to the finish on a slower point of sail.
Smyth played the course perfectly, allowing for a northeasterly turn in the coastline just south of Cocoa Beach. Most other competitors reached along parallel to the shore under spinnakers, but as they approached the finish, they were forced to sail a higher angle to parallel the beach, which caused major problems. Boats that tried to carry their kites on such a tight angle shook violently as the spinnakers luffed, sometimes flipping over to leeward, while other teams pitchpoled when bad waves submerged their bows.
Flipping was the order of the day. At least four teams flipped over at the finish line. Rookies Richard Deppe and Tom Weaver on Pyacht looked a lot stronger off the line until they realized that they were well off the pace because they'd forgotten to put in their stern plugs. The remedy was clear—they had to beach the boat and drain the hulls or risk sinking. Weaver said later: "We just landed at a random beach to drain the boat and we ended up in the middle of a fashion shoot, surrounded by some confused models."
The sailors are starting to get to know the Inter 20s a little better after two legs and most agree that the boats are more tender than most beach cats. Kenny Pierce and Steve Lohmayer like to switch positions and co-skipper their boat. They have been sailing the boat for four months now, said Pierce, adding that "these boats are a handful downwind; we couldn't even switch off yesterday; it was too hairy." One racer flipped while adjusting his hat yesterday. Brian Lambert says crew Jamie Livingston has to force feed him Cliff Bars, "You can't relax for a second or you're over."
After two days it's too early to put much stock in the scoreboard, but the Dutch team is clearly here to compete. Loos said, "We're gonna play with [Smyth] today, we can beat him, we just have to go as fast as possible." Loos is a professional sailor who specializes in distance races, competing in Hobies all over the world. This is his third try at the Worrell. He's here between races in Dubai, Antibes, France, and Texel, Holland. Loos and Heemskerk are fiery competitors with tempers to match. Yesterday, after losing the lead yards from the finish, Heemskerk smashed his fist on the hull of their cat as he surfed onto the beach, cursing in Dutch and throwing his goggles to the sand in disgust.
The fleet, which is now down to 19 racers due to pre-start attrition, left the beach today in a light southwesterly. Loos and Heemskerk got the jump early and are currently leading. Leg Three, up to Daytona Beach, is only 69 miles long. Counting the penalty assessed to the Dutch team, Smyth holds a two-minute 16-second overall lead in the event after two legs. Look for another update tomorrow, and check out the comprehensive scores at www.worrell1000.com.