1st Acura SORC Pro-Am Race Series - Overall

by Keith Taylor on 2 Mar 2001 A local boat and imported talent proved to be an unbeatable combination in the 1st Acura Southern Ocean Racing Conference (SORC) Pro-Am race series today.

With John Burnham, Editor of Sailing World magazine, as special guest crewmember, West Palm Beach skipper Buddy Cribb and his crew aboard Victory won a two-race series against six other boats in the 1D35 Class.

Preceding the Acura SORC four-day event by one day, the Pro-Am event was both an opportunity for sponsors and their guests to sail with top-flight racers, and a chance for boats in the 1D35 class to practice starts and mark roundings. The afternoon was sponsored by Ocean Drive magazine. Thirteen of the 15 boats slated to race in the class this week took advantage of the informal session. Seven boats carried special guests.

Joss, sailed by Owen Kratz, from Houston, TX, finished second, with local Miami television producer Jim Clark filling the guest slot.

The brief, but intense race series consisted of two short double windward-leeward courses, each with a practice start and an actual start. Conditions were ideal, with bright sunshine and a 12-14-knot southeasterly sea breeze.

'This was a classic win-win situation,' said 1D35 Class Organizer Dobbs Davis, of Annapolis, MD. 'Members of the class were able to work on their boat-handling and starting skills, but more importantly we were able to introduce some newcomers to sailing to the excitement and the intensity of one-design ocean racing.'

The 1D35 is a high-performance, amateur-driven yacht built to exacting one-design standards by Carroll Marine of Bristol, RI, and designed by Nelson/Marek Yacht Design of San Diego, CA. To date there are nearly 50 1D35's built or on order, with owners distributed throughout the US, Asia, and Europe.

The Acura SORC is the second of eight events in this year's Season Championship Series, which also consists of Yachting Key West Race Week in January, the Annapolis NOOD regatta in early May, the 1D35 New England Championships in Marblehead in late May, the Verve Cup in Chicago in August, the St. Francis YC Big Boat Series in September, the 1D35 West Coast Championships in San Diego in October, and the 1D35 National Championships in Miami in November. Current leader in the series is Key West-winning Joss.

Sailing World magazine, Ocean Drive magazine and Omega Watches are joining title sponsor Acura this year as Florida's winter ocean racing classic institutes 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. The three racing circles will be designated as the Acura, Ocean Drive, and Omega courses.

Other sponsors include the Majestic/Avalon Hotel and Monty's Restaurant, both in Miami Beach. Suppliers include Nextel, Dry Creek Vineyard, Zuse, Matusalem Rum and Kalik Beer. Sailing World Race Village vendors include Doyle Sailmakers, Dimension Polyant, North Sails, Ockam and Navtec.

Boats competing at the Acura SORC will race three-day or four-day series. The Farr 40, 1D35, IMS Racer and PHRF classes will all race from Thursday through Sunday. The Mumm 30 and J/105 classes will race Friday through Sunday. The Melges 24 and Multihull classes will race Thursday through Saturday.

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.

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 in Miami. Also, the Lauderdale Yacht Club and the Nassau Yacht Club

The Acura SORC is an Octagon-managed event. Octagon, an international event marketing company headquartered in Stamford, CT, also manages the Swedish Match Grand Prix Sailing Tour, Bermuda Gold Cup and Crystal Cup at Atlantis.