| CATCHING UP WITH PETER HOLMBERG |
Alinghi helmsman Peter Holmberg (center) is framed by Lorenzo Mazza (left) and Murray Jones (right). (©Swedish Match Tour/Stephanie Lamy)
|
Peter Holmberg’s Alinghi crew crosses tacks with Staffan Lindberg and Team Finland during their Flight 4 match, won by Holmberg. (©Swedish Match Tour/Stephanie Lamy)
|
Helmsman Peter Holmberg ducks under the boom while headsail trimmer Lorenzo Mazza tends to the winch during Day 1 racing. (©Swedish Match Tour/Stephanie Lamy)
|
By SEAN McNEILL
Pedro Pirata is what Peter Holmberg’s niece calls him. Pirate Pete.
Hailing from St. Thomas, U.S.V.I., Holmberg is a modern day blackbeard, complete with an earring, mustache, chipped tooth and scar on his right chin. The characteristics fit him well. He’s one of match-racing’s most aggressive competitors when the time calls for it.
As a helmsman for America’s Cup champions Alinghi, Holmberg is in his third syndicate. He began in 2000 with Team Dennis Conner and was with BMW Oracle Racing for 2003. Holmberg was never destined to return to that team, but feels comfortable where he’s landed. He led Alinghi to an 11-0 record at the Louis Vuitton regatta in Valencia, Spain, last month.
Like many Cup helmsmen, Holmberg won an Olympic medal in the Finn Class. His silver at the 1988 Games in Seoul is the only medal ever won by a Virgin Islander.
After that Holmberg moved to helming grand-prix racers like IOR and IMS 50-footers and Maxis. He found his calling in sailing when he began match-racing in the mid-1990s.
“If you want to do one type of sailing to improve your skills for any type of sailing, match-racing is it,” Holmberg says. “Crew work is intensified on the short courses. It’s crash and burn sailing, maneuvering to kill. Crew work has to be perfect; any little flaws get brought out right away. Whatever type of racing you want to do; match-racing is the best way to improve.”
AUDIO: PETER HOLMBERG ON THE PTPORTUGAL MATCH CUP FINAL (1m:43s // 2.2 megs)
Holmberg’s been quite successful at it. The 2001-’02 Swedish Match Tour champion just completed his fourth career victory with a win last weekend at the PTPortugal Match Cup. He holds the record for most consecutive victories with three en route to winning the ’01-’02 championship.
Holmberg is an Island Mon through and through. His heart rests there, and with his close ties to his family. He built a new house there after the ’03 Cup which had to be rebuilt after suffering damage last fall during Hurricanes Frances and Ivan. (The hurricanes were so devastating that the names have been removed from rotation by the World Meteorological Organization.) Despite the tragedy the hurricanes wreaked, he found the time to marry his girlfriend Denise last December.
What is your current state of mind?
Excellent. Happy. All good.
What does “match-racing” mean to you?
Match-racing is the truest form of sailing for me. Natural, a perfect fit for what I love.
What does “sailing” mean?
My terrain. My ocean. My natural element. That’s my course.
What is your most marked characteristic?
Pirate Pete. There’s a serious side and then there’s the “pirate” side.
What do you most value in your friends?
Honesty and fun. Humor.
What is the quality you most like in a man?
Similar, honesty ranks first. Loyalty, friendship, happiness, fun.
What is the quality you most like in a woman?
Again, honesty ranks No. 1, but fun; ability to laugh and have a great time.
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Taking life too seriously.
Which living person do you most admire?
My brother, John.
In which country would you like to live?
Virgin Islands.
Which historical figures do you most identify with?
Bob Marley, because he’s a legend in my time growing up. Christopher Columbus, for discovering my part of the world.
What is it that you most dislike?
Wasting time.
Which talent would you most like to have?
Ability to step back and see big picture, not get too focused in on the immediate.
What is your definition of a hero?
Somebody who achieves remarkable outstanding feats in a pure, honest manner.
What is your greatest extravagance?
Eating out, fancy food.
Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
Ya mon!
When and where are you happiest?
In the morning at sunrise on the porch of my new house in St. Thomas.
If you could change one thing about your family, what would it be?
Have my daddy to come back.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
My Silver medal for the Virgin Islands in Korea.
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Down in the Caribbean in a quiet cove, sittin’ at anchor having a cocktail with my sweetie.
What is your greatest fear?
Losing another family member too early.
What is your motto?
Calm aggression.
|
|
