The 2003 470 racing season kicked off in Miami over the weekend at the Skipper Whyte Regatta in Miami, Florida. The regatta served as a perfect warm up for the Rolex Miami OCR which begins this Wednesday on Biscayne Bay. Nine races were run over three days in beautiiful conditions with winds ranging from 6-16 knots and a variety of sea conditions. The fleet gradually increased from 9 on Friday to 17 Sunday as more teams arrived after Key West Race Week and elsewhere.

Mark Ivey and Howard Cromwell finished on top of the combined mens and womens fleet, securing the victory in the last race over Katie McDowell and Isabelle Kinsolving with a strong comback to 2nd from deep in the pack at the first mark. McDowell / Kinsolving, the top women's team at the Pre Trials in November, were in a battle with Ivey / Cromwell throughout the event, with the series lead changing several times. Erin Maxwell and Jen Morgan were a strong third five points behing McDowell / Kinsolving.

Paul Foerster and Kevin Burnham missed Friday's racing, but dominated thereafter finishing 1,2,1,1,3. Mikee Anderson and Graham Biehl, who also missed Friday's racing, had the second best record over the last two days with a 5,4,2,3,1.

The fleet is growing daily and the RMOCR will have the largest and most talented 470 fleet seen anywhere in North America in many years.

Rollin "Skip" Whyte 1

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