Berntsson claims 2024 Bermuda Gold Cup

Sweden’s Johnie Berntsson and his Berntsson Sailing Team of Herman Andersson, Oscar Angervall, and Björn Lundgren won their fourth Bermuda Gold Cup on October 29-November 3 in Hamilton, Bermuda. As the penultimate event of the 2024 World Match Racing Tour, Berntsson successfully defending his 2023 title by defeating Switzerland’s Eric Monnin 2-1 in the final match on Hamilton Harbor.

In what turned out to be a thrilling final series, Berntsson took the first win off Monnin before Monnin tied the score 1-1. The winning moment in the first-to-two-point final came down to the last 20 meters of the third race, with Berntsson holding a slim lead while carrying a penalty. In a decisive move, Berntsson successfully forced a penalty on Monnin, clearing all penalties and crossing the finish line first to secure the title.

“It was such close racing, and we knew Eric and his team would be strong in the light wind, so we needed to perform our best,” commented Berntsson. “It really came down to the last 20 meters; it was very close racing, and they gave us a good push, but we are delighted with the win!”

The final day was marked by light and challenging conditions for sailors and race organizers. Starting with a postponement on land to wait for the wind to build, once on the water, there were several race abandonments as the wind direction settled.

First to race was the petit-finals with New Zealand’s Egnot-Johnson/ Knots Racing against Chris Poole’s Riptide Racing. In the first-to-one match due to the light conditions, Poole held a penalty around the course as Egnot-Johnson crossed the finish line ahead to secure their overall third-place podium finish.

“Last year we ended up seventh and this year we ended up third so we are really happy with that result for sure,” Egnot-Johnson said.

Racing IODs, the 2024 Bermuda Gold Cup saw eight of the world’s top match racing teams worldwide compete for the King Edward VII Gold Cup Trophy and a prize purse of USD 75,000 under demanding and varied conditions.

As the penultimate event on the 2024 World Match Racing Tour season, the tour now moves to Shenzhen, China for the season finale on December 10-15.

Tour information – Event details – Results – Photos

Founded in 2000, the World Match Racing Tour (WMRT) promotes the sport of match racing around the world and is the longest running global professional series in the sport of sailing. The winner of the WMRT each year is crowned World Sailing Match Racing World Champion.

Previous champions include Sir Ben Ainslie (GBR), Taylor Canfield (USA), Peter Gilmour (AUS), Magnus Holmberg (SWE), Peter Holmberg (ISV), Adam Minoprio (NZL), Torvar Mirsky (AUS), Bertrand Pace (FRA), Jesper Radich (DEN), Phil Robertson (NZL), and Ian Williams (GBR).

Since inception, the World Match Racing Tour and its events have awarded over USD23million in prize money to sailors which has helped to contribute to the career pathway of many of today’s professional sailors.

Source: WMRT