For Immediate Release:
January 26th, 1997
Holmberg's V.I. Sailing Team Shares in Key West Trophy
St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands -
Yachting Key West Race Week '97, the largest winter regatta in the
Northern Hemisphere that annually serves as a magnet for the world's top
sailors and technology, concluded Friday in Key West, Florida, with ample
rewards on both land and sea for Peter Holmberg and teammates
representing the Virgin Islands America's Cup Challenge.
"Key West provides a great opportunity to make important contacts with designers, sailors, and other syndicates, as well as preview upcoming events, like the Admiral's Cup," says Holmberg, who returned to St. Thomas on Saturday. "All the important players on the racing scene -- sponsors, sailmakers, professional sailors, boat builders and designers -- are present at Key West."
Sailing with owner Tom Stark of Bristol, Rhode Island, on the new Corel 45 Class Rush, Holmberg also did his share of winning as tactician for an all-star crew in the highly-lauded Storm Trysail's Ft. Lauderdale to Key West Race that served as a feeder event for the 10th Anniversary Race Week.
In the hotly-contested Corel 45 Class competition held in the coastal waters off Key West, Jan. 20-24th Rush finished a mere half-point out of first (Division I, IMS 3) behind George Andreadis's Atalanti X skippered by Rod Davis, a Key West native who has sailed in three America's Cups and applied his local knowledge of the Conch Republic in edging out Rush. The two boats are expected to face-off again next month in Miama at the SORC (Southern Ocean Racing Circuit). Other notable talent in the Corel 45 Class line-up, that featured six Bruce Farr designs, were France's Faster K-Yote, steered by French America's Cup tactician and match racer Thierry Peponnet.
Holmberg/Key West
Holmberg took to the winners podium again on Friday on behalf of the USA Blue Team that took the inaugural Key West International Team Trophy, beating the Down Under Team in come-from-behind racing last Wednesday. The 'Key West Trophy' is awarded for cumulative scoring of national or regional teams from three yachts competing in three separate classes: IMS Racing, Mumm 36 and Melges 24.
The USA Blue Team was composed of Tom Starks' IMS Racing Corel 45 Rush (Class C 2nd), Tom Roche's Mumm36 Jameson (Class F 1st), and the Melges 24 Wicked Feet steered by Harry Melges to a sixth-place finish among a 48-boat fleet. The Jameson crew included fellow V.I. Sailing Team member Mike Mottle as trimmer. Other V.I. Sailing Team members racing at Key West included John Cutler, tactician, on the Mumm 36 Aoba Express (Class F 6th) and Peter Warren, trimmer, on the Farr 40 Easy Oars (Class E 2nd).
Celebrating its tenth anniversary with a record fleet of 262 boats, Race Week '97 boasted over 2,000 skippers and crews from the world's top events, including veterans of the Olympics, America's Cup, and the Whitbread Round the World Race.
Yachtswoman JJ Isler, a veteran of the America3 America's Cup women's team, steered the One Design 48 Windquest to the top slot at Key West and the Yachting Trophy for 'Boat-of-the-Week'.
Russell Coutts, New Zealand's American's Cup winner, skippered the Canadian Taylor ILC46 Numbers to victory in the International Measurement System (IMS) Big Boat Class, beating the Japanese ILC46 entry Swing and Australian America's Cup skipper, Peter Gilmour.
American John Kolius, who heads and unofficial America's Cup challenge from the Waikiki Yacht Club, took the helm of the 1D48 Abracadabra. Japan's Makoto Nama, skipper for the last Nippon Challenge, steered the Mumm 36 Aoba Express. American Dave Dellenbaugh, tactician for the successful 1992 Cup defender America3, called tactics for Viragio. Non-racing celebrities spotted on the docks included Ed Baird, designated skipper for the NYYC/PACT 2000 Cup effort, and Buddy Melges.
On a sad note, the Race Week-bound Kiwi 70 Peregrine sank in heavy weather in the Gulf after losing her keel on delivery from New Orleans to Ft. Lauderdale for the start of the feeder race. The delivery crew spent six hours in liferaft before being rescued by a freighter.