PK Excited To Race In UK For The First Time
Grinder Peter Kinney looks ahead to the Emirates Great Britain Sail Grand Prix in Portsmouth
Published 07/16/2025
This might be the fourth edition of the Great Britain Sail Grand Prix but for U.S. SailGP Team grinder Peter Kinney, it’s a first.
The SailGP fleet pitches up in the historic naval town of Portsmouth between July 19-20 for the sixth event of Season Five. While Peter has been to the UK before, his previous visits have been somewhat fleeting!
He explained: “I’ve actually never sailed in the UK. I wasn’t on the team for Plymouth or Cowes in previous seasons. I’ve only been to Heathrow!
“I’m looking forward to finally seeing more of the country. The league looks like it’s putting together another great event, with big crowds and hopefully good weather. We’d love to put together the kind of performance we’ve been aiming for.”
That desire to improve upon the U.S. SailGP Team’s showing in New York has seen Peter - along with the rest of the athletes - working hard collectively and individually to prepare for the second half of the season.
“As a grinder, you can never be too fit,” he said. “I’ve been training for this type of sailing since 2017 or 2018, so it’s second nature now. It’s always evolving, but it comes down to self-discipline – hitting your workouts, tracking your numbers, focusing on recovery and nutrition.
“Technically, a grinder could just live in the gym and show up to race. But building trust and harmony on the boat comes from time together – sailing, training, or even just hanging out. Whenever we get the opportunity - racing together in other classes, meeting up, even just grabbing coffee - we aim to take it.
“We’ve got catching up to do. The top half of the fleet has been sailing together for years. We’ve just passed our one-year mark, but so have they. We can never do too much.”
While SailGP will be PK’s primary focus while in the UK, he is hoping to squeeze in a little sightseeing – albeit he is going to miss the sporting event he would most like to watch in person while there!
“I’ve not got anything planned because sailing is our No.1 priority, but I know Wimbledon’s been going on and I’d love to catch that one day,” Peter said. “I went to the Aussie Open earlier this year and it was awesome.
“But I’ll need suggestions from the Brits – what should an American do in the UK? Fish and chips?!”
READ MORE: Jeremy Relishing 'Complex' Portsmouth Racecourse
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