Williams and Ainslie tied in Argo Group Gold Cup Qualifying
Published on October 8th, 2013
Hamilton, Bermuda (October 8, 2013) – In Argo Group Gold Cup action Tuesday, Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar, Alpari World Match Racing Tour champion and current leader on the Tour, has had a top day in Group 2 racing. He stands undefeated at 4-0. Ben Ainslie (GBR), fresh from the super fast, high flying Oracle AC72, is locked at the top with his countryman at 4-0 as well. They will meet Wednesday on the course.
From the first race of the first flight in Argo Group Gold Cup, penalty flags flew fast and furious. The biggest penalty was on Bermuda’s Lance Fraser (BER) Digicel Business Match Racing in his first race. He fouled Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racing after rounding the weather mark, got a yellow flag, a red flag and another yellow before getting a DSQ black flag for not taking his penalty turn promptly. That was a tough end to his first race.
The 2013 Argo Group Gold Cup is a minefield of talent: The top 11 ISAF Match Race sailors plus Sir Ben Ainslie (GBR) BART, Adam Minoprio (NZL) Team Alpari FX, and Francesco Bruni (ITA) Luna Rossa who are outside of that group, have the talent and past history to be ranked near the top. Both groups are filled with past Gold Cup winners and lots of young talent. Every win in Bermuda has and will be tough.
In Stage 1 there are 11 four-race flights per group and one more one-race flight for each group. That’s a lot of opportunity to win or loose. Only the top four in each group move on to the Quarter Finals.
To say any one team is winning in either group would be a guess at this point since the round robin isn’t half finished. But some teams are doing better than others.
In Group, 1, Adam Minoprio has 3 wins, Bruni and Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Stena Sailing Team are on 2 wins and no losses, but have sailed one less race because of a bye and boat damage for Berntsson, and a bye plus a boat damage problem for Bruni. The match they missed was to be against each other. That is coming up later. Simone Farrarese (ITL) Ferrarese Racing Team has 2-1. Defending champion Taylor Canfield (ISV) USone has a 2-2 record.
Group 2 started racing later than expected because of repairs to boats damaged in the heavy morning squalls. They got five full flights in on Tuesday while the first group only got in three and a half flights. Group 1 had been delayed earlier because of damage and a torrential downpour and high winds from a passing squall. For racing, winds were 15-18 out of the South Southeast with higher gusts here and there.
Racing begins again at 9:00 ADT Wednesday with racing in Group 2. Group 1 races in the afternoon. The Round-Robin concludes Thursday morning if racing goes as planned.
Wednesday – Winds southeasterly 10 to 15 knots, veering southerly 8 to 12 knots in evening…
Thursday – Winds south-southwesterly 8 to 12 knots, veering southwesterly 5 to 10 knots later…
Friday – Winds southwesterly 5 to 10 knots…
Saturday – Winds southwesterly 5 to 10 knots, becoming variable 5 knots later
Video highlights available during this years Argo Group Gold Cup
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Visit Bermuda for the Argo Group Gold Cup
October is a perfect month to vacation in Bermuda and the Argo Group Gold Cup is a showcase event culminating in the finals weekend October 12th-13th. Special rates for Gold Cup week are available at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess Hotel. http://www.fairmont.com/hamilton-bermuda/
This year will mark the 63rd staging of the King Edward VII Gold Cup, with previous winners including some of the greatest names ever to match race. Since the event was reformatted to be an event under the Match Racing Association in 1985, multiple winners include Chris Dickson (NZL), Russell Coutts (NZL), Peter Gilmour (AUS), and Ben Ainslie (GBR).
The 2013 Argo Group Gold Cup runs from October 8th with Finals scheduled for October 13th. Spectator friendly racing is held in Hamilton Harbour, adjacent to the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club Marina, a spectacular attraction for tourists and Bermuda residents alike.
The Argo Group Gold Cup is the penultimate fifth stage of the Alpari World Match Racing Tour, in which the teams compete for the ISAF Match Racing World Championship. Match racing for The King Edward VII Gold Cup is recognized as one of the classic heritage events on the Alpari World Match Racing Tour.
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The Alpari World Match Racing Tour awards over US$1.72million in prize money with points awarded at each event culminating in the crowning of the “ISAF Match Racing World Champion”. The prize fund includes a US$500,000 overall Tour Bonus for the top teams in the Championship.
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2013 Alpari World Match Racing Tour Calendar:
Stage 1: May 15 – 20 – Match Race Germany, Langenargen, Germany
Stage 2: May 28 – June 2 – Korea Match Cup, Gyeonggi, South Korea
Stage 3: July 1 – 6 – Stena Match Cup Sweden, Marstrand, Sweden
Stage 4: August 6 – 11 – Chicago Match Cup, Chicago, USA
Stage 5: Oct 7 – 13 – Argo Group Gold Cup, Hamilton, Bermuda
Stage 6: Dec 2 – 7 – Monsoon Cup, K.Terengganu, Malaysia
2013 Tour Card Holders:
Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Stena Sailing Team
Taylor Canfield (ISV) USone
Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Hansen Sailing Team
Adam Minoprio (NZL) Team Alpari FX
Pierre-Antoine Morvan (FRA) Vannes Agglo Sailing Team
Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing
Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racing
Ian Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar
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