ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (Reuters) -- A proposed Florida-to-Cuba yacht race
                  has been blocked by the U.S. Treasury Department, according to organizers of
                  the event.

                  Ocean Racing Ventures asked for permission to hold the Havana Cup race in
                  May from St. Petersburg to Havana, as it had done from 1996 to 1999.

                  "On February. 22, we received a letter from the Treasury Department denying
                  our license application for the 2001 Havana Cup," Ocean Racing Ventures said in
                  a letter posted on its Web site www.havanacup.com.

                  "While this did not come as a shock, it is still disappointing," the letter said.

                  The Treasury Department administers the U.S. economic boycott against Cuba.
                  U.S. citizens are not permitted to visit the Communist-ruled island as tourists
                  although exceptions have been made for sports events, cultural exchanges and
                  humanitarian missions.

                  The St. Petersburg to Havana yacht race began in 1930 but was suspended after
                  President Fidel Castro came to power in 1959.

                  The race was revived in 1996, but the Treasury Department denied the
                  application for the race last year. Some yachts sailed to Cuba anyway.

                  The Treasury Department also refused permission for a race from Key West to
                  Varado, Cuba, in October 2000.

                  In place of the Havana race, Ocean Racing Ventures said it would hold a race
                  from St. Petersburg to the Dry Tortugas islands 70 miles (112 km) west of Key
                  West on May 25.

                  "While we still maintain close friendships with Club Nautico International
                  Hemingway (the host yacht club in Havana), we will not be affiliated with Cuba,
                  Club Nautico or Marina Hemingway this year," Ocean Racing Ventures said.

                     Copyright 2001 Reuters.