Bermuda line-up for match racing tour

The best match racing sailors will at the 73rd Bermuda Gold Cup on October 21-26, the penultimate event of the 2025 World Match Racing Tour championship season. The top-five ranked sailors in the world will be among the eight skippers competing in IODs for the prestige King Edward VII Gold Cup, the oldest match racing trophy, on Hamilton Harbour, Bermuda.

Sweden’s Johnie Berntsson, the world no.3, may be behind American Chris Poole and Eric Monnin, from Switzerland, in the match racing rankings but he bows to nobody in Bermuda. In 2024, the Swedish skipper won the event for the second year in a row, and for the fourth time overall, after beating Monnin 2-1.

“Bermuda is always one of our favorite events on the World Match Racing Tour and for us it’s one of the greatest places on the planet to race in,” Berntsson said. “We’ve made many friends over the years and love the hospitality culture that seems to reside in the genes of all Bermudians.

“I am fortunate to race with three great sailors in Bjirn Lundgren, Herman Andersson, and Oscar Angervall who get the best out of the boat and me. We love the venue and that helps a lot but it’s never an easy task to win or defend the King Edward VII Gold Cup.”

World No 1 Chris Poole will be looking to add the Bermuda Gold Cup to his glittering match racing CV but with a stacked field including eight-time Open Match Racing World Champion Ian Williams (GBR), former world racing match champion Nick Egnot-Johnson (NZL), French skippers Ian Garreta and Timothée Rossi, and Canadian Peter Wickwire, a multiple winner of the Vrengen Gold Cup at Bermuda International Raceweek, Poole to have to be at his very best if he is to the trophy on the final day.

Alongside the Gold Cup, the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club will also host the Aspen Bermuda Women Match Racing Regatta. This will be the final event on the 2025 Women’s World Match Racing Tour and comes after the Women’s Match Racing World Championships, which will be held September 17-20 in Chicago, IL.

That should set the stage for an exciting conclusion to the 2025 Women’s Tour with the top three skippers in the 2025 standings confirmed for the Bermuda event.

Anna Östling and her Wings Sailing team top the women’s tour leaderboard with two regattas to go but with the 2024 Women’s World Match Racing Tour champion Pauline Courtois, from France, hot on her stern and American Nicole Breault still in contention, the storied Swedish team will need all of their skills to secure tour victory.

“This is one event we have not won yet, but we love the boats and the shifty conditions, so we are up for the task and aiming to perform to our highest level this year,” said Östling. “We are usually very good in bigger boats, so I know we have the capability to end on top of the podium.”

2025 Bermuda Gold Cup entries
Chris Poole, Riptide Racing (World ranking 1)
Eric Monnin, Capvis Swiss Match Racing (World ranking 2)
Johnie Berntsson, Berntsson Sailing Team (World ranking 3)
Ian Williams, Pindar by Manuport Logistics (World ranking No.10)
Nick Egnot-Johnson, Knots Racing (World ranking 7)
Ian Garreta, Med Racing (World ranking 4)
Timothe Rossi, Sudistes Sailing Team (World ranking 5)
Peter Wickwire, Storm Racing (World ranking 9)

2025 ASPEN Bermuda Women Match Race Regatta entries
Anna Estling, Wings Sailing
Pauline Courtois, Match in Pink
Nicole Breault, Vela Racing
Julia Aartsen, Team Out of the Box
Kristine Mauritzen, Those Seagulls
Lea Vogelius, Team Katnakken
Martina Carlsson, Beyond Racing Team
Lindsey Baab, Baab Racing

Tour information – Race details – Event details

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.