Holmberg Places Second:
Hutchinson Upsets Holmberg in Knickerbocker Cup
September 14, 1997

St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands -- Terry Hutchinson of Annapolis beat Peter Holmberg of the U.S. Virgin Islands in the best-of-three finals of the CIGNA Knickerbocker Cup, a Grade One professional match the concluded today in New York Harbor.

Battling light 7 to 10-knot winds, strong currents, and the regatta favorite, No. 2-ranked Peter Gilmour of Australia, Holmberg won the third and deciding race of the semi-finals with a 2-1 record to advance, while Hutchinson beat No. 4-ranked Frenchman Bertrand Pacé by the same margin.

In race one of the semi-finals against Gilmour, Team Virgin Islands won the start and extended their lead for an easy victory. Race two saw an equal start, but the current World Match Racing Champion found the first puff and pulled ahead of Holmberg to finish first. Gilmour took the race three start when Holmberg drew a controversial penalty for touching the starting mark. The Australian sailed away toward the first mark, but Team V.I. took advantage of a fresh breeze to round first and gain a two-length lead before the bottom marker. "We extended on the beat and carried a four-length lead down the final run," said Holmberg, "but we still needed to perform our 360 penalty turn to beat him." In a thrilling final maneuver, Holmberg dropped his spinnaker two lengths from the finish line, spun the J-105 hard around, and crossed the line two lengths ahead of Gilmour.

The first race of the Holmberg vs Hutchinson, best-of-three finals series, saw an even start with several close tacks on the first beat. Hutchinson built up better boat speed and pulled away from Holmberg on the downwind run to carry the lead around the final lap and take the finish.

With their boats just inches apart, both skippers engaged in intense second race pre-start tactics that involved ducking spectator boats and evoked penalty flags aplenty. After an equal start, Terry again gained better speed to pull away to a three-length lead at the top mark. Holmberg attacked on the run to pull even, then luffed Hutchinson hard, pulled back, and protested. The umpires disallowed the protest and Hutchinson got away to win by two lengths.

"It was a good series for us, even though we finished second," commented Holmberg, designated skipper for the Virgin Islands America's Cup Challenge (VIACC). "The conditions were extreme and our team -- John Cutler (tactician), Steve Gruver (trimmer) and Cameron Dunn (main) -- did a great job of mastering the tricky currents and fickle winds, not our usual Virgin Islands conditions."

Just when Holmberg's luck ran out is left to speculation, but in a post-race interview with Paul Larsen, he pointed more to emotions than fortune. "I psyched myself up for the semi-finals match against Gilly. He's considered one of the best two or three match racers in the world, and his ranking proves it. Beating him was the highlight of our year. I'm afraid I just didn't have the same intensity in the finals, but congratulations to Terry and his team. They did a great job."

No. 192-ranked Hutchinson, who finished fifth at the Knickerbocker Cup last year, was believed to be out of his league in the company of top-ranked skippers, but the American proved the stronger starter and once ahead, displayed a talent for stretching his leads. Gilmour beat Pace in the petit final sail-off to capture third, while the Frenchman finished fourth. Tomislav Basic of Croatia was fifth; New Zealander Murray Jones sixth; American David Dellenbaugh placed seventh and Sebastien Destramau of France was eighth.

Team Virgin Islands is supported on the international match racing circuit by VIACC Gold Level Sponsors. Holmberg is scheduled to compete next in the Oct. 1-4 Corel 45 Regatta off Rhode Island, and the Oct. 5-12 Brut Gold Cup of Bermuda.