ACURA SORC CELEBRATES 60TH ANNIVERSARYWITH BIGGER, BETTER WINTER REGATTA AT MIAMI BEACH

by Keith Taylor on 12 Oct 2000 MIAMI BEACH, FL, October 12, 2000-The Acura Southern Ocean Racing Conference
(SORC) regatta, Florida's winter ocean racing classic, will celebrate its
60th anniversary in March with a series of major changes and improvements.
For the first time all races will be sailed on ocean courses off Miami Beach
and all shoreside activities will be headquartered at the Miami Beach
Marina.

Acura is returning to Miami as the title sponsor for the third year. The
series will be raced off Miami Beach, February 28 to March 4, 2001.

"With the continued growth of the event in recent years, there has been
growing interest in concentrating competition on the ocean, off Miami
Beach," said Dennis "Buck" Gillette, of Fort Lauderdale, chairman of the
SORC. "By combining our venues and focussing all our efforts at Miami Beach
Marina, we'll have a better handle on racing logistics and all our
competitors can enjoy nightly prizegivings and hospitality under one roof."

In another break with tradition, the SORC has abandoned its entertainment
tent of past years. Monty's Restaurant, long a popular watering hole for
thirsty sailors, will host the nightly prizegivings and entertainment at its
extensive facility at Miami Beach Marina.

Another new feature of the 60th Anniversary Regatta will be the sailing
industry village organized by the event's media partner, Sailing World
magazine, the country's leading performance sailing magazine. Gear and
equipment manufacturers will show their wares in a series of individual
booths fringing the regatta site.

Organizers anticipate the growing emphasis on one-design classes to
continue, with entries expected from Corel 45, Farr 40, 1D35, J/105, Hobie
33, Henderson 30, Mumm 30, and Melges 24 classes. The event will provide a
one-design class start to five or more boats of the same class. There will
also be racing for handicap classes including IMS, PHRF, MORC and
Multihulls.

With berthing space at a premium during the winter, Miami Beach Marina will
add temporary docks to handle the influx of boats expected for the Acura
SORC. "We are confident that we can provide dockage for all the visiting
boats, from this country, and around the world, that are attracted annually
to the SORC," Gillette said.

"The venerable SORC took a new lease on life a decade ago, with the change
to the present day racing format concentrated in Miami," said Gillette. "We
are confident it will enjoy a new surge in growth and popularity with the
enhancements we are initiating this year. Things like better race committee
communications, faster delivery of results, and an expanded party schedule
are all in the works for next March."

Long renowned as one of the country's premier winter regattas, the Acura
SORC last year moved to qualify entrants, adopting an invitational format
and limiting entries to 200 boats. An outstanding field of racers competed,
with more than 80 percent of the boats coming from outside of Florida.
Amongst the fleet of 173 boats, there were entries from 11 different
countries.

The SORC was founded in the late 1930's by a conference of Florida yacht
clubs and a Bahamian club. As originally conceived, the SORC was a mix of
long-distance overnight races plus local day racing. The series spread out
over a six-week season that started in St Petersburg and took in Miami and
Fort Lauderdale before finishing in Nassau. Today, the emphasis is on
multiple day races, and prize giving social events every evening, to fit
modern lifestyles. Race management is provided by volunteers from the
Biscayne Bay Yacht Club, the Coral Reef Yacht Club and the Miami Yacht Club
from Miami. Also, the Lauderdale Yacht Club and the Nassau Yacht Club.

The Acura SORC is an Octagon-managed event. Octagon, the event marketing and
management company is headquartered in Washington, DC.

The 2001 Notice of Race, and other news and information about the Acura SORC