Peter won his first major race in Switzerland on lake of Thun in 1980 in his second year as a windsurfer. Back home he joined the UK's pro circuit in 1983 (its inaugural year). For 11 years he followed the UK PBA circuit, he never dropped out of the top 10.

" It was a great era. The fleet was full of characters such as Mark Wood, Barry Edgington and Dave Hackford. We had TV at every event and with sponsorship from Lambs Navy Rum, the post-race party factor was a bit severe. My results always went up and down with the wind. If it was hovering around the 11 knot minimum there was no way I would beat Barry or Julian Anderson. I was 88 kg and the biggest sails a round were 7.5 - well that's my excuse. To be honest, my flicky wind tactics were pretty dreadful! I just prayed there'd be enough wind to hold a slalom."

Slalom Champ
In 1988 he was crowned British slalom champ and in the same year entered his first PWA event in Fuerteventura. Two years later he becme the first Brit to score a top 10 place in a PWA Grand Slam event.

Speed Champ
Peter's first introduction to top notch speedsailing was in 1984 when he won the International Weymouth Speed Trials (B Class) on the famous Carlsberg tandem with Dee Caldwell. He was recognised as one of the fastest sailors on the slalom circuit and it was only a question of time before he broke onto the highly prestigious speed circuit. From 1990-97 he and Dave White became inseparable team mates as they made up team GB on the tour. "The truth is that it was more important to beat each other that the rest of the world. We had some epic battles and none bigger than the first production board world champs. It howled every day and we were neck and neck right up to the finish when Whitey took it with one of the last runs of the competition. We didn't realise until we got home just how closely the media and the manufacturers has been following it. With the 'Sputnik' and the 'Energy' just being released. it was a also a major battle between F2 and Mistral. Whatever, it was just good to have two Brits on the podium."

The big goal was to break the magic 40 knots. He reached 41 at West Kirby in 1990 but that was over a 250 metre course. To make it onto the world rankings, it had to be over 500 metres. The moment came in 1996 at the finals of the PWA speed tour at Sotavento. "It was a wild day, very windy but, typically for Sotavento, the course was a maelstrom of chop and swell. You just had to keep plugging away hoping that you'd get a sustained gust just as you got on the front of a wave. With about ten minutes to go before the end of the leg, it happened. As with most good speed runs, there was an eerie feeling of weightlessness and gliding. It felt really fast but actualy not that scary as everything was balanced and in control. Buoyed by seeing the 40.5 knots flash up on the screen, I went straight for another run, span out horribly and crossed over the all too fine a line between glory and severe pain. It was very well timed as it all happened while Whitey and I were filming our 'how to go faster...' video Speed with Style'