Bermuda Gold Cup: New boat, New plan

The oldest match racing trophy for one-design keelboats in the world – King Edward VII Gold Cup – is getting a significant makeover in 2026. The Royal Bermuda Yacht Club will be hosting the Bermuda Gold Cup with a brand new fleet of eight Fareast 28R match racing keelboats.

“Whilst the Bermuda Gold Cup has long been recognized for it’s iconic IOD fleet (International One Design), this year marks an exciting new era for the event,” noted World Match Racing Tour CEO James Pleasance.

The Fareast 28R, designed by Simonis Voogd Yacht Design, is a popular match racing boat raced at several events on the World Match Racing Tour. The new boats are currently undergoing commissioning in Bermuda ahead of October’s event. The Far East 28R’s are also used at the world tour’s Macao and Sweden stages.

“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,” noted Somers Kempe, RBYC Past Commodore and Rear Commodore.

Another shift for 2026 followed the June 2026 announcement to cancel the 2026 Bermuda Women’s Match Race due to insufficient funding. Over the past two years, there had been a dedicated women’s event alongside the Gold Cup, but shifting to a 12-team format for the 2026 edition will ensure that elite women skippers are in Bermuda.

Eleven berths are now confirmed from six countries, with the twelfth and final place reserved for the winner of the Oakcliff International on August 27-30, also an official Grade 2 stage of the World Match Racing Tour. Sweden’s Johnie Berntsson leads the field as the three-time defending champion, and he will be chasing an unprecedented fourth straight Gold Cup after sweeping Great Britain’s Ian Williams 3-0 in last October’s final.

The Gold Cup runs October 13-18 and will be the penultimate stage of the 2026 World Match Racing Tour before the Tour final in Saudi Arabia in November.

Details: https://wmrt.com

Founded in 2000, the World Match Racing Tour 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 the Match Racing World Champion.

Source: WMRT