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June 22, 2004  -- For Immediate Release

FARR 40s LEAD OFF 20TH NORTH SAILS RACE WEEK FRIDAY
--- Samba Pa Ti, With Cayard and Madrigali, the Boat to Beat

LONG BEACH, Calif.---A flashy fleet of grand prix competitors will usher more than a hundred boats into the first full weekend of summer for the 20th North Sails Race Week Friday through Sunday at this hub of West Coast sailboat racing.

The Farr 40s and Schock 35s, each contesting their Pacific Coast championships, will lead off the long weekend at 11:30 a.m. Friday, followed by PHRF handicap racers and four other leading one-design classes with single races at 3 o'clock. Santana 20s will join the fray on Saturday and Sunday starting at 11:30.
 

There will be three courses---one inside and two outside the federal breakwater marking the Long Beach outer harbor.

"The 20th anniversary is a meaningful milestone for this regatta," said Bruce Golison, the event's founder and co-producer with Premiere Racing, Inc. "We're ready to provide our competitors with all the traditional hallmarks of the event: great one design and PHRF competition, professional race management and continuous innovation."

One-design classes include the Farr 40, J/120, J/109, J/105, Melges 24, Santana 20 and Schock 35 classes. Jed Olenick of San Diego and Thomas Coates of San Francisco will defend their 2003 titles in the J/120 and J/105 classes, respectively.

Longtime local rivals Bruce Ayres and Argyle Campbell will fight it out in the Melges 24s again.

Jim and Lori Thompson's Shekinah, last year's PHRF and fleet Boat of the Week, is competing one-design among the J/109s.

Paul Kent of San Francisco will try for PHRF honors again with his Farr 395, Chance.

The scratch boat in PHRF is Jay Steinbeck's Margaritaville 1 1/2, a well-known name in California racing now converted from a Farr 50 into a Custom 52. Steinbeck will owe 40 seconds per mile to Oscar Krinsky's 1D48, Chayah, which is coming off a strong runnerup performance in Long Beach Race Week.

International attention will be focused on the dozen Farr 40s that are building up to their world championship at San Francisco in September. John Kilroy's Samba Pa Ti has danced to victory in all three spring class events in Southern California leading to North Sails Race Week---the Cal Cup, Watts Trophy/North Americans and the Farr 40 Invitational.

Five of the top six finishers in the North Americans are competing here.

His tacticians will be Paul Cayard and Olympic medallist Jeff Madrigali, who also calls the starts and handles downwind sail trimming. Cayard, whose counsel boosted the NA win, also is the U.S. Olympic rep in the Star class at Athens seven weeks hence.

Kilroy obviously has been loading top talent on board this year, but in the Farr 40 class the owner is still required to drive. "We've been working hard on our light-air sailing and I've been getting more accustomed to driving with a tiller," he said. "Until we switched this year I'd never driven with anything but a wheel. You get a better feel with a tiller."

But while world-class sailors are a fixture at North Sails Race Week, one enduring feature is that they share the waters with the best weekend sailors on the West Coast. The Kent Family Trophy will be presented to the highest placing boat in the regatta that is sailed by at least three members of an immediate family.
 

Long time supporter North Sails is the event's Title Sponsor and Nautica Watches returns as Official Timekeeper and Day Sponsor. Supporting Sponsors Samson Rope Technologies and Raymarine are the Official Rope Marine Electronics Companies, respectively. Official Supplier, Rigworks, is the Official Rigging Company for race week.

The Seaport Marina Hotel is the official site and hotel - SeaportMarinaHotel.com.
The Ayers Hotel at Seal Beach is also an official hotel - AyresHotels.com.
 

The scratch sheet and results will be available on the regatta Web site: Premiere-Racing.com
CONTACT:
Golison & Golison

5500 Bolsa Ave., Ste. 105
Huntington Beach, California 92649
(714) 379-4884
Bruce@golison.com or
NSRW@Premiere-Racing.com

May 19, 2004 --- For Immediate Release

20th Edition of North Sails Race Week Just Around the Corner
---- Anniversary Fleet Will Feature Top Tier One Design and PHRF Competition

LONG BEACH, Calif.--- Early entries are arriving at the offices of Golison & Golison and another strong fleet is shaping up for this Southern California classic.

The depth of sailing talent on the West Coast always brings excitement and close competition. Bruce Ayers, a perennial contender in the Melges 24 class, was 3rd at their 2004 National Championship last month in Santa Cruz, California. The Farr 40 class will feature some of the world's best as they prepare for their September World Championships in San Francisco. Philippe Kahn, John Kilroy, Steve Howe, Chuck Parrish and John and Deneen Demourkas are already entered. Last year's 26 boat J/105 class is expected to build on those numbers with the likes of Steve Flam, Scott Birnberg, Jack Franco and Dennis Case among the pre-regatta favorites.

The first entry deadline is June 1 (for no late fee) and the final entry deadline is June 21. The list of entries to date, Notice & Conditions of Race, entry application and event details are available on the regatta web site: www.Premiere-Racing.com.

"The 20th anniversary is a meaningful milestone for this regatta," said event founder Bruce Golison. "The traditional hallmarks of the event - great one design and PHRF competition, professional race management and continuous innovation - will be on display again next month."

Invited one-design classes at Race Week include the 1D35, Farr 40, J/120, J/109, J/105, J/80, Melges 24, Santana 20 and Schock 35 classes. Pacific Coast Championships are on the line for the Farr 40s, Schock 35s and Santana 20s. Other one-design classes may petition for a class start and will be considered based on the number of boats and the event classes that are established.

Owners of PHRF boats from 24 to 75 feet have been enjoying this elite competition for two decades now. PHRF sailors have the option of selecting windward / leeward or random leg racing. Handicap racing will benefit by the creation of classes that match boats with similar performance characteristics with rating, length, displacement and sail area considered. 'Like racing' leads to races being decided by seconds, not minutes. Random leg class races will be run on Saturday and Sunday (one race each day). Also available for PHRF entrants will be the opportunity to put together yacht club teams of four PHRF boats each to compete for the "Yacht Club Challenge Trophy."

Long time supporter North Sails is the event's Title Sponsor and Nautica Watches returns as Official Timekeeper and Day Sponsor. Supporting Sponsors Samson Rope Technologies and Raymarine are the Official Rope Marine Electronics Companies, respectively. Official Supplier, Rigworks, is the Official Rigging Company for race week.

The Seaport Marina Hotel is the official site and hotel - SeaportMarinaHotel.com.
The Ayers Hotel at Seal Beach is also an official hotel - AyresHotels.com.

CONTACT:
Golison & Golison

5500 Bolsa Ave., Ste. 105
Huntington Beach, California 92649
(714) 379-4884
Bruce@golison.com or
NSRW@Premiere-Racing.com

March 10, 2004 --- For Immediate Release

PHRF Innovations Highlight North Sails Race Week 20th Anniversary
--- Team Competition and Random Leg Courses Among 2004 Offerings

LONG BEACH, Calif.--- The 20th edition of North Sails Race Week will offer racing sailors its traditional hallmarks: great one design and PHRF competition, top tier race management and continuous innovation.

This year junior sailors will be the new winners when North Sails Race Week awards the Yacht Club Team Challenge trophy. Each yacht club team will consist of four PHRF boats, with the winner determined by the lowest cumulative score. Co-producers Golison & Golison and Premiere Racing will donate $500 to the junior program of the winning Yacht Club team.

"We think this will create some additional excitement for the PHRF teams from up and down the coast. " said co-event director Bruce Golison.

Golison is working in conjunction with Peter Craig of Premiere Racing, which also produces the popular Key West regatta each January.

Race dates for North Sails Race Week are June 25 - 27. Event details and past results are available on the event web site: www.Premiere-Racing.com. The Notice of Race will be posted in April.

Invited one-design classes at Race Week include the 1D35, Farr 40, J/120, J/109, J/105, J/80, Melges 24, Schock 35 and Santana 20 classes. Pacific Coast Championships are on the line for the Farr 40s, Schock 35s and Santana 20s. The depth of sailing talent on the West Coast always brings excitement and close competition to all these classes.

Other one-design classes may petition for a class start and will be considered based on the number of boats and the event classes that are established.

Another innovation offered this year is for PHRF sailors seeking an alternative to buoy racing. Random leg class races will be run on Saturday and Sunday (one each day). PHRF Random Leg Ratings for this class will be between 12 and 174.

Handicap racing benefits by the creation of classes that match boats with similar characteristics in rating, length and displacement. Keeping these characteristics tight leads to races being decided by seconds, not minutes. Owners of PHRF boats from 24 to 75 feet have been enjoying this elite competition throughout the two decades of the event.

North Sails Race Week organizers have always worked to provide the best racing for their one design and handicap classes and 2004 will be no exception.

Long time supporter North Sails is the event's Title Sponsor and Nautica Watches returns as Official Timekeeper and Day Sponsor. Supporting Sponsor Samson Rope Technologies is the Official Rope Company, Supporting Sponsor Raymarine is the Official Marine Electronics Company and Official Supplier Rigworks is the Official Rigging Company.

CONTACT:
Golison & Golison

5500 Bolsa Ave., Ste. 105
Huntington Beach, California 92649
(714) 379-4884
Bruce@golison.com or
NSRW@Premiere-Racing.com

We welcome your comments and feedback, as participant satisfaction is our top priority.  Please feel free to e-mail us at:  Bruce@Golison.com or nsrw@premiere-racing.com  

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