1600 Hours
Congratulations to Taylor Canfield and Team Stars+Stripes -- Mike Buckley, Victor Diaz de Leon, Mike Menninger, Eric Shampain -- winners of the 70th Bermuda Gold Cup and 2020 Open Match Racing World Championship. They defeated Ian Williams's Team GAC Pindar -- Christian Kamp, Gerry Mitchell, Richard Sydenham -- in a final series filled with drama. We'll have a full report later.
1140 Hours
Ian Williams will meet Taylor Canfield for the championship of the 70th Bermuda Gold Cup and 2020 Open Match Racing Worlds.
Williams finished off his semifinal series against Jeppe Borch, 3-0, after scoring a come-from-behind win in Flight 3. Borch led around the first lap but Williams got to the right on the second upwind leg and crossed Borch on starboard about halfway of the way up the leg. He then held on for a close win to advance.
Canfield had a much harder time closing out Phil Robertson in the other semifinal match. Leading 2-0, Robertson won Flights 3 and 4 to even the series up. Canfield earned penalties in both matches that had a direct outcome on the results.
In Flight 5, it was Canfield who slapped a penalty on Robertson in pre-start circling, which proved very valuable because Robertson led around the course. But on the run to the finish Canfield was able to establish a controlling position to leeward and held the pair well outside the pin end. Both crews were forced to drop the spinnakers and raise the jibs to reach back to the finish line and when they jibed to port it was Canfield leading by a length.
Williams and Canfield are both two-time winners of the Gold Cup. Williams has won the Open Worlds six times and Canfield once. The conditions are still increasing and expected to blow over 20 knots for the afternoon. The final is first to three points. Let the good times roll.
0845 Hours
The day’s schedule has been altered due to the expected strong winds this afternoon. Instead of starting the final at 1400 hours, as scheduled, the final will commence immediately after the conclusion of the semifinals. So, when the crews head out for the resumption of the semis at 0935, they’ll stay on the water until the final is complete. The semis and final are first to 3 points. The petite final, which will be sailed alongside the final, is a first to 2 points.
0800 Hours
Welcome to championship day of the 70th Bermuda Gold Cup and 2020 Open Match Racing World Championship.
A pirate’s bounty awaits the winner of the regattas: the King Edward VII Gold Cup, the sterling silver World Match Racing Tour trophy and a $30,000 payday.
The semifinals are first to complete today. Ian Williams’s Team GAC Pindar and Taylor Canfield’s Team Stars+Stripes lead their matches, 2-0, after yesterday’s racing.
Has luck run out for Jeppe Borch’s Borch Racing Team? Can Phil Robertson’s China One Ningbo battle back for a chance to defend his world championship title?
Could the conditions flip the script? The wind is forecast to blow the hardest of the week today. At this hour it’s already pumping out of the southwest between 16 and 20 knots. The Bermuda Weather Service is forecasting it to increase to 20 to 25 knots this afternoon.
The warning signal for Flight 3 of the semis is scheduled for 0930 hours. Be sure to read yesterday’s press release and view yesterday's video highlights for a recap of the action to this point.