Durban, South Africa: – The US team of Howard Hamlin (1999 505 World Champion driver) and Peter Alarie won the opening race of the 2000 International 505 World Championship, but they had an close fight at the finish line with four-time world champion, Krister Bergstrom, racing with Thomas Moss. Hamlin/Alarie watched as a 200 plus yard lead evaporated in front of their eyes on the last four legs of the nine leg 505 Worlds course.

"Krister was going real fast on the beats, and probably made up 100 yards on each of the last two upwind legs", said Alarie. "He passed us on the last few hundred yards to the finish. After about a 15 tack duel, we each headed for opposite sides of the finish line, and fortunately for us, we chose the favored end and beat him by a boat-length."

"I really though we had made a huge mistake and lost the race at the end", said Alarie. "But Krister gave us the race back when he allowed himself to get pinned underneath us on port tack. All we had to do then was prevent him from tacking, sail to a fat layline, and finish at the pin end."

A boat length differential is about as tight as it gets on a 505 worlds course, and it shows just how competitive this fleet is. Imagine, after 2 hours of hard sailing over 15 miles of ocean, shooting the line to take the gun; about as exciting as it gets.

Ian Barker, the silver medalist in the 49er class in Sydney, put his 505 sailing shoes back on, and placed third for the day, passing Andy Beekman and Ben Benjamin from the US close to the finish line. Beekman and Benjamin, known in the US as the "Young Bucks", were second at the 505 worlds in France last year.

"Barker just went into warp speed there at the end", said Beekman. "There was nothing we could do to stop him."

It's really howling out now, and we expect another classic 30 knot Durban day tomorrow. The RC has moved the start time an hour earlier due to the weather forecast which features big wind filling in tomorrow.