In the second to last race of the ICCT on Friday, Johnny Lovell and Charlie Ogletree were ahead of the Italian team (Teo DiBattista and Daniele Saragoni) upwind on the second leg when a 140 motor yacht, Lady Sheridan, came cruising onto the course. Johnny and Charlie had enough room to duck in front of the motor yacht, but the Italians didnt.
The Italian team went for it anyway and tacked right in front of the Lady Sheridan. Much ruckus ensued, with Lady Sheridan blowing her horns, the Italian spectators on board swearing, yelling and gesturing in Italian (as only an Italian can do), and the press corp cameras clicking away. The Italian team came within a yard of the front of Lady Sherdian and bore away until they had enough room and Lady Sheridan stopped for them to cross.
On board the press boat a major multihull editor was busy taking pictures as the Commodore of the ICCT and the Captain of the Lady Sheridan exchanged words.
I was video taping but when it looked like the Italians were going to get crushed, I lowered my camera in horror.
Attached is a picture of the Italian speeding away with the Lady Sheridan in the background.
Hi Bill
How did the event go over with the organizers and race committe staff?
Did they get good video for promotion for the next year? Is this event sustainable every year... or is a two or three year cycle more doable?
Take Care
Mark
Actions such as the described above are good arguing points for tactical explosives mounted under the tramp that can be deployed at the touch of a button.
On a side note, I've seen what a small boat's bowspirit can do to a larger yacht, and its very expensive 
Mark,
The event was a huge success for everyone involved. The ICCT Trustees were happy with the venue and the close racing and the class participation. John Dawson, ICCT Chairman kept talking about how the racing was so close. He commented that under the old format the races were not as close and this was much more exciting. The competitors learned alot. Chris Brown volunteered to fill a last minute skipper slot and he didnt know the match racing rules, but almost managed to upset two match racing veteran teams. The SeaCliff YC commissioned a video and they showed it at the awards dinner. SeaCliff promised that they would give the video to the 18HT class and we will put it on the website. In addition, Mulithulls Mag was at the finals and Charles said he was going to do a story in the Jan/Feb edition.
The 18HT class is going to add a match racing curcuit to its schedule, probably on the Friday before major regattas. We also committed to certify and measure the boats for the 2004 ICCT and we will make an effort to do this for major regattas.
The ICCT Trustees want the event to be a every year event and they want it to be a developement event, within limits. We had a discussion on how the event will go next year and the ICCT Trustees should announce this week that will be a BYOB development event within the 18HT rules. The 18HT class has tightened up the rules to encourage development but prohibit wildly expensive stuff like foiling boats and solid, wing sails. This should allow for innovation, but not make it a $500k boat.
My impression was that it was a great event, and it should only get better next year with more teams and different boats. The Europeans are talking about a European Challenger series in Rimini, Italy with a substancial cash prize.
The big question is - who wants to go to New Orleans in October 2004? The ICCT members were extremely gracious hosts in Newport and I am sure that New Orleans will be even better. If you can make it to race, think about coming to help out with logistics, or just show up and watch.
The 18HT class is in the process of updating our website and we will try to post developments on our website as well as send them into Catsailor.
Bill Vining
18HT class