Octet represents mix of age and treachery and youthful exuberance
HAMILTON, Bermuda (May 10, 2018) — When the Quarterfinal Round of the 68th Argo Group Gold Cup gets underway Friday morning the eight teams will bring an array of experience to the storied regatta.
Crews led by Taylor Canfield (USA), Johnie Berntsson (SWE), Joachim Aschenbrenner (DEN) and Nicklas Dackhammar (SWE) all qualified for the quarterfinals on Wednesday by placing in the top four of the Round Robin stage.
They’re joined by Torvar Mirsky (AUS), Lucy Macgregor (GBR), Ettore Botticini (ITA) and Charlie Lalumiere (USA). The four skippers led their crews to the next round after placing in the top four, respectively, of the Repechage Round.
The quarterfinal pairings pit Canfield versus Botticini, Berntsson against Lalumiere, Aschenbrenner against Macgregor and Dackhammar versus Mirsky. The winner of each match will be the first crew to score three points.
The octet represents a mix of experience and youth. Botticini (22) is the youngest skipper in the fleet and Berntsson (47) the oldest. Mirsky and Macgregor are the reigning Open and Women’s match racing world champions, respectively. Botticini, Dackhammar and Lalumiere each are competing in their first Gold Cup, while Aschenbrenner is in his second Gold Cup. Berntsson, Canfield and Mirsky have four Gold Cup titles to their credit, and Berntsson and Canfield have nine top four finishes in the past 10 years among them.
After the completion of the Repechage Round some of the skippers took part in the Argo Group Gold Cup Pro-Am. Among the guest sailors were students from the Endeavour Community Sailing Programme.
A youth education and community sailing initiative, the Endeavour Community Sailing Programme has allowed hundreds of young students to learn to sail in both the west end and the east end of Bermuda. In addition to sailing, students were also exposed to science, technology, engineering, arts and math educational activities in an experiential classroom to improve their overall learning experience and foster their interest in pursuing STEAM career pathways in the future.
Eight students took part in the Pro-Am, after which a check for $5,000 was presented to the Endeavour programme from Gary Grose, Group Producer Management and Marketing Leader for Argo Group.
“We want to thank Endeavor for joining us today,” said Grose. “Argo Group is proud to sponsor the Pro-Am spots for the kids in today’s races and provide a unique sailing opportunity at the prestigious Argo Group Gold Cup. We hope everyone enjoyed it.
“Argo Group continues to partner with organizations like Endeavour and Argo Group Gold Cup who share our commitment to innovation, teamwork and sustainability,” Grose said. “We also want to thank Andy Cox from the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club for helping us make this event happen.”
Torvar Mirsky (AUS), Lucy MacGregor (GBR), Ettore Botticini (ITA) and Charlie Lalumiere (USA) have qualified for the Quarterfinal Round of the 68th Argo Group Gold Cup.
They join Taylor Canfield (USA), Johnie Berntsson (SWE), Joachim Aschenbrenner (DEN) and Nicklas Dackhammar (SWE) as the top four from the Round Robin.
The four skippers led their crews to the next round after placing in the top four, respectively, of the Repechage Round. Mirsky won the round with a 5-1 record, followed by MacGregor at 3-3, Botticini at 3-3 and Lalumiere at 3-3. MacGregor beat both Botticini and Lalumiere in head-to-head matches and Botticini beat Laumiere.
Sam Gilmour (AUS), Chris Poole (USA) and Marek Stanczyk (POL) were eliminated from further competition.
The quarterfinals are scheduled for Friday morning. This afternoon the Pro-Am will be conducted. Check back later today for a full update.
Repechage Round to add four crews to Quarterfinal Round
HAMILTON, Bermuda (May 9, 2018) - Taylor Canfield’s USone Sailing Team completed a clean sweep of the Round Robin at the 68th Argo Group Gold Cup.
Canfield and crew Mike Buckley, Victor Diaz de Leon, George Peet and Erik Shampain continued the winning ways they started yesterday and finished 10-0. They advance to Friday’s Quarterfinal Round where they’ll choose their opponent.
“All around the course everyone is really tuned in and always looking to gain,” said Canfield. “We just try to keep sailing as best we can, hit the shifts and never let a small deficit get to us. You have to keep pushing when you’re ahead because it can turn bad at any moment.”
Also advancing to the quarterfinals are crews skippered by Johnie Berntsson (9-1, 8.5 points), Joachim Aschenbrenner (8-2) and Nicklas Dackhammar (6-4), in that order.
The remaining seven crews led by skippers Lucy MacGregor (6-4), Torvar Mirsky (5-5), Charlie Laulimere (4-6), Marek Stanczyk (2-8), Ettore Botticini (2-8), Sam Gilmour (2-8, 1.5 points) and Chris Poole (1-9) advanced to the Repechage Round.
Taylor Canfield’s USone Sailing Team has completed a clean sweep of the Round Robin at the 68th Argo Group Gold Cup.
Canfield and crew continued the winning ways they started yesterday and finished 10-0. They advance to the Quarterfinal Round where they’ll choose their opponent.
Also advancing to the quarterfinals are crews skippered by Johnie Berntsson (9-1, 8.5 points), Joachim Aschenbrenner (8-2) and Nicklas Dackhammar (6-4), in that order.
The remaining seven crews led by skippers Lucy MacGregor (6-4), Torvar Mirsky (5-5), Charlie Laulimere (4-6), Marek Stanczyk (2-8), Ettore Botticini (2-8), Sam Gilmour (2-8, 1.5 points) and Chris Poole (1-9) advance to the Repechage Round. The top four crews from that round will advance to the quarterfinals.