LACK OF WIND STOPS PLAY PORTO CERVO, ITALY (2 June 2008) - There was no racing today at the Volvo Melges 24 World Championship hosted by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda in Porto Cervo. The second day of the championship dawned with overcast skies, rain showers and extremely light winds, so initially the race committee announced a one-hour postponement to see how the weather would develop. Around 1130 the sun started to break through and a hint of a sea breeze developed, so the competitors went afloat in the hopes of starting racing at 1230, when the postponement ended. Course B Principle Race Officer Hank Stuart reported: "We had light wind from the northwest, so we set the first course at 295 degrees, and with a steady breeze at more than five knots we rolled into a starting sequence at 1245. During the second sequence (after a general recall), the wind began to shut down, so we hoisted an AP (postponemet) flag and waited to see what would happen. With the hot sun, it's pretty tough out there on a small boat with no shade, and at 1350 we decided to send the boats in to wait for further signals ashore. It takes around an hour and a half to get everyone out to the racecourse, so a decision to race had to be made by 1600. Shortly after 1500 is was clear that the situation wasn't going to improve, so we signalled 'no further racing.'" Although no one ever likes to lose a day, it was clearly a popular decision with the competitors. "It was the right decision," said fleet leader Alberto Bolzan, helming Gianni Catalogna's ITA727 Pilot Italia. IMCA Class Chairman Guenter Tzeschlock concurred: "There was no stable direction; it was very light and it was the only thing to do to close down the race for the day." The 2006 joint Melges 24 Corinthian World Champion Jean-Francois Cruette, sailing Cedric De Kervenoael's FRA612 Bouygues Telecom, agreed as well, saying "It's a pity because this morning the wind was stable but too light. " Speaking about the fleet in general, Laser SB3 European Champion Geoff Carveth, helming in his first Melges 24 World Championship for the UK's Miles Quinton aboard GBR694 Code Zero, commented. "The sailing's really close and really hard. I'm used to being in front in most fleets, but I'm not quite there yet. We've had our moments, and we're finding a few grooves where I'm thinking I'm going as good as the top guys, but it only takes a slight change and you're struggling for height and pace again. It's such a minimal thing, but certainly we haven't yet quite found an edge. Downwind we're good; it's just upwind where we're still searching hard to find some more. The forecast for tomorrow is much better, so we're looking forward to getting back out there." Looking ahead to tomorrow, Course A Principle Race Officer Peter "Luigi" Reggio noted, "I think it would be best for everybody if we did three races tomorrow to get some in the bank. Knowing that we have to do a final race, then split the fleet on Wednesday, we'll look at starting earlier Wednesday so we can take the time to come ashore, sort out any protests, and do the fleet splits before we go out in the afternoon to start the second half of the championship. The forecast looks good for the next two days, but.this is sailing!" Back ashore, the competitors soaked up the Sardinian sunshine around the Yacht Club's pool and took advantage of Volvo's courtesy car service, which provided 20 chauffeured cars from across the Volvo range for competitors to use in touring more of Sardinia's beautiful Costa Smeralda. With no changes in overall standings from yesterday, Alberto Bolzan, helming Gianni Catalogna's ITA727 Pilot Italia, leads the regatta. Norway's Olympic Bronze Medallist (Soling/Sydney) Herman Horn-Johannessen, sailing NOR732 Rett Rundt Hjornet, lies three points behind in second. Reigning Melges 24 North American Champion Brian Porter of Chicago, IL (and Lake Geneva, Wis.), aboard USA649 Full Throttle, and Swiss America's Cup sailor Jean-Marc Monnard, on SUI599 Poizon Rouge, share third place on eight points. Britain's Jamie Lea, helming GBR691 Team Barbarians for Stuart Simpson, is one point behind them in fifth. In the Corinthian Division, for the all-amateur teams, Oyvind Peder Jahre, sailing NOR 554 Terra Eindomsmeglng for Stian Briseid, leads the fleet and lies 17th in the overall competition. Second Corinthian is Rudolf Houdek in GER731 Secret Men's Business, with joint 2006 Corinthian Melges 24 World Champion Jean-Francois Cruette, helming FRA612 for Cedric De Kervenaoel, in third. The 12-race series runs until Friday 6 June and a minimum of five races is required to complete the series. The Melges 24 is designed by Reichel Pugh (www.reichel-pugh.com) and considered the most unique one-design sport boat in the world as well as one of the fastest-growing classes of high performance yachts. For more information visit www.melges24.com Volvo Cars was founded in 1927 and is based in Gothenburg, Sweden, producing premium cars for the global market. Brand core values are Safety, Environmental Care and Quality. For further information, visit www.media.volvocars.com or www.volvocars.com. Conte of Florence is an Official Supplier of the event. The Italian company has been a partner of the Volvo Cup for many years with a dedicated clothing line and is also present at the Volvo Melges 24 World Championship for which it has exclusively created technical garments. For more information, visit www.conteofflorence.com. For further information, regular reports and results, visit www.melges24worlds2008.com. (end) (top-ten results below) Place, Boat Name, Owner, Nation, Finish Scores, Overall Points 1. PILOT ITALIA Alberto Bolzan/Gianni Catalogna, ITA, 2,1, 3.00 2. RETT RUNDT HJORNET Herman Horn, NOR, 4, 2, 6.00 3. TEAM BARBARIANS, Jamie Lea/Stuart Simpson, GBR, 1, 8, 9.00 4. COTES D'ARMOR, Ronan Dreano/Troel Simon, FRA, 2, 9, 11.00 5. FULL THROTTLE, Brian Porter, Chicago, Ill., USA, 5, 3, 8.00 6. ONLINE -SIM FIREBOLT, Roberto Martinez/Carla Ubertalli, ITA, 9, 2, 11.00 7. POIZON ROUGE, Jean/Jean-Marc Monnard, SUI, 3, 5, 8.00 8. BLU MOON, Flavio Favini/Franco Rossini, SUI, 11, 5,16.00 9. UKA UKA RACING, Lorenzo Bressani/Lorenzo Santini, ITA, 10, 6, 16.00 10. BRONTOLO AB MEDICA, Matteo Ivaldi/Filippo Pacinotti, ITA, 6, 13, 19.00 Contact: Jill Campbell YCCS Press Office Tel. +39 0789 902 200 Cell: +39 340 167 4755 Jan Harley Media Pro Int'l for YCCS in North America Tel. +1 401-849-0220 Fiona Brown Press Officer, International Melges 24 Class Tel +44 (0)7711 718480