Pyewacket leads fleet in Port Everglade to Montego Bay race

by Keith Taylor on 5 Feb 2001 ROY DISNEY'S PYEWACKET LEADS FLEET IN
HOTLY CONTESTED PINEAPPLE CUP - MONTEGO BAY RACE

Roy E. Disney's 75 foot Reichel/Pugh IMS sled Pyewacket was leading the fleet at the noon position report today in the Pineapple Cup - Montego Bay Race.

The race to Jamaica started yesterday afternoon off Port Everglades, FL with
two classes answering the gun and reaching rapidly out into the Gulf Stream
in bright, warm sunny conditions.

Sailed every two years from Fort Lauderdale, FL, to Montego Bay, Jamaica,
the race has this year attracted 17 entries, including 12 maxi-boats.

As the lead boats reached the northern tip of Eleuthra Island in the Bahamas
around noon today and prepared to bear off southeast in the Atlantic,
Pyewacket enjoyed a narrow lead over Jim Dolan's Langan-designed 76-footer
Sagamore. Robert O'Neill's 75-foot Reichel/Pugh sled Zephryus , a virtual
sistership of Pyewacket, was positioned close at hand, just to the north of
Sagamore and in third place.

Running under spinnakers at eight to nine knots, the first five boats had
crossed east of 70 degrees longitude and had gone through Hole in the Wall.
Doug Baker's Andrews sled Magnitude was positioned fourth, trailing
Pyewacket, but further south and closer to Eleuthra. Bob Towse's
Reichel/Pugh 66 Blue Yankee was the furthest boat north, in fifth place.

At stake in the Montego Bay classic is the Pineapple Cup for the best
overall performance by a monohull. The big boats are also vying for an ocean
racing record that has endured for 29 years - 811 miles from Florida to
Jamaica in 3 days, 3 hour, 40 minutes and 7seconds. The record was set by
the Alan Gurney-designed 70-foot Windward Passage in an outstanding feat in
1971. It is one of the remaining monohull records still untoppled in an age
of faster, lighter more efficient boats

The course, across the Gulf Stream, down through the islands of the Bahamas
and down the Windward Passage to Montego Bay, Jamaica, typically provides a
beat, a gradually broadening reach and an exhilarating run to the finish
line. The varying conditions along the route stretch the seamanship and
navigational skills of the race participants.

Fondly called the 'Mobay' by participants, the race is run biennially under
the management of a joint race committee of the Storm Trysail Club, the
Montego Bay Yacht Club and the Jamaica Yachting Association.

Monohull boats in IMS and PHRF divisions will vie for the Pineapple Cup,
awarded for best overall performance, the IMS Seahorse Trophy, the PHRF
Arawack trophy, and the Windward Passage Challenge Trophy, awarded for
breaking the course record.

Roy Disney has a special interest in the record. Two years ago, after a
strong first two-thirds of the race, Pyewacket finished just two hours and
three minutes short of the record in dying tradewinds. In '97 Larry
Ellison's Sayonara was also unsuccessful.

Daily position information, scratch sheets and other background for the 2001
Pineapple Cup - Montego Bay Race is available on the race web site:
www.montegobayrace.com.

For additional information contact Race Coordinator Felix Hunter, Montego
Bay Yacht Club, Tel: 876-979-8038, E-mail: mbyc@cwjamaica.com.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Keith Taylor
Taylor Associates
Tel: +1 (781) 837-8833
ktolyc@compuserve.com