FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  - April 18, 2000     

MAJOR ONE-DESIGN CLASSES LEAD WAY TO LONG BEACH

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Traffic jams at every mark are in store when major one-design classes clash in the 16th Boatscape.com/North Sails Race Week June 23-25. 

Racing boat for boat, the hard-charging Schock 35s, Farr 40s, J/120s, Olson 30s, Santana 20s and Melges 24s all promise big fleets, handicaps aside.

The expanded event, produced by the Golison family and their new partner, Premiere Racing, is the last stop of the Volvo Inshore Championships. VIC 2000 is the Triple Crown of Southern California sailing that also includes San Diego's Yachting Cup May 6-7 and Cal Race Week at Marina del Rey, May 27-28. 

A boat is automatically entered in VIC 2000 when it enters any of the three regattas. However, each regatta also must be entered separately.

The Schock 35s are perhaps the busiest and most competitive of the inshore classes around Southern California. They will feature Boatscape.com/North Sails Race Week as their Pacific Coast Championships. 

"The Golison regatta has since 1987 been the best-run event on our circuit and traditionally attracts a big class turnout," said Dave Voss, the immediate past president of the Schock 35 Association who campaigns Piranha. "Great parties, great racing and a family atmosphere make it well worth the trip."
The Schock 35s follow a circuit of a dozen events encompassing their home ports from San Diego to Marina del Rey. Dennis Case's Wings from San Diego, always a top contender in the class, came from behind on the last leg of the last race to win at North Sails Race Week last year.

Boatscape.com / North Sails Race Week is based at the Seaport Marina Hotel at the Long Beach Marina on the east side of the city. This year organizer Bruce Golison has ambitiously blown the former limit on total entries at 150 and anticipates the event will top 200 in 15 classes.

The addition of separate classes for J/105s, Olson 30s, Santana 20s, 1D35sand ULDB 70s will require three racing circles instead of two, inside and outside the breakwater. The Olson 30s had only four boats last year but will use the event as their national championships, so they requested their own class to accommodate up to 30 boats. 

For the ULDB 70s, Race Week 2000 represents their first time at the event. Four or five of the powerful big "sleds" are expected to be on the course.

Race Week also draws the cream of the West Coast big boat handicap fleet. The fleet is divided into classes based on performance and displacement to create the most competitive racing possible. A dozen or more are expected in the 50-foot +/- class. Several in the 40-foot +/- group are expected from beyond Southern California. Their ratings will be reviewed and adjusted to ensure the continuity of the ratings from area to area.

Race Week's race management, considered by many to be some of the best in the world, will be coordinated on each of the three courses by Mark Golison, Mark Townsend of Alamitos Bay Yacht Club and Mike Segerblom of the U.S. Sailing Center.

Title sponsors Boatscape.com and North Sails will be on shore to enhance the sailors' experience, whether it is to go on-line to a "boater's webpage" or to have a sail repaired. 

Besides its title sponsors, other leading backers for Boatscape.com / North Sails Race Week are Volvo, Team McLube and Corona Beer. 

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