Friday, November 07, 2008 - Clear skies and a light westerly breeze greeted the competitors this morning as racing kicked off for the 2008 ISAF Nations Cup North American / Caribbean Regional Final. Early races were sailed in light and shifty conditions, but the wind filled and stabilized as the day progressed. The Women’s and Open divisions are racing against each other in the early rounds, providing a unique opportunity for the competitors and spectators. Commenting on the format, umpire Glenn Oliver said "we typically don’t have the men racing against the women, so it’s very interesting to see the differences in their approach and technique".

After eight flights, Dave Perry of the USA has taken a commanding lead over the competition with 8 points. Tied with 6 points are Paula Lewin of Bermuda and Anna Tunnicliffe of the USA. "It’s great to mix the fleets and I think match racing should be mixed - it was a lot of fun. The conditions were excellent, as was the race committee work and we had a lot of close races." said Perry. The schedule calls for a triple round-robin, followed by semi-final and final knockout rounds within each of the divisions. The winner in each division will qualify for the ISAF Nations Cup Grand Final in Porto Alegre, Brazil from 23-28 March 2009. Results can be found at www.cofc.edu/sailing/nationscup

THE ISAF NATIONS CUP: The ISAF Nations Cup is a global competition to find the world’s top match racing nations in both open and women’s events and to develop match racing infrastructure around the world. The Nations Cup encompasses a series of eight Regional Finals from September-December 2008, from which the top team will qualify for the ISAF Nations Cup Grand Final, taking place in Porto Alegre, Brazil from 23-28 March 2009. The 2008 North American/Caribbean Regional Final is being hosted by the Carolina Yacht Club and the College of Charleston on November 6-9, 2008. Racing is being held the College of Charleston’s fleet of J-22s and sailed out of the Carolina Yacht Club. Thank you to our title sponsor, Team One Newport - www.team1newport.com .