CIGNA Day 3
Holmberg Advances to Knickerbocker Quarter-Final:
President Clinton's Visit Disrupts Regatta
September 11, 1997


St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Sept. 11 -- Sailing in 20-knot winds accompanied by chilling rain at the CIGNA Knickerbocker Cup, Peter Holmberg captured three straight match races Thursday morning to complete the seven-flight Group B qualifying round-robin with a 5.5-1 record and advance to Friday's quarter-finals of this Grade One regatta underway on New York Harbor.

Holmberg held talented circuit newcomer, Tomislav Basic of Croatia, outside the pin end of the line to lead the first race start by two lengths, then covered tightly to extend the advantage clear around the double-lap windward-leeward course.

Sailing for the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club, New Zealander Gavin Brady was the victim of yet another Holmberg start in race two. "We had better speed in high winds," reported Holmberg, "and extended our three-length lead at the start to win by 10 lengths."

Team Virgin Islands trapped America's Cup veteran Dawn Riley outside the pin end in the race three pre-start. "We had her all bound up and put a penalty on her with one minute to go," said Holmberg. "We won the start, then extended our lead to finish by 10 lengths."

Other skippers among the Group B top four that are assured of a quarter-final slot are Basic (6-1), Bertrand Pacé of France (6-1), and the winner of a protest-determined re-race between Sebastien Destramau and Brady scheduled for Friday morning.

President Clinton's visit to the Holocaust Museum in lower Manhattan effectively shut down traffic on land and disrupted afternoon sailing among Group A skippers, who must now complete their round-robin races tomorrow. Current Group A leaders include No. 2 world-ranked helmsman Peter Gilmour (Australia), Terry Hutchinson (USA), Andy Green (Great Britain) and Marc Pajot (France).

Slated to face the second-seeded qualifier from Group A, the No. 6 world-ranked Holmberg can expect some tough quarter-final competition. "Team Virgin Islands is sailing really well together," commented Holmberg, "losing only one race -- by five feet -- to Pacé. We have won all our starts and not received any penalties (on-water), while giving several to our opponents."

Although Holmberg was credited with the win, both he and Australian national champion David Clark were penalized a half-point each this morning by the protest committee for failing to avoid a collision in their Wednesday match.

Holmberg, as designated skipper for the Virgin Islands America's Cup Challenge (VIACC), and tactician teammate, John Cutler, form the core of the Virgin Islands Match Racing Team, whose performance on the international circuit is supported by VIACC Gold Level Sponsors. Crewing for Team Virgin Islands at the Knickerbocker Cup are Steve Gruver (trimmer) and Cameron Dunn (main).