Chessie

Chessie Racing, the Maryland entry in the Whitbread Round the World Race, started the second leg of the race in last place, moved up to second for a time and, after hitting a whale last week, began to slip into the middle of the pack.Co-skipper Mark Fischer said in a report to race headquarters that the team's Whitbread 60, Chessie, is neither leaking nor heavily damaged as a result of the whale incident, which occurred Wednesday near the Prince Edward Islands and first was reported to be a seal.

CAPE TOWN, South Africa -- The waiting wives of the Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race are preparing for the expected arrival here tomorrow of the Maryland entry, Chessie Racing -- and their husbands."

SAO SEBASTIAO, Brazil -- So angry was Jerry Kirby, veteran bowman on Chessie Racing, that he literally shook Grant Dalton, skipper of Monaco's Merit Cup, awake from his first night's sleep ashore in 27 days, and demanded: "Do you think Chessie cheated?"What angered Kirby -- and other members of Chessie's crew -- was Dalton's e-mail suggestion that the Maryland boat in the Whitbread Round the World Race had gained an unfair advantage by stopping for repair parts and supplies on its way round Cape Horn to the Leg 5 finish here in this tropical port.

SYDNEY, Australia - With the start of Leg 4 of the Whitbread Round the World Race just four days away, Chessie Racing's shore crew has been busy reinforcing the mast below the deck.The aluminum mast, identical to those aboard Innovation Kvaerner and Swedish Match, which were badly buckled by excessive compression during Leg 3, has been strengthened by 10 x 6 x 1/4-inch steel straps, fixed to the port and starboard sides just above the step.Although Chessie's mast showed only minimal signs of compression stress during Leg 3 with concave and convex dishing between the deck-head and the heel of the spar, the work was undertaken as a precaution.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - As the competitors in the Whitbread Round the World Race close in on their first stop in the United States, the contest's only two American teams are dueling for sixth and seventh place, with hopes for a spot on the podium on Leg 6 all but dashed.After nearly 4,750 miles at sea, the nine contenders in the nine-leg race are expected to finish within 18 hours of each other beginning this morning. At the front of the pack is British entry Silk Cut which spent yesterday trying to shake off Swedish powerhouse EF Language.

For the first time in the Whitbread Round the World Race, Maryland-entry Chessie Racing is leading the fleet on the third day of the 2,250-nautical-mile Leg 3 across the Great Australian Bight from Fremantle to Sydney.Chessie skipper George Collins, the recently retired CEO of T. Rowe Price, and tactician John Kostecki piloted the boat through the fleet to establish a 1.9-nautical-mile lead over their nearest rival, Toshiba, the other American boat.Their rivals are strung out in a fan-shaped formation some 50 nautical miles wide.

The conditions were shifty in the Outer Harbor. Winds whipped the six identically designed 48-foot yachts in the inaugural Chesapeake Grand Prix within inches of each other. And on the second day of this series, Numbers finished the day No. 1 with Chessie nipping at its sails."Basically, what we've got is two teams doing very, very well, who are real consistent," said skipper John Kolius of the third-place Abracadabra. "And then you've got four expansion teams."Going into the day, Chessie, owned by former Baltimore investment banker George Collins, held a one-point lead.

They looked like six telephone poles planted in the water when they first appeared on the horizon. Then, as these 48-foot, identically designed boats came closer, they looked like feathers in a fan, as they sailed one in front of the other in a staggered line.But finally, as they entered the Severn River and raced madly toward the finish line in Annapolis' cozy harbor, they looked like the regal, swift sailboats they are. Chessie, in the lead and with most of her crew sitting along her right side enjoying the finish, raised a glorious yellow spinnaker as she streaked to victory in the final race of the Chesapeake Grand Prix.

George Collins was standing at the stern of Chessie Racing, looking up at the 105-foot mast of his turbo-sled, which had just put 417 miles under its keel in 24 hours of high-powered sailing in the 1,000-mile Key West-to-Baltimore ocean race. The mainsail was pushed so far forward by the following wind that it was chafing against one of the spreaders, which give the mast its lateral support. The Baltimore millionaire and sailing fanatic was thinking he should winch it in slightly to lessen the wear.

SOUTHAMPTON, England -- According to the nautical maps, the Whitbread Round the World Race was over. On the scoreboard, Chessie Racing had finished. But in the mind of George Collins, the boat named for the mythical sea monster was still very much alive."