The Official
Website of the
International
Sailing Federation

REESER and SULLIVAN, who hails from Annapolis, Maryland, led on points after the first day of racing. They consolidated their lead with a first place in the first race yesterday, never far from the lead in the ten mile race inside the reef off North Key Largo. The second race in cool sparkling and sunny conditions with a puffy ten knot breeze saw Mfatic trapped in the middle of the starting line with nowhere to go.

'We were trapped,' REESER recalled. 'The only thing to do was go over on the port tack before the starting gun sounded and sail against the oncoming boats, all of which had right of way over us. We ducked and dodged through 40 boats, just like driving head-on into oncoming traffic. It was kinda exciting.'

The tactic worked and REESER found a space in the 99 boat fleet where his wind was not blocked by competing boats. He finished high up in the talent packed international fleet, posting a 17th place, which was good enough to give him a 13 point cushion over the Italian boat Marrachech Express which finished the day in second place on points.

America versus Europe was the theme at the top of the fleet with US boats taking six of the first ten places and the Europeans filling the other four. Marrachech Express, sailed by Gabriele BENUSSI, from Trieste, Italy, was the most improved performer of the day, racking up a third and a second place to add to the first place she posted yesterday and finish second overall. The 35th place they took in the first race of the series means the Italians must wait until Tuesday - day three of the six day series - before they can take the overall lead.

Second equal with BENUSSI was John POLLARD from Torquay, Great Britain. One of the strongest performers in the British contingent, POLLARD and his seasoned crew have been coming to the fore over the last twelve to 15 months. He served notice on the international fleet last year with a first place in a Melges 24 series in Annapolis, Maryland.

Brian PORTER from Winnetka, Ill, USA, a perennially successful and consistent racer in the Melges 24 Class, posted an eleven and a fourth finish yesterday to move his Full Throttle team up from his eighth place to a fourth place after the first four races.

America's Cup sailors filled the fifth and sixth overall places. Young Australian America's Cup skipper and ISAF Match Racing World Champion James SPITHILL, drove his Luna Rossa into fifth place overall, despite a 25th place finish in the first race of the day. SPITHILL, who now calls Genoa, Italy, his home, has named his Melges 24 Luna Rossa after the Italian America's Cup syndicate he now sails with.

Three-time America's Cup winner Russell COUTTS, from New Zealand, is also racing in the Corum series in Key Largo, forsaking his customary place at the helm to handle tactics for San Francisco's Philippe KAHN (USA) who is driving his Pegasus 575. COUTTS made the right calls and KAHN showed a steady hand on the tiller to post a fifth and a twelfth to finish sixth.

Top Ten Results After Four Races

Pos	Nation	Boat	Owner	Helm	R1	R2	R3	R4	Pts
1	USA	Mfatic	Neil SULLIVAN	Morgan REESER	2	8	1	17	28
3	GBR	Xcellent	John POLLARD	John POLLARD	17	7	5	12	41
2	ITA	Marrachech Express	Vladimiro MRVCIC	Gabriele BENUSSI	35	1	3	2	41
4	USA	Full Throttle	Brian PORTER	Brian PORTER	26	2	11	4	43
5	USA	Luna Rossa	James SPITHILL	James SPITHILL	5	12	25	7	49
6	USA	Pegasus 575	Philippe KAHN	Philippe KAHN	10	6	21	13	50
7	ITA	Ale Ali	Ezio AMADORI	Nicola CELON	1	22	16	15	54
8	USA	Pegasus 505	David ULLMAN	David ULLMAN	6	41	7	1	55
9	FRA	Partner & Partners	Philippe LIGOT	Francois BRENAC	22	14	18	3	57
10	USA	New Wave	Martin KULLMAN	Martin KULLMAN	18	11	32	9	70