CLOSE RACING ON FIRST DAY OF INAUGURAL CRYSTAL CUP

by Keith Taylor on 8 Dec 2000 PARADISE ISLAND, The Bahamas - (December 7, 2000)--Boats were tied for first
place in two of three classes of the inaugural Crystal Cup at Atlantis
sailing regatta after the first day of racing today. Boats from as far away
as California, Texas and Ohio are competing for the spectacular crystal
trophy created by Waterford.

Strong northerly winds moderated today to be replaced by a shifty 10 to 15
knot easterly breeze that served up challenging sailing conditions. Boats
raced on a windward-leeward course parallel to the sandy beachfront of the
distinctively styled resort.

Doug Baker's Andrews 68 Magnitude enjoyed the light to moderate winds,
breaking away from her competition in PHRF Class A, and scoring corrected
time victories in both races sailed. George Collins' Farr 52 Chessie Racing
scored two seconds.

Steve Dodd, sailing master on Magnitude said: 'The breeze was nice, pretty
consistent and we got one good start and managed to recover nicely from a
second start that wasn't so good. It was a lot of fun.'

Carrying a big asymmetrical spinnaker, Magnitude pulled away from her
competition in both races. The local America's Cup boat NZL-10 that was
expected to provide competition for the Long Beach boat was unable to match
the Californians on the starting line and ripped a spinnaker only a few
minutes after the start of the first run of the day.

In PHRF Class B, Marty Fisher's J/145 Strabo, from Annapolis, MD tied with
Jeff Salzman's Sparkman & Stephens 48 Harrier from Riverside, CT, after each
boat won one race and finished second in the other. There was a similar
situation in PHRF Class C, where Donald Fritz' Tartan 10 Full Bore from
Toledo, OH, matched the record of Nicole Christie's J/120 Euro Trash Girl,
from Annapolis, MD.

Nicole Christie, skipper of Euro Trash Girl, said she was surprised at the
closeness of the competition in Class B and forecast tight racing for the
remainder of the regatta.

The Crystal Cup at Atlantis is a landmark sailing event, hosted by Atlantis,
Paradise Island, featuring four days of intense competition from Dec. 7 to
10.

Atlantis, Paradise Island accommodations include the incomparable,
1,201-room luxury Royal Towers, and the Coral and Beach Towers; 38
restaurants, bars and lounges; an innovatively designed casino; an
impressive collection of luxury boutiques and shops; a full-service spa and
extensive meeting and convention facilities. The marine habitat, the
world's largest - second only to mother nature, is home to more than 50,000
marine animals and The Dig, an elaborate underground maze of passageways and
rooms representing what life may have been like for Atlanteans more than
11,000 years ago Guests also enjoy 11 swimming areas, including amazing
water slides in a life-sized Mayan Temple and other gentler water rides,
cascading waterfalls, a snorkeling lagoon and a seemingly endless stretch of
beach that has been called the most beautiful in the world.

The Crystal Cup at Atlantis is managed by Octagon Marketing, Stamfort, CT,
organizers of The Swedish Match Grand Prix world match racing circuit, the
Colorcraft Gold Cup in Bermuda and the Acura SORC in Miami, FL. For more
information, call toll free, (877) 520-2508.