There were shocks, titanic tussles and some last-match deciders as the Bermuda Gold Cup Match Racing Regatta finalists were decided. The battle for the King Edward VII trophy will feature two champions going head-to-head in Hamilton Harbour, with eight-times world match racing champion Ian Williams/GBR attempting to stop Johnie Berntsson/SWE from winning the regatta for the third straight year and fifth overall.
Berntsson had to fight back after losing the first flight to Eric Monnin, who managed to prevail in the opener despite picking up a penalty, but the ruler of the waves in Bermuda took the next three to be the first of the Gold Cup semi-finalists returning to dock.
With the semi-final victory adding to his air of invincibility in Bermuda, some may make him favourite to beat Williams but Berntsson is not taking his opponent lightly. “As for being favourites, that’s for others to judge,” Berntsson said. “We were beaten in the first race today but we are never unbeatable. But with how the boys are trimming the boat and calling the tactics, I feel we are really strong when we have the opportunities. I try to give them the best chance to let the boat go fast and if we can continue to work well as a team together, Ian will have to be really good to beat us.“
Williams went into his semi-final against the USA’s Chris Poole saying he needed to eliminate the small mistakes to win, yet he managed to make a huge one and still came out on top.
Leading 2-1, Williams was well ahead of Poole but rounded the wrong top mark, causing him to lose the race and take the match to a decider.
“It was a tight semi-final all the way through but we felt we were sailing strong” said Williams. “We were ahead going to the top mark and went around it, but we then saw Chris going to the other mark. At that point, we realised we had missed the signal to change marks, which was incredibly frustrating, especially at this stage of the regatta, but we brushed it off and came back really strong in the last race.“
