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CHRIS LAW BEATS PETER HOLMBERG
TO WIN IN VIRGIN ISLANDS
Photos from Race Event
St. Thomas, United States Virgin Islands, December 7, 1997 -- Demonstrating a masterful display of tactics and boat handling, Chris Law of Great Britain won the inaugural Marriott Frenchman's Reef International Match Race by defeating the Virgin Islands' Peter Holmberg 3-0 in Charlotte Amalie Harbor. Law's path to the finals was almost upset by France's Luc Pillot, ranked 11th in the Omega World Match Race Rankings, when the French team pushed the Brits to a 2-2 tie in the semi-finals. In the deciding race, Law's starting experience paid off handily as he devastated his opponent by crossing the start line 15 seconds before the French. From there he increased his lead and took the race to advance to the finals.
Holmberg, ranked 4th in the world, beat the Italian team skippered by Francesco de Angelis in the semis by the score of 3-1. The Italians were the surprise team to make the semi-finals as they had never sailed together in a match racing event and began the regatta with an 0-3 record in the first round robin. But their 3-0 record in the second round robin propelled them into the semis, where they were able to deliver the first defeat to Holmberg, who had an 8-0 record until his third race in the semi-final round. Holmberg then won the next race to advance into the finals.
Ranked just two places behind Holmberg on the rankings, Law came to St. Thomas with his permanent crew of James Stagg, Andy Hemings, and Julian Salter. Local sailors Phillip Shannon and Lorenzo Hodge joined the team, and throughout the regatta they supported their skipper's tactical brilliance with near-perfect crew work.
In the first race of the Championship, Holmberg got the jump on Law in light winds, but after two crosses, the Brits went ahead on a windshift and kept the lead throughout. With all of the day's races starting just in front of the huge crowd of spectators which had assembled along the waterfront, race two exhibited ferocious pre-start maneuvering with Law getting the best of Holmberg. He then extended the lead and recorded his second victory in the best of five contest.
Needing just one more win, Law continued his aggressive starting attack, but this time was given a penalty. Usually spelling doom in match race sailing, a penalty must be paid for by turning the boat 270-degrees sometime during the race before the finish. While this seemingly gave Holmberg a huge advantage, Law's mastery of the pre-start came into play as he forced his opponent into several tactical errors and won the start convincingly. Law's challenge was now to stretch the lead as far as possible to gain enough distance to perform his penalty turn and still maintain the lead. He did just that to win the race and the Championship. In the petite finals, Pillot bested de Angelis by 2-0 to finish third in the regatta.
The title sponsor of the event was Marriott Frenchman's Reef Resort in St. Thomas. Gold level sponsors were American Airlines and Heineken; Silver sponsors were NEMWIL Insurance Ltd./Red Hook Agencies, Inc., Perrier and Mount Gay Rum, and Citibank. The Bronze sponsors were Holiday Homes of St. John, Inc. and Budget Rent-a-Car, St. Thomas.
Final Results:
1. Chris Law (GBR) 5. David Dellenbaugh (USA)
2. Peter Holmberg (ISV) 6. Terry Hutchinson (USA)
3. Luc Pillot (FRA) 7. Jean-Marc Monnard (SUI)
4. Francesco de Angelis (ITA) 8. Takeshi "Ken" Hara (JPN)
Results, photos, and much more are on the web:
http://sailing.org/vimatchrace/.
For additional information contact:
Gay Larsen, Larsen Media Group, phone: 203-975-5255; fax: 203-975-5251. Martel Public Relations, phone/fax: 340-776-0921 | 
