Sweden's Johnie Berntsson produced a remarkable turnaround at the Bermuda Gold Cup, winning five consecutive matches on Friday, 16th October, to lead the repechage standings and secure his place in the quarter-finals.
The five-time Gold Cup champion, who had lost his opening three races of the regatta, was the only unbeaten skipper on the final day of the repechage, completing an impressive recovery in Hamilton Harbour.
American Chris Poole, France's Pauline Courtois and Switzerland's Eric Monnin also progressed through the second-chance round, completing the eight-strong quarter-final line-up.
Swiss Success – Eric Monnin and the Swiss Match Racing Team secured their place in the Bermuda Gold Cup quarter-finals through the repechage, joining seven other skippers in the knockout stages. Photo: Ian Roman
They join Britain's Christian Hamilton, France's Aurelien Pierroz, Sweden's Oscar Engstrom and Denmark's Jeppe Borch, who qualified directly from the round-robin stages, as Afloat previously reported.
Berntsson Finds His Form After Difficult Start
Berntsson credited the extra time on the water with helping his crew improve their coordination and starting technique, while more predictable wind conditions also helped his unbeaten run.
“Having the third day in the regatta helps, and our momentum is going up,” Berntsson said. “We’re making fewer mistakes, and the team has been growing together, but the conditions today were a little more stable, and the shifts were more predictable, which I think favoured us, and we managed to pull off some good starts.”
He added that the more settled conditions reduced the uncertainty of the opening two days.
“It was not so randomised as the other two days, so we are really happy and ready for some quarters.”
Final Eight – The Bermuda Gold Cup moves into the knockout stages on Hamilton Harbour after Johnie Berntsson's unbeaten repechage performance helped complete the eight-skippers quarter-final line-up. Photo: Ian Roman
Poole Wins Two Crucial Matches
American Chris Poole also faced a difficult task heading into the final two flights, needing victories in both races to keep his Gold Cup challenge alive.
Poole delivered under pressure, defeating Sweden's Martina Carlsson and fellow American Allison Blecher, both of whom were eliminated.
“We knew we had to win some matches and we won our first two, but Pauline got the better of us in race three,” Poole said. “We didn’t have our phones, so we weren’t really keeping tabs on the score, but we just needed to go out, sail well, work on the things we needed to work on, and we knew the rest would come together.”
Courtois Wins Decisive Match Against Östling
Six-time women's match racing world champion Pauline Courtois secured her quarter-final berth with a decisive victory over Sweden's Anna Östling. The two skippers entered their final repechage encounter level on four wins, making the race a winner-takes-all contest for progression.
Courtois prevailed to become the only female skipper among the eight quarter-finalists, advancing with her Match in Pink crew.
“It was very close, like every time with Anna,” Courtois said. “I think we can still improve our technique level, but we were happy with our sailing today.”
Switzerland's Eric Monnin also advanced through the repechage to reach the quarter-final field.
The competition now moves into the knockout stages, with the eight remaining skippers competing for places in the Bermuda Gold Cup semi-finals.
