This is a series of photos taken by Susan Kinsley of the 1994 Whitbread Race start. It was about the most bazaar mass of vessels that we have ever witnessed.

The spectator fleet numbered around five thousand vessels, from inflatable dinghies to a cruise ship. The authorities had set aside an area about a mile wide and from Port Everglades inlet to Hillsboro Inlet, where the spectator fleet was prohibited from interfering with the racing fleet.

Unfortunately, the idea of being restricted was not accepted by the fleet of racers. The wind was 20+ knots out of the Northwest and once the starting gun was fired the racers took off with a vengeance. The second long port tack the Whitbread fleet crossed the eastern limit of the designated area and sailed right into the spectator fleet.
We witnessed first hand the scramble of boats going everywhere trying to get out of the way of these eighty foot greyhounds taking to the bit. It is a race, and racers are not know for their sense of safety first. At the same time I was surprised. These vessels cost millions to campaign and to risk it all in the first ten minutes of the last leg does not seem at all reasonable. The racers quickly out distanced the spectator fleet and did so with no more than a few scares.

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