Three-time defending champion Johnie Berntsson will return to Hamilton Harbour in October seeking an unprecedented fourth consecutive Bermuda Gold Cup as the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club confirms an expanded 12-skipper field for the 2026 event.
The October 13-18 regatta will be the penultimate stage of the 2026 World Match Racing Tour before the Tour final in Saudi Arabia in November, with leading men’s and women’s match racers competing together in the same field.
Eleven of the 12 invitations have been confirmed, with the final berth reserved for the winner of the Oakcliff International, which runs from August 27-30 as a Grade 2 World Match Racing Tour event.
Berntsson, ranked third in the World Sailing Open rankings, heads the entry after defeating Britain’s Ian Williams 3-0 in last year’s Gold Cup final. The victory gave the Swedish skipper a third consecutive Gold Cup and fifth overall, putting him second only to Sir Russell Coutts, who has seven victories.
World number one Chris Poole of the United States and Switzerland’s Eric Monnin, ranked fourth, will also return after both finishing inside the top four in Bermuda in 2025.
Leading Women Join Expanded Open Field
Four of the leading skippers from women’s match racing are included in the combined fleet.
Sweden’s Anna Östling, the defending Aspen Bermuda Women’s champion and number two in the World Sailing women’s rankings, is joined by world women’s number one Pauline Courtois of France.
Double Defence – Swedish skippers Johnie Berntsson and Anna Östling celebrate with their respective crews and the King Edward VII Gold Cup after their 2025 victories in Bermuda. Photo: Ian Roman
Sweden’s Martina Carlsson and American Allie Blecher complete the four-strong women’s contingent.
The confirmed field also includes Britain’s Christian Hamilton, Sweden’s Oscar Engström, France’s Aurélien Pierroz and Denmark’s Jeppe Borch.
Confirmed 2026 Bermuda Gold Cup Skippers
- Johnie Berntsson (SWE) — World Sailing Open #3
- Chris Poole (USA) — Open #1
- Eric Monnin (SUI) — Open #4
- Christian Hamilton (GBR) — Open #5
- Oscar Engström (SWE) — Open #6
- Aurélien Pierroz (FRA) — Open #9
- Jeppe Borch (DEN) — Open #13
- Anna Östling (SWE) — Open #70 / Women’s #2
- Pauline Courtois (FRA) — Open #19 / Women’s #1
- Martina Carlsson (SWE) — Open #53 / Women’s #5
- Allie Blecher (USA) — Open #344 / Women’s #9
- Winner of the 2026 Oakcliff International
Rankings as of July 1, 2026.
New Fareast 28R Fleet for Hamilton Harbour
The 2026 edition will also mark a significant change of equipment, with the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club taking delivery of eight new Fareast 28R keelboats.
The Simonis Voogd-designed boats will replace the International One Design yachts traditionally associated with the Gold Cup and are currently being commissioned in Bermuda.
Fareast 28Rs are already used at World Match Racing Tour events, including the Macao and Match Cup Sweden stages, making them familiar to many competing teams.
“The RBYC is very happy to invest in the future of the Gold Cup with the purchase of a fleet of boats that are widely accepted upon the WMRT,” RBYC Past Commodore and Rear Commodore for International Sailing Events Somers Kempe said. “The Club is looking forward to the boats also supporting an expansion of sailing initiatives at the Club for our Members, and hosting new events bringing visitors to the island to experience Bermudian hospitality and pristine sailing conditions.”
World Match Racing Tour CEO James Pleasance said the change represented a new era for one of match racing’s longest-established events.
“Whilst the Bermuda Gold Cup has long been recognised for its iconic IOD fleet, this year marks an exciting new era for the event with the brand new Far East 28 fleet recently delivered to the club,” Pleasance said. “The Far East 28Rs are also used at the world tour’s Macao and Sweden stages so the boats are already well known to most of the teams, and we look forward to seeing the new fleet in action in Hamilton Harbour in October.”
The Bermuda Gold Cup is raced for the King Edward VII Gold Cup, regarded as the oldest match racing trophy for one-design keelboats.
The Royal Bermuda Yacht Club has confirmed RenaissanceRe, the Bermuda Tourism Authority and Howden as sponsors and partners of the 2026 event.
