The Storm Trysail Club and the City of Baltimore have announced the organization of a Havana to Baltimore race to be sailed in April, 2000. The race will be run by the Storm Trysail Club in conjunction with theCity of Baltimore and the Club Nautico Internacional Hemingway de La Habana.
    The race from Cuba will follow the Gulf Stream from Havana through the Straits of Florida and up the east coast to Chesapeake Bay. The fleet will finish at Baltimore's Fort McHenry. The length of the distance race is approximately 1,000 miles.
    The race is tentatively scheduled to start April 23, which will enable the competing yachts to finish during the third annual Baltimore Waterfront Festival April 27-30, 2000.
    "The Havana-Baltimore race provides an opportunity to build on the people-to-people exchanges with Cuba inaugurated with the Baltimore Orioles and Cuba baseball games.

    We look forward to welcoming this historic yachting event to the city during the annual Baltimore Waterfront Festival," said Baltimore Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke.
"The Storm Trysail Club is deeply honored to be invited to provide the race management for this historic event," said Storm Trysail Club commodore John Storck, Jr. "We are pleased to be renewing a classic ocean racing destination," he added. "Both Havana and Baltimore have a rich history of sailing events, from small boat sailing to ocean racing yachts."
    The Storm Trysail Club will impose a minimum size limit as well as limiting the fleet size. Further information will be available by calling the STC office at (914) 834-8857 or e-mail stormtry@aol.com.  Future information will be posted at www.stormtrysail.org.