Stars & Stripes Wins Against Mascalzone Latino

PRESS RELEASE October 11, 2002

STARS & STRIPES WINS LOUIS VUITTON CUP MATCH AGAINST ITALIAN CHALLENGER MASCALZONE LATINO

AUCKLAND, NZ, OCTOBER 11, 2002-Team Dennis Conner’s Stars & Stripes won its Louis Vuitton Cup match race today against the Italian America’s Cup challenger Mascalzone Latino.

Sailing on the Hauraki Gulf in the opening Round Robin of the four month-long series to decide a challenger for the America’s Cup, the blue boat representing the New York Yacht Club led at the start and at every mark of the 18.5-mile windward-leeward course.

Skippered by Ken Read, from Newport, RI, Stars & Stripes is one of three American boats among the nine syndicates fighting for the right to challenge America’s Cup defender Team New Zealand. Mascalzone Latino, carrying the colors of the Reale Yacht Club Canottieri Savoia, was steered by Paolo Cian.

At the gun, Read drove the American boat across the starting line 11 seconds ahead of the Italians who bounced back and attacked vigorously. At times Mascalzone Latino enjoyed a small lead in the very shifty ten to 14-knot southwesterly breeze. Seventeen minutes after the start and about half way up the first leg, Stars & Stripes crossed tacks clear ahead of her opponent and began pulling away. The American boat extended on most other legs to finish 500 yards and one minute 36 seconds ahead.

“Today we picked up on a big shift during the starting sequence and turned it to our advantage,” said Read. “Yesterday we weren't so clever. Today the crew did a great job of trimming the sails and we had a very solid jump on the other boat right at the start. The conditions were brutal out there – the water was flat but the wind was shifting with little pattern or reason. For that reason we elected to keep a reasonably tight cover on the Italians throughout the race.”

Team Dennis Conner, representing the New York Yacht Club, has a 3-4 record in the First Round Robin of the Louis Vuitton Cup.

The current points for Round Robin 1 of the Louis Vuitton Cup are: OneWorld Challenge, 6-0; Alinghi Challenge 6-1; Oracle BMW Racing 4-1; Victory Challenge 3-3; Prada Challenge, 3-3; Team Dennis Conner, 3-4; GBR Challenge 2-4; Le Défi Areva, 0-5; Mascalzone Latino Challenge, 0-5 (Note: Byes and incomplete races result in different totals).

The crew of Stars & Stripes today was: Vince Brun, Wally Henry, Peter Isler, Brian Terhaar and Bill Trenkle, from San Diego, CA; Chuck Brown, Jerry Kirby, Rob Myles, Ken Read and Tony Rey, from Newport, RI; Chris Kam, Stonington, CT; Tom Whidden, Essex, CT; Terry Hutchinson and Morgan Trubovich, Annapolis, MD; Dave Calverley, Tampa, FL and Larry Mialik, Madison, WI. The 17th man was Stars & Stripes supporter James Benenson III.

Team Dennis Conner and the New York Yacht Club have partnered to put forth the finest team of American designers, sailors, boat builders and shoreside support to win America’s Cup XXXI and return the America’s Cup to the United States. The America’s Cup began on October 1, with the four-month challenger elimination series known as the Louis Vuitton Cup. The winner of the Louis Vuitton Cup will challenge Team New Zealand for the right to defend the America’s Cup in a best of nine series starting on February 15, 2003.

Team Dennis Conner's platinum sponsor, Computer Associates International, Inc. (NYSE: CA) delivers the software that manages eBusiness. As the world’s third largest enterprise software company, CA provides industry-leading integrated solutions through strategic partnerships and powerful brands such as Unicenter®, BrightStor™, eTrust™, CleverPath™, Advantage™, Jasmine® and AllFusion™. With mission-critical software in security and storage, CA provides reliable, quality technology. For more information, visit www.ca.com.

Gold sponsors of the Team Dennis Conner America's Cup challenge include Citizen Watch Company (www.citizenwatch.com), proud maker of the new Eco-Drive Sailhawk, the official Stars & Stripes team watch, the ACE Group of Companies (www.acelimited.com), a premier global insurance and reinsurance organization and Airgas, Inc. (www.airgas.com), the largest U.S. distributor of industrial, medical and specialty gases, welding, safety and related products. With an integrated network of nearly 800 locations nationwide--including branches, retail stores, gas fill plants, specialty gas labs, production facilities and distribution centers--Airgas' national scale and strong local presence offer customers a competitive advantage

Team Dennis Conner’s Silver sponsors are Nautica (www.nautica.com), the team’s official apparel sponsor and a leading global fashion and lifestyle company with products ranging from men's, women's and children's sportswear, denim and accessories to a complete home collection and Manugistics (www.manugistics.com), a leading software company that provides comprehensive solutions which enable companies to share inventory, pricing and planning information with customers and suppliers over the Internet.

Team Dennis Conner’s Suppliers are 3M, Air New Zealand, Airgas, Airtech, APL Limited, Arc Second, Bathysphere Digital Media Services, Columbus Line, Digi International, Dupont, Earth Tech, Itronix, Lewmar Marine, McLube, Media Bin, Munters, Nautica Eyewear, New England Ropes, Newport Adhesives & Composites, OmniSonics Medical, Pacer Technologies, Parker, Plastimo, Protector, Remy Amerique, Saucony, WiTango and Xygent.

ENDS

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