| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 20, 1998 | Contact: Joe Hoffman Information Director, 505 Worlds 98 508 790 4800 508 790 1322 fax 800 347 8057 Dennis Burroughs,Int. 505 Class 508 778 6100 Hyannis Yacht Club 508 778-6811 Hyannis Yacht Club Fax E-Mail: int505worlds98@hotmail.com |
HYANNIS, MASS. - The New England team of Tim Collins and Bill Smith took top honors today in the second race of the 1998 505 Sea-Land International World Championship. The Collins-Smith team showed superior boat speed and tactics besting 98 starters. Conditions were light and from the south at 4-8 knots. The big story of the day was the fog, which rolled in soon after boats rounded the first windward mark. Visibility dropped to 300 yards as boats struggled to find the reach and leeward marks.
The first place finish moved Collins and Smith up to 15th. But Mark Upton-Brown and Ian Mitchell, who finished 13th today but first Saturday, are now tied for first with Ian Pinell and Nick Powell, who came in second in today's race. The top American team is Nick Trotman and Mike Mills, who are now third overall. Trotman-Mills posted a sixth today.
If today's race showed anything, it is that even the slightest mistake can cost competitors many places in the standings. Boats that were in the top ten Saturday dropped back to the twenties today. Conditions were fluky enough that even past world champions found themselves battling to stay in front of the pack.
One hundred seven 505s are registered in the Sea-Land 43rd International 505 Class World Championship, making this the largest 505 World Championship in the history of the 505 class.
Further information is available on the Sea-Land 43rd International 505 World Championship web site, at URL: http://standard31.infoboard.net/ft/505worlds.html