Consistency Was Key On Second Day of 2004 Acura SORC
HM King Harald of Norway Takes First Place in Second Race of the Day

MIAMI BEACH, FL, February 27, 2004 - Three races were completed on the second day of the 2004 Acura SORC, raced just off Miami Beach, as the winds were blowing five-20 knots with higher gusts registered at times. HM King Harald V of Norway had an impressive day, registering a win on the second race of the day and moving from nineteenth to fifteenth place in the Farr 40 overall standings.

The Farr 40s had an exciting day on the Acura Course, now with six different boats tallying wins in the regatta. Peter De Ridder's Mean Machine overtook Jim Richardson's Barking Mad for first place in the overall standings, finishing third and fourth in the first two races of the day. Richardson sits in second place in the overall standings with 38 points. John Kilroy Jr.'s Samba Pa Ti, with 42 points, rounds out the top three. John Mac Lauren's Pendragon V notched a first place finish in the opening race of the day, while Hasso Plattner's Morning Glory took first in the day's final contest.

The Sailing World Course was also alive with activity as the IMS and three PHRF classes kept the action rolling. In the IMS class Marco Birch's Talisman continues to lead the way, repeating its performance from Day One and tallying a first place finish and two second place finishes, respectively. Daniel Meyers' Numbers, featuring Brad Butterworth and Ken Read, took the last two races of the day and trail Talisman by just one point. George David's Idler stays in the mix with 19 points overall.

Terrance Smith's Raincloud is dominating the PHRF 1 class with just six points overall, notching two first place finishes and a second place finish on the day. Roger Elliott's Crosswave, with 14 points overall, maintains his place at the top of the PHRF 2 standings, tallying a first place finish in the day's final race. The PHRF 3 class continues to be one to watch with Gordon Ettie's Sazerac ahead of Lorenzo Biessani's Kaster by just five points.

The J/105 class opened with close competition today. Richard Bergmann's Zuni Bear sits atop the standings with two third place finishes and first place finish on the day. Jim Doane's Flame occupies second place in the overall standings, with a total of eight points. Jim Coates' Masquerade rounds out the top three with nine points, registering a win in the first race of the day.

Day three of the 2004 Acura SORC commences on Saturday morning with racing set to start at 10:00am.

The Acura SORC, in its 63rd year, is one of the premiere participatory race-weeks in sailing, featuring more than 60 yachts and more than 500 participants including America's Cup sailors, business leaders and ocean navigators from around the world in a week-long lifestyle festival in Miami Beach, Florida.

Provisional results, Acura SORC, Day 2, February 27, (owner name, boat name, city, state, places, points):

Farr 40:
Peter De Ridder, Mean Machine, Monaco, 3-5-2-3-4-15, 32
Jim Richardson, Barking Mad, Boston, MA, 1-3-4-9-13-8, 38
John Kilroy Jr. CA, Samba Pa Ti, Los Angeles, CA, 14-8-1-10-7-2, 42

IMS:
Marco Birch, Talisman, New York, NY, 2-2-1-1-2-2, 10
Daniel Meyers, Numbers, Boston, MA, 1-3-2-3-1-1, 11
George David, Idler, Hartford, CT, 4-1-3-2-6-3, 19

J/105:
Richard Bergmann, Zuni Bear, San Diego, CA, 3-3-1, 7
Jim Doane, Flame, Naples, FL, 2-2-4, 8
Thomas Coates, Masquerade, San Francisco, CA, 1-5-3, 9

PHRF 1:
Terrance Smith, Raincloud, Isle of Palms, SC, 1-0-1-1-1-2, 6
Michael Brennan, Sjambok, Potomac, MD, 2-0-3-3-3-3, 14
John Halbert, Vitesse Extreme, League City, TX, 4-0-4-4-2-1, 15

PHRF 2:
Roger Elliott, Crosswave, Bryn Mawr, PA, 1-1-2-3-6-1, 14
Stuart Hebb, Thin Ice, Coral Gables, FL, 2-6-1-2-4-6, 21
John Tihansky, Le Cynge, Annapolis, MD, 4-4-4-1-7-5, 25

PHRF 3:
Gordon Ettie, Sazerac, Miami, FL, 2-2-3-2-4-1, 14
Lorenzo Biessani, Kaster, Trieste, Italy, 6-1-1-1-7-3, 19
Bob Berg, Love That Chicken, Miami, FL, 1-5-5-6-1-4, 22

For complete results see the RESULTS section.

Boats competing at the Acura SORC are racing three-day or four-day series. The Farr 40, IMS and PHRF classes are all racing from Thursday through Sunday. The J/105 class will race Friday through Sunday.

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 managed by Octagon, an international event marketing company headquartered in Stamford, CT.

Additional event and registration information is available at www.acurasorc.com