Coutts

On March 7, 2003 WALTER ARTHUR, of Ellicott City, beloved husband of Marion I. Carlson; devoted father of Martha Eva (Eric) Gamberg and Ingrid (Robert) Coutts; loving grandfather of Douglas, Marit, Lara, Kirstin, Andrew and Peter; dear brother of Helen Shannon. Family will receive friends Sunday 4 to 6 P.M. and Monday 2 to 3 P.M. with the service following at 3 P.M. at HARRY H. WITZKE'S FAMILY FUNERAL HOME INC. 4112 Old Columbia Pike Ellicott City. Interment private. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to The American Parkinsons Disease Association.

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.

AUCKLAND, New Zealand -- Prada boss Patrizio Bertelli accused his Italian team of "suicidal tactics" after its fourth straight loss to New Zealand today all but doomed its chances in the first-to-five America's Cup. The Italians now face sudden death in the competition for racing's most prestigious trophy which could end as early as tomorrow (tonight in Baltimore). One more loss in any of the next five races, and the Italians can pack their bags for the trip back to their home berth on the Tuscan coast of northwest Italy to prepare for next time.

At the completion of the round-robin portion of the Cadillac Columbus Cup regatta yesterday, two things were perfectly clear: New Zealand had rallied to finish in first place, and Denmark was firmly in second. From there, the standings were something of a puzzle for a while.Team USA, Japan and Team Baltimore finished the six flights of the round robin with 3-3 records. Of those three teams, only two could make the final four that may race today.As it turned out, based on head-to-head competition, Team USA and Japan were in and Team Baltimore was gone, dropped to fifth place because it had lost to Japan and been disqualified jointly with Team USA on Thursday.

The schedule for the opening day of the Cadillac Columbus Cup regatta called for 12 races yesterday. By the end of the day four races had been sailed, and the rest of the schedule had been abandoned.The first flight of races was started on schedule on the Chesapeake Bay off the mouth of the Patapsco River in what New Zealand skipper Russell Coutts called great sailing conditions," with New Zealand matched against Team Baltimore.But before New Zealand and Team Baltimore could finish their match, the wind went flat, and the race committee abandoned the race.

This year's Omega Gold Cup match racing regatta, which began in Hamilton, Bermuda, on Oct. 27, drew a number of area sailors through a new twist in the event added this year.The event had been known as the King Edward VII Gold Cup prior to sponsorship by Omega Watch, with the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club acting as host. Along with its title sponsorship, Omega provided a $10,000 gold watch for the overall winner.Other sponsors who offered support to the event, including Continental Airlines, Bermuda's Butterfield Bank, Gosling's Rum, Patagonia, Wedgewood and other businesses, swelled the total cash purse for the regatta to $70,000.

Hollywood and the high seas took the spotlight at "A Night of Stars ... A Ship of Dreams," a party at the Living Classrooms Foundation in Fells Point. The fund-raiser was a benefit for both the foundation and Cure Autism Now.Honorary chair Anthony Edwards, star of the NBC-TV show "E.R.," was on hand, as were many sailors who soon will compete in the America's Cup competition in New Zealand. This evening, however, some of those seafarers landed as models in a fashion show presented, in person, by designer Tommy Hilfiger.

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.

SAN DIEGO -- Team New Zealand extended its winning streak to four races in the Louis Vuitton Cup here yesterday by defeating oneAustralia and America's Cup veteran John Bertand."

Below are insider transactions for publicly held companies based in Maryland or having substantial operations here. Insiders are officers, directors or owners of 10 percent or more of a corporation's stock.Becton, Dickinson & Co.Clateo Castellini, chairman, exercised an option for 20,000 shares of common stock at $13.44 each from Feb. 2 to Feb. 17. To cover expenses of the transaction, Castellini turned in 4,138 of them for $64.94 each from Feb. 2 to Feb. 17 and sold 5,395 shares in the open market at $64.13 each from Feb. 2 to Feb. 17, and now directly and indirectly holds 99,813 common.