Peter Lester 1954 – 2025
There was such sad news over the weekend with the untimely and unfathomably unexpected death of the much-loved Kiwi sailor and broadcaster Peter Lester.
I first met Peter in 2011 during the Volvo Ocean Race when he and his good friend Martin Tasker were doing the commentary on the around-the-world event’s leg starts and finishes and the in-port race inshore action.
Peter’s vast racing experience – which spanned multiple America’s Cup campaigns, junior and senior OK World Championship wins, a secured berth in the Finn for the subsequently boycotted 1980 Olympic Games, and leading New Zealand to the country’s only victory in the Admiral’s Cup – made him the perfect foil to Martin in the anchorman role.
The pair were living legends and I am not ashamed to say that I was completely starstruck by the pair of them. One of my proudest memories is of joining them in the race’s makeshift TV studio in Galway, Ireland for the live broadcast of the finish of the final leg of the race as the fleet arrived from Lorient, France. Neither were precious about a newbie like me joining them – in fact quite the opposite, they both made me feel extremely welcome and immediately helped me relax in front of the cameras.
I have enjoyed having Peter as a friend ever since. I have used him as an expert pundit for quotes, called him for info and to get his off-the-record take on things, and used him as a sounding board for potential story ideas. Most of all I have loved running into him at the various editions of the America’s Cup we have both been part of – the last of which was at the 38th edition in Barcelona, Spain last year.
Peter was – of course – a kingpin in the commentary team. Working in tandem with Shirley Robertson, Glenn Ashby, and Stephen McIvor in the studio, he was where he loved to be most – out on the water amongst the raceboats seeing what the sailors saw and interpreting it all perfectly for the TV audience.
The fact that he was accurately calling windshifts and pressure variances from aboard the foiling TV catamaran, screaming along at the same speed, or faster, than the AC75s, tells you everything you need to know about the innate level of talent Peter always had at his fingertips.
There is no doubting that sailing fans around the world will miss listening to his expert insight at the next America’s Cup. For his friends and family the loss is even greater and my heart goes out to all of them.
I know that I will miss seeing his warm welcoming smile, and chatting with him in the media centre about what he thinks is going on behind the headlines in our sport. I will also miss his unique kindness, his straightforward honesty and the unwavering warmth of his friendship.
Fair winds Peter. May you forever enjoy your view of the world’s regattas from your perfect vantage point in the sky.
Are there signs of détente in the long-running America’s Cup dispute?
Peter would have been gladdened to hear the rumours circulating recently that the logjam of contractual issues that have been preventing the America’s Cup Defender Emirates Team New Zealand and the Challenger of Record, Ben Ainslie’s British Athena Racing syndicate, from coming to an agreement on the official Protocol document for AC38.
If the rumours are true – and they seem to be as well substantiated as they can be from the outside – then Ainslie and Royal Yacht Squadron Ltd. chairman Bertie Bickett – arrived in New Zealand over the weekend for a summit of sorts with Emirates Team New Zealand boss Grant Dalton.
This is the first sign of progress in many weeks of radio silence from the two teams after a terse and unpleasant period of public bickering about transparency from Athena Racing and two other expected AC38 challengers – New York Yacht Club American Magic and the Swiss syndicate Alinghi.
What has changed to bring the Defender and Challenger to the table in person is unclear, but both will be all too aware that the clock is ticking if holding the 38th America’s Cup in Naples, Italy in 2027 is to remain a viable prospect. Hopefully negotiations will go well and a signed protocol document can be announced very, very soon – this week would be nice.
Fingers crossed that the tentative signs of detente hold down in Auckland and that Dalton and Ainslie can shake hands on a deal that sees AC38 splutter into life. It’s a result that can only be good news for everyone.
Spectacle and drama in Kiel at the start of The Ocean Race Europe 2025
It’s so great to see the second edition of The Ocean Race Europe get underway this weekend, with a fleet of seven state-of-the-art IMOCAs with four-person mixed-sex crews setting off from Kiel, Germany on the opening leg of the five stage 4,500-nautical mile loop around Europe.
The conditions looked close to perfect for the start which saw the IMOCAs ripping along on a 25-knot plus reach across the Baltic Sea on their way to Portsmouth, England.
The two French entries – Paul Meilhat’s Biotherm and Yoann Richomme’s Paprec Arkéa – made the best of the start to lead the fleet away from Kiel, while behind them there was disaster for Rosalin Kuiper’s Swiss entry Team Holcim - PRB and Ambrogio Beccaria Allagrande MAPEI Racing (ITA) who had a high speed windward/leeward coming together shortly after the start which resulted in the Swiss boat to leeward being speared by the leeward outrigger on the Italian boat.
The two yachts both sustained serious damage. They each returned immediately to the dock before suspending racing ahead of full assessments of the damage. Both have lodged protests against each other over the incident which appeared to be caused by Team Holcim - PRB (steered by Franck Cammas) heading up into the side of the Italian boat to windward.
Watching the onboard video it appears that neither Beccaria (on the helm) or his French co-skipper Thomas Ruyant saw the leeward boat until it was too late. It is also worth wondering whether Cammas – seemingly alone on deck as the rest of the crew busied away on winch handles and lines down below – had seen the boat to windward of him, or indeed whether the boat was fully under control, given earlier footage had shown boats close to broaching out.
All this, of course, will be reviewed and ruled upon by an independent International Jury. Meanwhile the Swiss and Italian teams’ shore crews are working furiously to see if there is a viable plan to get the boats repaired and to Portsmouth in time for the start of the second leg to Nice, France on August 20.
At the front of the fleet Biotherm has control of the leg after taking the maximum two points by leading the fleet through the Kiel Lighthouse scoring gate. After rounding Skagen at the northern tip of Denmark, the crews have had a gruelling time, short-tacking into a 15 to 20-knot westerly breeze. Lighter winds are expected overnight (European time) and that could set things up for a shuffle in the standings.
You can watch how the night and the rest of the leg plays out on the excellent official tracker here.
