Racing Abandoned While Stars & Stripes Leading

Racing Abandoned While Stars & Stripes Leading – Again!

PRESS RELEASE October 30, 2002

FOR THE FOURTH TIME, RACING ABANDONED WHILE STARS & STRIPES IS LEADING

AUCKLAND, NZ, OCTOBER 30, 2002-A seesaw, rock-hopping drifter of a day punctuated by a couple of penalties, squalls, sunshine, 100-degree wind shifts, multiple lead changes, and a bemused race committee, came to a disappointing conclusion today as time ran out and the race between Team Dennis Conner’s Stars & Stripes and her American rival OneWorld was abandoned.

Stars & Stripes, representing the New York Yacht Club was one minute and 45 seconds from the finish line, with a narrowing lead, when the time limit for the last leg expired. It was the fourth time in this series that a race has been abandoned while Stars & Stripes was leading.

The American boats, two of nine teams racing in Auckland, were competing on the Hauraki Gulf in Flight 5 of Round Robin 2 of the Louis Vuitton Cup series to select a challenger for the America’s Cup.

“It was an extremely difficult day, but the guys in the back of the boat did a great job in getting us in front and keeping us there,” said Bill Trenkle, spinnaker trimmer on Stars & Stripes and president of Team Dennis Conner.

Racing started in a ten-knot southwesterly after a two-hour wait for squally, heavy winds and rain to subside. The action heated up in the five minutes before the start as protest flags flew and umpires penalized OneWorld for tacking too close. Barely two minutes later Stars & Stripes lost the penalty advantage as she was flagged for failing to keep clear of OneWorld.

Stars & Stripes claimed the right and pulled out to an early lead as the wind shifted right, only to see the shift continue. As the wind clocked right and lightened, it lifted OneWorld to the mark while Stars & Stripes overstood. Her rival rounded first, one minute, 16 seconds ahead.

The new wind direction dictated a new course and the race committee sent the racers off to The Noises, a rocky outcropping on the edge of the Hauraki Gulf. With a rain squall bearing down on the racers as they neared the rocks, and no turning mark in place, the committee considered abandoning the race.

The committee boat dispatched at the 11th hour to substitute for the turning mark was late arriving, and Stars & Stripes, as the trailing boat, was closest and rounded first. OneWorld was forced to sail back to windward before setting off after her rival.

Stars & Stripes covered carefully for the next two legs as OneWorld fought to regain control of the match. The breeze continued to lighten and the 45-minute time limit for the last leg forced the end of the contest. It will be re-sailed at the end of the current round, along with other incomplete races.

The current points for Round Robin 2 of the Louis Vuitton Cup are: Alinghi Challenge, 11-1; OneWorld Challenge, 10-1*; Prada Challenge, 8-4; Oracle BMW Racing 6-4; Victory Challenge 6-5; GBR Challenge 5-6; Team Dennis Conner, 4-7; Mascalzone Latino Challenge, 1-12; Le Défi Areva, 0-11. (Notes: 1*, OneWorld will penalized one point at the end of this round for a Protocol breach. 2. Byes result in different totals)

The crew of Stars & Stripes today was: Vince Brun, Wally Henry, Peter Isler, and Bill Trenkle, from San Diego, CA; Chuck Brown, Jerry Kirby, Rob Myles, Ken Read and Tony Rey, from Newport, RI; Rock Ferrigno, Fairfield, CT; Chris Kam, Stonington, CT; Tom Whidden, Essex, CT; Terry Hutchinson and Andrew Scott, Annapolis, MD; Mike Toppa, Ft. Lauderdale, FL; and Dave Calverley, Tampa, FL. The 17th man was David Elwell, New York Yacht Challenge representative.

Team Dennis Conner and the New York Yacht Club have partnered to put forth the finest team of American designers, sailors, boat builders and shore side support to win America’s Cup XXXI and return the America’s Cup to the United States. The America’s Cup season began on October 1, 2002 with a four-month challenger elimination series known as the Louis Vuitton Cup. The winner of the Louis Vuitton Cup will challenge Team New Zealand for the right to defend the America’s Cup in a best of nine series starting on February 15, 2003.

Team Dennis Conner's platinum sponsor, Computer Associates International, Inc. (NYSE: CA) delivers the software that manages eBusiness. As the world’s third largest enterprise software company, CA provides industry-leading integrated solutions through strategic partnerships and powerful brands such as Unicenter®, BrightStor™, eTrust™, CleverPath™, Advantage™, Jasmine® and AllFusion™. With mission-critical software in security and storage, CA provides reliable, quality technology. For more information, visit www.ca.com.

Gold sponsors of the Team Dennis Conner America's Cup challenge include Citizen Watch Company (www.citizenwatch.com), proud maker of the new Eco-Drive Sailhawk, the official Stars & Stripes team watch, the ACE Group of Companies (www.acelimited.com), a premier global insurance and reinsurance organization and Airgas, Inc. (www.airgas.com), the largest U.S. distributor of industrial, medical and specialty gases, welding, safety and related products. With an integrated network of nearly 800 locations nationwide--including branches, retail stores, gas fill plants, specialty gas labs, production facilities and distribution centers--Airgas' national scale and strong local presence offer customers a competitive advantage

Team Dennis Conner’s Silver sponsors are Nautica (www.nautica.com), the team’s official apparel sponsor and a leading global fashion and lifestyle company with products ranging from men's, women's and children's sportswear, denim and accessories to a complete home collection, Manugistics (www.manugistics.com), a leading software company that provides comprehensive solutions which enable companies to share inventory, pricing and planning information with customers and suppliers over the Internet and Viagra (www.viagra.com). Discovered and developed by Pfizer, Viagra is the breakthrough oral treatment for erectile dysfunction that has been found to be effective and well tolerated in over 100 completed and ongoing clinical studies. Viagra has been approved by regulatory authorities in 119 countries around the world and is among the most widely prescribed medications, with over 120 million prescriptions written for more than 20 million men.

Team Dennis Conner’s Suppliers are 3M, Air New Zealand, Airgas, Airtech, APL Limited, Arc Second, Bathysphere Digital Media Services, Columbus Line, Digi International, Dupont, Earth Tech, Itronix, Lewmar Marine, McLube, Media Bin, Munters, Nautica Eyewear, New England Ropes, Newport Adhesives & Composites, Omnisonics Medical, Pacer Technologies, Parker, Plastimo, Protector, Remy Amerique, Saucony, WiTango and Xygent. .

ENDS

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