Click to enlargeBy Colin Thompson, The Royal Gazette
Hamilton BERMUDA, Sept 2, 2013 - Joshua Greenslade cemented his place in October’s Argo Group Gold Cup on Hamilton Harbour Saturday.
Sailing in light and shifty breezes that forced the race committee to alter the racecourse on several occasions, Greenslade bested rival skipper Lance Fraser 3-2 in the best-of-five final to win the Bermuda Sailing Association (BSA) Match Racing Nationals and claim the sole Gold Cup spot up for grabs.
Greenslade, whose well-drilled crew included Blythe Walker and Royal Bermuda Yacht Club (RBYC) sailing director and high performance coach Tom Herbert-Evans and Sean Evans, remained unbeaten during the double round robin phase en route to the final where his only losses on the day came against Fraser.
Greenslade finished with an overall 7-2 record while Fraser, who sailed with Adam Barboza, Carola Cooper and Paul Ring, posted a 4-5 record.
Jesse Kirkland, who represented Bermuda in the 49er skiff at last year’s Summer Olympics in England, finished with a 0-4 record.
Kirkland competed along with RBYC flag officer Somers Kempe, Cameron Pimental and Peter Martin.
BSA President Leatrice Roman said the event, showcasing the budding talents of three young skippers, lived up to expectations.
“It was a very well contested event and it was great to have three young competitors and now we have a young champion to go forward to the Argo Group Gold Cup,” she added. “I think everybody thought it was going to be a very good competition — and it certainly was.”
The BSA Match Racing Nationals was contested for in the International One Design (IOD) which is the same class used for the Apalri World Match Racing Tour (WMRT) sanctioned Argo Group Gold Cup.
Greenslade now joins this year’s Gold Cup fleet that includes reigning champion Taylor Canfield (US Virgin Islands), defending WMRT champion Ian Williams (England), four-time Olympic gold medallist Ben Ainslie (England), Johnie Berntsson (Sweden) and Mathieu Richard (France). Ainslie, Williams, Berntsson and Richard are also past Gold Cup winners.
The 2013 Gold Cup will be held October 8-13 in Hamilton Harbour.