August 11, 2025
2 minutes reading time
31/05/17 Portrait images of Peter Lester
In Memoriam: Peter Lester
The sailing world is mourning the passing of Peter Lester at the age of 70.
Peter was an icon of the sport and became one of the voices of the America’s Cup following a decorated career on the water. A veteran of three America’s Cup campaigns and a world-renowned sailor across multiple classes, he was most recently a much-loved broadcaster at the 37th America’s Cup in 2024 who brought his insight and well-founded analysis to the daily live coverage as part of the world feed commentary team in Barcelona.
Peter was Yachting New Zealand’s High-Performance Manager from 1994, overseeing the Olympic Sailing Academy and serving as Head Coach for the Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, then served as Team Manager at Athens 2004.
Beyond coaching, he had a distinguished broadcast career covering such prestigious events as multiple America’s Cup regattas, the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, the Extreme Sailing Series, Red Bull Foiling Generation Auckland, and the Volvo Ocean Race. From 2007–2009, Peter led the Aspire Academy in Doha, Qatar, helping to guide young sailors to international success.
Grant Dalton, CEO of America’s Cup Event and Team New Zealand, honoured Peter’s contribution to the America’s Cup and wider sailing world.
He said, “Pete was a very good friend. He had a strong understanding of the Cup, the dynamics round the people and the boats. He loved the technology, and I spoke to him a lot about different boats, what we thought and why we had made certain decisions. He was just easy to talk to, and I always felt that in some ways you were justifying what you had done to him, getting his blessing really such was my respect for him, his knowledge and what he had achieved. Myself, Team New Zealand, and the whole sailing community is shocked and saddened. Our love goes out to Susie, his children and his grandchildren. Our sport and the Cup will not be the same without his constant presence.”
Peter was known by everyone in the sailing community, and his infectious laugh combined with his generosity of spirit will be greatly missed.
Images courtesy of The America’s Cup.