US SAILING PARTNERS WITH GOWRIE BARDEN AND BRETT TO
OFFER BIG BOAT INSURANCE FOR RACERS AND CRUISERS

Portsmouth, R.I. (May 23, 2005) – US SAILING, national governing body for the sport, and Gowrie Barden & Brett (GBB), one of the largest marine insurance agencies nationwide, announced today that they have teamed up to offer a new big boat insurance program for US SAILING members. The program offers comprehensive, customized coverage for sailboats larger than 30 feet on and off the racecourse.

“US SAILING and Gowrie Barden and Brett have offered a popular one-design insurance package for several years and we’ve often received requests from owners of larger boats for insurance to protect them on and off racecourse,” said Lee Parks, US SAILING’s Inshore Director. “With this new big boat insurance program, US SAILING now offers a one-stop shop for boat owners: we offer a finance package for boat buyers, and insurance for smaller one-design classes as well as for big boat owners.”

The big boat insurance program through GBB offers customized and personalized service for most types of boats, including new and older boats, PHRF and Grand Prix racers, as well as cruisers. Some coverage highlights are:
• Captain and crew, paid & unpaid
• Containers & equipment onshore
• Overland transportation
• Worldwide navigation optional

“In recent years, the marine insurance industry has begun to single out racing sailboats as being undesirable insurance risks,” said Carter Gowrie, President of Gowrie Barden & Brett. “Claims from dismasting, race course collisions, and overland trucking have caused insurers to drastically raise rates or simply no longer provide insurance at all for certain types of race boats. Realizing that US SAILING members are in search of that type of insurance, we wanted to make sure that such a package would be available for them.”

For more information on US SAILING’s big boat insurance program offered through GBB, please visit www.ussailing.org/membership/insurance/bigboat.htm or call GBB at 1-800-BOAT-911.

About GBB
Gowrie, Barden and Brett and its affiliate companies Gowrie, Brett and Young, Maritime General Agency and Windward Marine Underwriters provide general and specialty insurance and financial services to clients throughout the United States. Gowrie, Brett and Young provide employee benefits and life and health products to companies throughout the Northeast. Maritime General and Windward Marine are agents’ and brokers’ exclusive source for state-of-the art marine insurance. For more information, please visit www.gowrie.com.

About US SAILING
The United States Sailing Association (US SAILING) is the national governing body for sailing and sailboat racing. Headquartered in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, the organization's mission is to encourage participation and promote excellence in sailing and racing in the U.S. US SAILING offers training and education programs, supports a wide range of sailing organizations and communities, and provides administration and oversight of competitive sailing across the country, including the US Sailing Teams and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Sailing Team. For more information, please visit www.ussailing.org.

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