MEDOWIE sailor Brett White has recently returned from Florida, USA with a win of the Worrell 1000 by Team Australia.

The Worrell 1000 Race is an offshore long-distance beach catamaran sailboat race which was held in May 2022 in the Atlantic waters between Florida and Virginia Beach.

The race covered approximately 1000 miles with overnight stops at multiple locations along the East Coast of the United States sailing Formula 18 off the beach catamarans.

A total of 87 hours, 40 minutes and 44 seconds spent on the water by Team Australia put them in podium position.

The motto of the race: iron men, plastic boats.

The origins of Worrell 1000 can be traced to a bet in a bar by the Worrell brothers in Virginia Beach.

The bet was that it was impossible to sail a sixteen-foot catamaran from Virginia Beach to Florida.

On October 1, 1974, Michael Worrell and his crew Steve McGarrett left the Virginia Beach oceanfront with hopes of reaching Florida in one piece.

Following this attempt Worrell turned the journey into a regular regatta series and Team Australia competed (and won) the latest event some 48 years after that initial bet.

As Team Manager, Brett White was instrumental in leading his team of Rod Waterhouse and Chris Way to victory for the second time in two years with perfect boat set up and preparation.

White was also awarded for his sportsmanship by the Worrell 1000 Committee last year for selflessly sharing his advice, expertise and assistance in repairing boats to all teams involved to keep the event alive.

In his acceptance speech, skipper Rod Waterhouse acknowledged, “Our incredible mechanic Brett White – Brett this boat was reliable, fast and he put us here, so thank you Brett for all your efforts.”

Seasoned sailors understand that in a long series, the ultimate victory does not always go to the swift – a well-prepared team and consistent performance lead to the best results, and the 2022 Worrell 1000 proved this yet again.

Teams that completed every leg of the race incurred no penalties, and at the same time exhibited navigational skill and boat preparation rose to the top of the standings.

Following a gruelling leg of the event on Day 2 from Jensen Beach to Cocoa Beach with wind speeds reaching 30 knots over the twelve hour race day/night there were several broken boats and sailors!

A member of the US Team Cat in the Hat was unable to continue and Brett was asked to join the team so they could continue competing the rest of the race.

Juggling his management duties and preparing the two boats each day before racing he was able to take up the challenge to also compete in the very physical event, the longest day being a 20 hour leg from Jacksonville to Tybee Beach.