Pelle Petterson

Pelle Helmer Petterson (born 31 July 1932) is a Swedish sailor and yacht designer. He is the son of Helmer Petterson and Norwegian-born Borgny Petterson (born Holm), and studied design at the leading Pratt Institute in New York from 1955 through 1957. His father was also a designer who developed wood gas aggregates and Volvo PV444, strongly influencing his son to go in his footsteps. He is probably best known for designing the Maxi brand of sailing boats, which are still among the most common sailing boats in Swedish waters. He also designed Volvo's successful sports car, the P1800, while he was a student of Pietro Frua.^[2]

Pelle Petterson

Pelle Petterson in June 2010
Personal information
Full name	Pelle Helmer Petterson
Nationality	Sweden
Born	(1932-07-31) 31 July 1932 (age 92)[1] Stockholm, Sweden[1]
Sailing career
Class(es)	Star, Soling, 6 Metre, 12 Metre
Club	Kattegattflottiljen, Gothenburg[1]
Medal record Sailing Representing  Sweden Olympic Games 1972 Munich Star class 1964 Tokyo Star class World Championships 1969 San Diego Star class 1977 Marstrand 6 Metre class 1979 Seattle 6 Metre class 1983 Newport 6 Metre class 1969 Copenhagen Soling 1974 Laredo Star class

There is a line of sailing clothing and sports wear bearing the name Petterson, under the Brand Name Pelle P. which are designed by his daughter, Cecilia. His other daughter, Ulrika "Icka", lives in the U.S. and is married to Paul Cayard, an American yachtsman and professional sailor.

Olympic medals and other yacht racing awards

A Volvo P1800, designed by Petterson

Competing in the Star class, Petterson won two Olympic medals: a bronze in 1964 and a silver in 1972.^[3][4] He held the world title in this event in 1969.

He also won World Cup medals in the Soling class and participated in the America's Cup several times, skippering the Swedish America's Cup Challenges in 1977 and 1980.

Awards

Petterson was the first person to be inducted into the Swedish Sailing Hall of Fame.^[1] On 14 May 2004 he received the Swedish Business Award for Outstanding Achievements of the first grade from the West Swedish Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Amongst previous recipients are Arvid Carlsson Nobel laureate, Ingvar Kamprad founder of Ikea and Pehr G. Gyllenhammar former CEO of Volvo.

On 19 November 2004 he received the KTH's Stora Pris from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm.^[5]

On 8 June 2010 Petterson received from Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden the King's Medal (12th size bright-blue ribbon^[6]) for outstanding contributions as a yachtsman and boat designer.

Achievements

Petterson in the 1960s

As of 27 September 2015^[7]

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event
1964	Olympic Games	Enoshima, Japan	3rd	Star class
1966	Star World Championship	Kiel, West Germany	7th	Star class
1967	Star World Championship	Copenhagen, Denmark	5th	Star class
1969	Star World Championship	San Diego, USA	1st	Star class
	Soling World Championship	Copenhagen, DEN	2nd	Soling
1970	Star World Championship	Marstrand, Sweden	13th	Star class
1971	Star World Championship	Puget Sound, USA	7th	Star class
1972	Star World Championship	Caracas, Venezuela	4th	Star class
	Olympic Games	Kiel, West Germany	2nd	Star class
1973	Star World Championship	San Diego Bay, USA	8th	Star class
1974	Star World Championship	Laredo, Spain	2nd	Star class
1976	Star World Championship	Nassau, Bahamas	8th	Star class
1977	6 Metre World Cup	Marstrand, Sweden	1st	6 Metre class
1978	Star World Championship	San Francisco, USA	17th	Star class
1979	Star World Championship	Marstrand, Sweden	6th	Star class
	6 Metre World Cup	Seattle, USA	1st	6 Metre class
1983	6 Metre World Cup	Newport, USA	1st	6 Metre class
1995	Star World Championship	Laredo, Spain	63rd	Star class
1998	Star World Championship	Portorož, Slovenia	89th	Star class
2009	Star World Championship	Varberg, Sweden	61st	Star class

See also

• Maxi 77
• Monark 540
• Monark 606

References

1. Pelle Petterson. Swedish Olympic Committee
2. Swärd, Lasse (8 November 2009). "Volvo ger upprättelse åt P1800:s skapare (Volvo provide redress to the P1800's creator)". Dagens Nyheter. Archived from the original on 9 November 2009. Retrieved 8 November 2009.
3. "Pelle Petterson". Olympedia. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
4. "Pelle Petterson - Sweden's sailing hero", 32nd America's Cup Interviews, 9 January 2005, retrieved 8 November 2009
5. "KTHs Stora pris - Samtliga vinnare (KTH's Grand Prize - All the winners)", KTH, 29 September 2009, archived from the original on 6 December 2009, retrieved 8 November 2009
6. HM King Carl XVI Gustaf Medals, 8 June 2010, retrieved 8 June 2010
7. "Sailor Biography". members.sailing.org.

External links

• pellepetterson.se