Miami sun

News of Acura Miami Race Week which starts this Thursday

With 140-plus boats on the line, Acura Miami Race Week 2005 is lining up as the S.O.R.C. renaissance it was hoped it would be.

Racing begins Thursday March 10 and for the next four days there will be plenty of sailing action and fun, too, for sun seekers, star-gazers, and party-goers. Some familiar names jump out from the entry list: Larson, Butterworth, Dodson.

Chris Larson (Volvo Ocean Race Assa Abloy) is Michael Brennan’s Transpac 52 Sjambok tactician. Brad Butterworth (triple winning America’s Cup tactician) teams up with Dan Meyers on his CM60 Numbers. Tom Dodson (Olympic competitor, and Team New Zealand afterguard) on Peter de Ridder’s Farr 40 Mean Machine.

And there’s more: Sofie Bekatorou, women's 470 Olympic gold medallist is calling tactics on George and Stratis Andreadis’ Farr 40 Atalanti. Oscar Strugstad, new owner of the Melges 32 Dawn Raid and 2001 Farr 40 European Champion, teams up with Adrian Stead, two time Olympian and GBR Challenge America’s Cup tactician. (Jeff Ecklund raced the Melges 32 Star in Key West and took home class and PHRF Boat of the Week honors). Jesper Bank, three time Olympic medallist, America’s Cup helmsman, and "a cult hero in Denmark" is tactician on Wolfgang Schaaefer’s Farr 40 Struntje Light.

“Miami is a great venue for racing and this regatta is well-organized, fun and the competition is tough,” commented America’s Cup Hall of Fame tactician Brad Butterworth. “What is unique about racing in Miami is you have the city very close to the effects of the Gulf Stream where you are quickly into the challenges of ocean racing. It makes it very exciting.”

For those boats racing four days, 10 races are scheduled. Biscayne Bay racing begins Friday with 8 races scheduled. The dual venue event has social activities at both the Miami Beach Marina and the Shake-A-Leg Miami headquarters after racing.

It’s a true international fleet with boats from Canada, Germany, the UK, Bermuda, Italy, Greece, Mexico and Monaco. The United States are well covered with boats from coast to coast – 22 different states are represented.

Ocean Racing hosts four PHRF classes and four one design classes. J/105s are the largest ocean class, with 18 boats entered. 16 of these boats competed in Key West 2005 and are eligible for the new Florida Grand Prix scoring and award.

Four additional classes quality for Florida Grand Prix awards - Transpac 52s, Farr 40s, Mumm 30s, and Melges 24s. Honors will go the boat with the lowest combined cumulative score from Key West and Miami race weeks.

Biscayne Bay racing is back and the numbers speak to its attraction. 26 Melges 24s, 30 Etchells, 9 J/24s, and a PHRF class hit the line on Friday.

Race dates for Acura Miami Race Week 2005 are March 10-13. Acura is the Title Sponsor. This is the fifth consecutive year that Acura, the luxury division of American Honda Motor Co., Inc. has been the title sponsor for the Miami Beach based regatta.
The Miami Beach Marina is the official site of the event, hosting the two ocean courses, while the new Shake-A-Leg sailing facility in Coconut Grove will be the host site for racing on the bay. The Avalon and South Seas Hotels are the Official Hotels. Supporting sponsor Mount Gay Rum is the Official Rum.