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BEYC Pro-Am Final
Holmberg Wins BEYC Pro-Am Regatta
Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands -- Peter Holmberg, designated skipper for the Virgin Islands America's Cup Challenge sailed away in light-to-moderate winds in Gorda Sound to a first place finish in Friday's afternoon finale of the 11th Annual Bitter End Yacht Club Invitational Pro-Am Regatta, beating America's Cup veteran skipper Harold Cudmore 3-1 in the final series. Peter Isler, America's Cup-winning navigator for Dennis Conner, captured third with a 2-1 win over Olympic gold medalist Mark Reynolds.
Competing in Freedom 30s and Colgate 26s from the Bitter End Yacht Club fleet in a single round-robin, semi-final and final format over a three-day period, this year's skipper roster boasted top sailing talent from past America's Cups, Admiral's Cups, and BEYC Pro-Am Regattas, including Russell Coutts (Olympic gold medalist and winning helmsman for the last America's Cup), ``J.J." Isler (America's Cup veteran with the women's team in 1995), Paula Lewin (recent winner of the Women's Match Racing World Championships), and Ken Read (five-time J/24 World Champion and 1997 Admiral's Cup-winning skipper on Team USA's IMS entry Flash Gordon 3).
A Grade Two match race, BEYC Pro-Am Regatta hold the distinction of being the only sailing event in the world where hotel resort guests can crew with sailing `super-stars' from the America's Cup and Olympic competitions. Each skipper is allowed to bring a single crew member and the Bitter End fills the remaining three slots with its guests. Co-founder of the V.I. Challenge and 1993 winner of the BEYC Pro-Am, Holmberg sailed with John Cutler, Team Virgin Island's V.P. of Design & Technology and past skipper for Japan's Nippon America's Cup syndicate.
Holmberg's next Caribbean competition is the Dec. 3-7 Marriott Frenchman's Reef International Match Race in St. Thomas. | 
