MRE PRESS RELEASE

Oct. 31, 2001

Contact:
Elvia Thompson, Minister of Propaganda
Maritime Republic of Eastport
410 990-9025
elvia@stellarpresentations.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MRE TUG OF WAR SATURDAY: FUN WITH A PURPOSE
14-Team Line-Up Set - Pep Rally Friday - Navy Crew Precedes Tug

Fun, frivolity and fund raising will be the order of the day on Saturday, Nov. 3 in and around Historic Annapolis Harbor. The Maritime Republic of Eastport's Fourth Annual International Tug of War will begin at the Crack of Noon.

Fourteen teams will pull a 1700-foot-long rope across the Gulf of Eastport (as the harbor is now known, since last year's Tug of War) as the friendly rivalry between Annapolis and its quirky Eastport neighborhood across the water continues.

Billed as "fun with a purpose," money raised by the event-from tuggers and their team sponsors-will go to 10 local charities and the families of victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The teams will not be pulled into the water. The winner will be determined when the a small blimp at the center point of the rope moves beyond one of two racing marks spaced 30 feet apart in the harbor. Judges will be aboard the schooner LibertÈ, anchored at the center point. Most of the teams are still recruiting tuggers, so it's not too late to sign up to participate. A complete list of the teams and contact persons is below.

Spectators can watch Tug activities from Second Street in Eastport or from City Dock in Annapolis. People in spectator boats may watch from the water if they are in place before the Coast Guard, harbormaster, and DNR police close the harbor as the rope is stretched from Eastport to Annapolis, at about 11 a.m. The harbor will be closed for two hours or less.

Local radio stations WNAV and WRNR will broadcast the Tug with reporters on both sides describing events. WNAV "Boat Show" host Dave Hanson, aboard LibertÈ, will be on the air live throughout the Tug.

On the eve of the Tug, Friday, Nov. 3, tuggers and friends will hold a pep rally, to get the community into the spirit, at the Chart House restaurant in Eastport at 7 p.m. The public is invited.

TEAM LINE-UP

Heat 1 - The Buck Stops Here Tug

• For Eastport: Sandy Spring National Bank
• For Annapolis: Annapolis Bank and Trust

This is coed tug with 18 bank employees pulling on each side.

Heat 2 - The Beer vs. the Bars Tug

• For Eastport: Boatyard Bar & Grill and Davis' Pub
• For Annapolis: Miller Lite (Buck Distributing)

The composition of these teams is still developing. Both sides are still signing up tuggers. To participate on the Eastport side contact Dick Franyo 410 895-4563 at Boatyard or John Brock 410 268-7432 at Davis'; for the Annapolis side, contact Jim Austin at 410 301 952-0400 x 130.

Heat 3 - The Tug of the Clubs

• For Eastport: Eastport Yacht Club
• For Annapolis: Annapolis Yacht Club

Thirty members of each club -- 10 women and 20 men (of whom 10 must be over 35 years old) - will tug for the honor of the club. The losing team must suffer having the other club's burgee fly over its clubhouse for a day. This is the second year the yacht clubs have participated. EYC challenged AYC last year and was defeated. This Tug will be a spirited grudge match.

Heat 4 - The Taste of the Town Tug

• For Eastport: Chart House Restaurant
• For Annapolis: West Street Restaurants (Led by Sean Donlon)

Teams of 30 (25 men, 5 women) will tug. The restaurants are still signing up tuggers. To participate on the Eastport side contact Kevin Gersonde at 410 268-7166 or Gary Robertson at 410 263-1993 for the Annapolis side.

Heat 5 - The Flip Flops vs. the Heels Tug

• For Eastport: Lewnes Steak House Women's Team
• For Annapolis: Junior League Women's Team

These teams will have 33 members each. Last year the women's tug was the longest and most grueling. To participate on the Eastport side contact Jane Cox at 410 222-7441 or Janet Porter at 410 301 249-1500 x3202 for the Annapolis side.

Heat 6 - The Guns & Hoses Tug

• For Eastport: Annapolis Fire Department
• For Annapolis: Annapolis Police Department

Also known as the Heroes Tug, teams of 20 firefighters and police officers will tug in this friendly rivalry to see just who's the toughest of them all.

Heat 7 - The Final Showdown: Testosterone Tug IV

• For Eastport: Eastport Men's Team
• For Annapolis: Annapolis Men's Team

These teams will have 30 members each. To participate on the Eastport side contact Chris Earls at 410 495-6787 or Lew Woodward at 410 268-6846 for the Annapolis side.

Comcast has joined a long list of local companies that are supporting the Tug by providing tuggers to the men's and women's teams on the Annapolis side.

OTHER EVENTS

Navy Crew Teams Add On-The-Water Dimension to Tug Day

Tug spectators who arrive early will be treated to the sight of 20 "eights" racing through Historic Annapolis Harbor as the US Naval Academy's Crew team takes to the water from 10:30 to 11 a.m.

The 20 coed midshipmen crews will race the clock from Truxton Park on Spa Creek 2200 meters to green mark SC1, between the Severn Sailing Association and the Naval Academy's seawall, with a boat starting every 30 seconds. Navy picket boats with coaches aboard will keep the course clear for the eights.

At City Dock, Big Vanilla Health Club will set up its climbing wall, Big Vanilla Rocks, and invite kids and adults to scale its 25-foot-high face. On the Eastport side, local recording artists Them Eastport Oyster Boys will provide music to inspire the tuggers and food and beverages will be available for purchase.

There will be Tug of War merchandise such as hats and shirts sold on both sides. The MRE "Navy" in the form of patrol boats, will help the harbormaster keep the harbor safe and moving during the two hours it will be closed for the Tug. The MRE Navy's newest vessel, the Submarine, may be on patrol as well.

TUG OF WAR BACKGROUND

The Tug of War, a family-friendly, fun event provides the winning teams with civic pride and bragging rights and is a fund-raising event for local charities. Last year over $18,000 was raised by corporate sponsorship of teams, advertising sales, and pledges of individual tuggers. Since the first Tug across Annapolis Harbor in 1998, the tongue-in-cheek breakaway republic of MRE has raised and distributed nearly $50,000, all to non-profit groups within the community.

While there will be safety lines away from the harbor's edge preventing tuggers from being pulled into the water, a "designated dunkee" from each losing team will leap into the harbor at the completion of each tug. The tugs are so physically grueling, each generally lasts well under ten minutes.

Yale Cordage, Biddeford, Maine, specially constructed the rope for this Tug of War.

Each of the nearly 500 tuggers is asked, but not required, to secure pledges of $50-$100 to add to the amounts pledged by their sponsoring organizations. Organizers hope to raise as much as $20,000, all of which will be distributed among local non-profit groups as well as to families of victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on America. The winning teams will have the right to designate which charities will receive 60 percent of the net proceeds from their respective tugs. The remaining funds will go to the 10 charities selected by MRE and to the terrorist attack victims' families.

FUN WITH A PURPOSE

The Tug organizing committee has selected 10 local charities as the recipients of this year's Tug proceeds. However, given the recent terrorist attack on America, MRE citizens voted to add assistance to the families of victims as an 11th charity. The exact organization to receive the funds and the proportional amount will be determined closer to the event itself.

The Tug of War, now in its fourth year, draws on the rivalry between Eastport, the maritime neighborhood across Spa Creek from downtown Annapolis, and the city itself, with civic pride on both sides of the creek making this zany event more than a community fun day. The family-friendly event draws considerable media attention, including CNN in past years.

The Coast Guard closes the Gulf of Eastport (Annapolis Harbor) for several hours while the teams on either side of the water tug away during the scheduled "heats." This is one of only two events for which the Coast Guard has EVER consented to close the busy harbor (the other is the annual Eastport Yacht Club Lights Paradeô in December).

City Dock in Annapolis and Eastport are transformed, with a festival-like atmosphere that includes food vendors, face painting, clowns, cheering crowds, and all sorts of local color. Teams consisting of all men, all women, and coed have traditionally been the anchor teams for the tugs, earning the Maritime Republic of Eastport bragging rights for the first three years over its "citified" cousins across the Spa Creek.

MRE sponsors the event as part of its commitment to make the entire community a better place to live. With the financial backing of other private groups and businesses, the Tug is an outstanding example of how to supplement local, state and federal government activities.

Tug Chairman for 2001 is Mike Raab, 410 991-5997.

More information is available on the official MRE website at www.TheMRE.org.

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