Race Essentials

Just a quick update:

The weigh in and preliminary safety check will be held by the staging area at Gilbert's from 1 - 4 on Saturday 5/10.

The Waypoints page has been updated to reflect the new starting area. The new lodging info for Key Largo can be found on the map, and below. No other checkpoints have changed, so they are the same as last year, and hotel info is on the google map.

From the Race Director:

The following needs to be posted.

Gilbert's Resort (set-up & Start)
107900 Overseas Hwy.
Key Largo, Fl. 33037
305-451-1133 office
800-274-6701 toll free
305-451-4362 Fax
www.gilbertsresort.com

Sailing Instructions will be up in the next few days, so, keep your eyes peeled.

The dates for the 2008 Tybee 500 are:
May 11, 2008 - May 16, 2008

The start of the race has been moved from Hollywood to the Key Largo area. Details of the new race start will come in the NOR and SI's, and we'll post info here as well.

The site has also been upgraded. In order to register for the race, you will now need to create a profile first. This gives race teams the ability to have a public profile on the Tybee 500 website, as well as the ability to edit their entries, and reprint their entry confirmation. We know that the entry form is long and not fun to fill out, so we've also given you the ability to save your entry as a draft, so you can come back to it and finish it later. Just follow the directions provided if you wish to enter.

If you previously registered for this year's race and do not see your team on the Registered Teams page, fear not - your entry is not gone. Go ahead and create a profile for your team, and then visit the contacts page, and send Claude Nix an email. He'll associate your old entry with your new profile. When your entry is updated, you will receive an email to notify you of the change. Your entry has been saved as a draft, and you will need to update it to have it re-published to the list of registered teams.

If you have questions about the new functionality on the site, or if you find anything wrong, please, please email Claude.

The day started with 15kts steady from the NE. Nine boats started the beat to weather with Cat in the Hat capsizing just after leaving the breakers. They quickly righted, returned to the beach for a daggerboard and were off to chase the fleet. At Saint Mary's inlet the race finally took it's toll on TCDYC. Equipment failures and heavy seas forced them to drop out. Tiki Yellow also had to retire about sixty miles into the one hundred twenty-five mile leg.

At Tybee Island the breeze clocked East around 10 - 12kts. Oolaalaa was again first to finish, followed ten minutes later by Team Velocity and Team Tybee Island in quick succession. Tiki Orange and Accelerated Chaos followed shortly after. Incoming sailors reported ten to twelve foot seas which made the leg difficult for the less experienced teams.

The last boats finished after 2200, with Cat in the Hat arriving at a gruelling 04:38:17. They were surprised to find John Casey, Mischa Heemskerk, Trey Brown and Alan Stewart on the beach waiting for them. The boys helped to quickly get the boat on the beach, and broke down the boat for the weary sailors.

In this sixth running of the Tybee 500, sailors encountered a wide variety of conditions. Many teams vowed to return next year for one of catamaran sailing's most challenging races.

See comments for finish times.