TROPICAL CONDITIONS ADD TO HEAT AT Acura SORC

MIAMI BEACH, FL, February 28, 2003 - With all classes racing, the intense action on the water mirrored the rising mercury in the Miami Beach area on the second day of the 2003 Acura SORC.

The tropical climes helped everyone forget the winter doldrums gripping most of the United States and focus on the task at hand, as three races were completed on each of the two sailing courses.

In the PHRF classes, Gary Evans' Rosebud of Santa Cruz, CA, and Terrance Smith's Raincloud of Isle of Palms, SC, each registered perfect days to hold serve in their classes while, local skipper S.A. Spencer's Triptease of Miami had two wins and a second place to ensure a another day atop the PHRF 3 standings.

Luigi Parente's, Moby Maga Joanna of Naples, FL, sandwiched two victories around a fourth place finish to take early control of the Mumm 30 competition. Second and third place are currently held by the two German entries in the regatta, Bent Dietrich's, Rainbow, of Hamburg, and Dr. Harald Bruening's, Topas, of Kiel, with Topas winning the day's final race.

The Farr 40s left off where they finished on Thursday with three different race winners on the day, including Hasso Plattner's Morning Glory, of Novato, CA. Today's win moved Morning Glory into second place in the standings with a runner-up finish by Heartbreaker, helmed by Robert Hughes of Ada, MI, in the third race, protecting their overall lead through seven races.

Wet Leopard, Jim Sorenson's J-105 from Sag Harbor, MI, registered two wins and a second place finish to get an early grip on his class' lead. Likewise, Luca Santena's Joe Fly, from Olgiate Comasco, Italy had two wins following a second place finish, putting the Italians three points in front of Peder Nergaard's Baghdad Rejects from Oslo, Norway, in the Melges 24 competition.

In the IMS competition George David's Idler of Hartford, CT, remained at the head of the class while Peter Freudenberg's Harvey Cedars, NJ-based Condor registered two wins to take the early lead in the Multihulls class.

Saturday's racing for all classes is set to start at 10:00 a.m. with boats leaving the docks by 8:30 a.m. The public is welcome to join the Acura SORC at the Sailing World Race Village adjacent to Monty's on Alton Road.

Provisional results, Acura SORC, Day 2, February 28, (owner name, boat name, city, state, places, points):

Farr 40:
Robert Hughes, Heartbreaker, Ada, MI, 11-6-3-1-5-10-2, 27
Hasso Plattner, Morning Glory, Novato, CA, 4-1-8-14-12-2-1, 28
Owen Kratz, Joss, League City, TX, 2-5-12-8-10-1-6, 32

IMS:
George David, Idler, Hartford, CT, 1-1-1-2-2-1-3, 8
Marco Birch, Talisman, New York, NY, 3-4-2-1-4-4-1, 15
Larry Bulman, Javelin, Bethesda, MD, 2-3-3-3-3-3-2, 16

J-105
Jim Sorenson, Wet Leopard, Sag Harbor, NY, 2-1-1, 2
Thomas Coates, Masquerade, San Francisco, CA, 1-2-5, 3
Donald Priestly, Wet Paint, Mashpee, MA, 2-5-3, 5.50

Melges 24
Luca Santena, Joe Fly, Olgiate Comasco, Italy, 2-1-1, 2
Peder Nergaard, Baghdad Rejects, Oslo, Norway, 3-2-2, 4
Bruce Ayres, Monsoon, Newport Beach, CA, 1-5,12, 6

Mumm 30
Luigi Parente, Moby Maga, Joanna, Naples, FL, 1-4-1, 6
Bent Dietrich, Rainbow, Hamburg, Germany, 7-3-2, 12
Dr. Harald Bruening, Topas, Kiel, Germany, 5-1-7, 13

Multihulls
Peter Fruedenberg, Condor, Harvey Cedars, NJ, 1-4-1, 2
Robert Onsgard, Bobsled, Coral Gables, FL, 2-1-4, 3
David Bomman, Ultraviolet, Chelsea, MA, 4-2-3, 5

PHRF 1:
Gary Evans, Rosebud, Santa Cruz, CA, 1-1-1-2-1-1-1, 6
Charles Burnett, III, Bandolier, Seattle, WA, 2-2-2-1-3-3-2, 13

PHRF 2:
Terrance Smith, Raincloud, Isle of Palms, SC, 5-1-1-2-1-1-1, 7
Geoff Stagg, Tazo, Annapolis, MD, 2-3-10-7-5-2-2, 21
James Bishop, Gold Digger, New York, NY, 8-5-2-1-2-6-8, 24

PHRF 3:
S.A. Spencer, Triptease, Miami, FL, 2-1-1-1, 5
Gordon Ettie, Sazerac, Miami, FL, 3-3-2-2, 10
Scott Taylor, Defiance, Long Beach, CA, 1-4-6-3, 14

Race management is provided by volunteers from the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club, the Coral Reef Yacht Club, Miami Yacht Club, Lauderdale Yacht Club and Nassau Yacht Club.

The Acura SORC is an Octagon-managed event. Octagon, an international event marketing company headquartered in Stamford, CT, also manages the Swedish Match Tour, Bermuda Gold Cup and several corporate sailing outings.

Acura SORC
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