1445 Hours
Chris Poole’s Riptide Racing stole the win in Group A with a come-from-behind victory over Phil Robertson’s China One Ningbo crew in the last match of Flight 7.
Robertson appeared to have the match in hand after the first lap of the two-lap race, but Poole found a bit of a windshift on the left side of the course and put Robertson on the back foot coming in from the right side.
Poole’s win gave him the tiebreak advantage against Robertson and the Group A win. Both crews join Eric Monnin’s Capvis Swiss Match Race Team in advancing to the Quarterfinal Round, joining the three crews from Group B that advanced earlier today.
The fourth through seventh-placed crews – Nicklas Dackhammar’s Essiq Racing Team, Johnie Berntsson’s Berntsson Sailing Team, Anna Östling’s Team WINGS, and Matthew Whitfield’s Dragon Racing Team – advance to the Repechage Round, along with the similarly placed crews from Group B. Kelsey Durham’s Triangle Racing Team is eliminated from further competition.
Come back for a full recap later in the evening.
70th BERMUDA GOLD CUP/2020 OPEN MATCH RACING WORLDS ROUND ROBIN STANDINGS
Group A
1. Chris Poole (31, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA) – Riptide Racing, 6-1
Crew: Sam Barron-Fox, Matthew Cornwell, Chris Draper
2. Phil Robertson (33, Auckland, New Zealand) – China One Ningbo, 6-1
Crew: Bradley Farrand, Peter Nicholas, Johanna Thiringer, James Williamson
3. Eric Monnin (45, Immensee, Switzerland) – Capvis Swiss Match Racing Team, 5-2
Crew: Simon Brügger, Hugo Feydit, Mathieu Renault, Ute Wagner
4. Nicklas Dackhammar (30, Gothenburg, Sweden) – Essiq Racing Team, 4-3
Crew: Nils Bjekås, Björn Lundgren, Jakob Wilson
5. Johnie Berntsson (48, Stenungsund, Sweden) – Berntsson Sailing Team, 4-3
Crew: Herman Andersson, Anders Dahlsjö, Eric Malmberg
6. Anna Östling (36, Lerum, Sweden) – Team WINGS, 2-5
Crew: Julia Lines, Annie Wennergren, Linnea Wennergren, Janel Zarkowsky
7. Matthew Whitfield (23, Plymouth, England) – Dragon Racing Team, 1-6
Crew: Quentin Bes-Green, Max Brennan, Carson Crain
8. Kelsey Durham (26, Smiths, Bermuda) – Triangle Racing Team, 0-7
Crew: Alex Ellis, Charlie Lalumiere, Edward Lebens
1230 Hours
Ian Williams’s Team GAC Pindar, Torvar Mirsky’s Mirsky Racing Team and Taylor Canfield’s Stars+Stripes have advanced to the Quarterfinal Round of the 70th Bermuda Gold Cup and 2020 Open Match Racing World Championship.
Williams won Group B with a 6-1 record. He gained the top spot by defeating Mirsky’s crew in a fantastic match in Flight 6. Mirsky held a tenuous lead of one boatlength around the windward/leeward racecourse through to about halfway down the run to the finish. That’s when Williams positioned himself just to leeward of Mirsky’s transom (above).
Williams was initially penalized for luffing too quick, but moments later he offset that penalty with another luff that earned Mirsky a penalty for not responding quickly. With no penalties and Williams to leeward, he was able to force Mirsky outside the pin end of the finish line and claim what appeared to be an easy win, although it was far from it.
Canfield’s Stars+Stripes worked their way into third place with a 2-1 mark on the day. Canfield’s defeat came against Jelmer van Beek’s Team Dutch Wave when the spinnaker halyard wound up over the bow at the leeward gate and ripped the sail to shreds.
“It was a bit of a boathandling error that won’t happen again,” said Canfield.
Jeppe Borch’s Borch Racing Team, Team Dutch Wave, Mati Sepp’s Gleam Energy Sailing Team and Lance Fraser’s Team RCYC all move onto tomorrow’s Repechage Round, where they’ll meet the fourth- through seventh-placed teams from Group A. Pauline Courtois’s Match in Pink by Normandy Elite is excused from further competition.
Group A is on the water and due to commence racing shortly.
70th BERMUDA GOLD CUP/2020 OPEN MATCH RACING WORLDS ROUND ROBIN STANDINGS
Group B
1. Ian Williams (43, Lymington, England) – Team GAC Pindar, 6-1
Crew: Christian Kamp, Gerry Mitchell, Richard Sydenham
2. Torvar Mirsky (34, Sydney, Australia) – Mirsky Racing Team, 6-1
Crew: Nick Blackman, Kinley Fowler, Mal Parker
3. Taylor Canfield (31, Miami, USA) – Team Stars+Stripes, 4-3
Crew: Mike Buckley, Victor Diaz de Leon, Mike Menninger, Eric Shampain
4. Jeppe Borch (23, Copenhagen, Denmark) – Borch Racing Team, 4-3
Crew: August de la Cour, Seabastian Pieters, Nikolai Rasmussen
5. Jelmer van Beek (25, The Hague, Netherlands) – Team Dutch Wave, 3-4
Crew: Robin Jacobs, Jorden van Rooijen, Rutger Vos
6. Mati Sepp (52, Tallinn, Estonia) – Gleam Energy Sailing Team, 2-5
Crew: Ago Rebane, Karl Tagu, Aleksei Zigadlo
7. Lance Fraser (27, Toronto, Canada) – Team RCYC, 2-5
Crew: Andrew McTavish, Rob Scrivenor, Katrina Williams
8. Pauline Courtois (31, Brest, France) – Match in Pink by Normandy Elite Team, 0-7
Crew: Cédric Chateau, Thierry Douillard, Sophie Faguet, Maelenn Lemaitre
0850 Hours
Welcome to Day 2 of the 70th Bermuda Gold Cup and 2020 Open Match Racing World Championship, where no gunwale is safe.
Today’s schedule sees the continuation and, hopefully, completion of the Stage 1 round robin. Three flights remain in each group to complete the stage, which should be easily achieved given the brisk 15- to 20-knot southwesterly wind blowing early today.
The Bermuda Weather Service is forecasting the wind to veer to the west as the day progresses with the strength easing to 8 to 12 knots by the end of the day.
At the end of the stage the top three crews in both groups advance directly to Thursday’s Stage 3, the Quarterfinal Round. The eighth-placed crew in each group is eliminated and the remaining crews advance to tomorrow’s Stage 2, the Repechage Round. Stage 2 is another round robin with the top two crews advancing to Stage 3.
Group B is first on the water this morning with the first warning signal scheduled for 0930. Depending on timing, Group A won’t take to the water before 1200.
70th BERMUDA GOLD CUP/2020 OPEN MATCH RACING WORLDS ROUND ROBIN STANDINGS
Group A
1. Phil Robertson (33, Auckland, New Zealand) – China One Ningbo, 4-0
Crew: Bradley Farrand, Peter Nicholas, Johanna Thiringer, James Williamson
2. Chris Poole (31, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA) – Riptide Racing, 3-1
Crew: Sam Barron-Fox, Matthew Cornwell, Chris Draper
3. Johnie Berntsson (48, Stenungsund, Sweden) – Berntsson Sailing Team, 3-1
Crew: Herman Andersson, Anders Dahlsjö, Eric Malmberg
T4. Nicklas Dackhammar (30, Gothenburg, Sweden) – Essiq Racing Team, 2-2
Crew: Nils Bjekås, Björn Lundgren, Jakob Wilson
T4. Eric Monnin (45, Immensee, Switzerland) – Capvis Swiss Match Racing Team, 2-2
Crew: Simon Brügger, Hugo Feydit, Mathieu Renault, Ute Wagner
6. Anna Östling (36, Lerum, Sweden) – Team WINGS, 1-3
Crew: Julia Lines, Annie Wennergren, Linnea Wennergren, Janel Zarkowsky
7. Matthew Whitfield (23, Plymouth, England) – Dragon Racing Team, 1-3
Crew: Quentin Bes-Green, Max Brennan, Carson Crain
8. Kelsey Durham (26, Smiths, Bermuda) – Triangle Racing Team, 0-4
Crew: Alex Ellis, Charlie Lalumiere, Edward Lebens
Group B
1. Torvar Mirsky (34, Sydney, Australia) – Mirsky Racing Team, 4-0
Crew: Nick Blackman, Kinley Fowler, Mal Parker
2. Ian Williams (43, Lymington, England) – Team GAC Pindar, 3-1
Crew: Christian Kamp, Gerry Mitchell, Richard Sydenham
3. Jeppe Borch (23, Copenhagen, Denmark) – Borch Racing Team, 3-1
Crew: August de la Cour, Seabastian Pieters, Nikolai Rasmussen
T4. Taylor Canfield (31, Miami, USA) – Team Stars+Stripes, 2-2
Crew: Mike Buckley, Victor Diaz de Leon, Mike Menninger, Eric Shampain
T4. Jelmer van Beek (25, The Hague, Netherlands) – Team Dutch Wave, 2-2
Crew: Robin Jacobs, Jorden van Rooijen, Rutger Vos
6. Mati Sepp (52, Tallinn, Estonia) – Gleam Energy Sailing Team, 1-3
Crew: Ago Rebane, Karl Tagu, Aleksei Zigadlo
T7. Pauline Courtois (31, Brest, France) – Match in Pink by Normandy Elite Team, 0-4
Crew: Cédric Chateau, Thierry Douillard, Sophie Faguet, Maelenn Lemaitre
T7. Lance Fraser (27, Toronto, Canada) – Team RCYC, 0-4
Crew: Andrew McTavish, Rob Scrivenor, Katrina Williams