Please select your home edition
Edition
Savvy Navvy 2024

Defending Bermuda Gold Cup champion leads race to Quarter Finals

by World Match Racing Tour 31 Oct 09:57 UTC 29 October - 3 November 2024
Bermuda Gold Cup, Day 2. Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, Hamilton, Bermuda. October 30 © Ian Roman / WMRT

Sweden's Johnie Berntsson, 2023 defending champion of the Bermuda Gold Cup and three-time winner of the event, completed the round robin stage of this year's Bermuda Gold Cup event with six wins out of seven races, leading the line-up of international entries into today's Quarter-finals stage.

The eight teams competing set out yesterday afternoon to complete the final flights of the round-robin stage which will seed the skippers into the next Quarter-final stage. Finishing the round robin stage ahead was Sweden's Johnie Berntsson followed by USA's Chris Poole in second, and Australia's Cole Tapper in third.

2023 Gold Cup champion Berntsson and crew have been the team to beat at this year's 72nd edition of the event, only losing one of their round robin matches to USA's Gavin Brady.

In one of the closest matches of the day, Bermuda's Kelsey Durham came very close to pulling off a major upset as he led Berntsson on the final run of their match to the finish line but was just unable to hold off his Swedish rival.

"It's just our lack of match racing in the last four years that we haven't done while these guys are doing it all the time." Durham told Bermuda's Royal Gazette in an earlier interview.

Durham seized the early advantage after Berntsson was tagged with a double penalty. The lead then swapped hands before the defending champion surged ahead. Durham battled on but was stopped dead in his tracks after losing his spinnaker at the finish line.

Durham was later forced to make a crew change in the final race of the day after trimmer Nico Stefani was injured during the mishap.

Australia's Cole Tapper, competing in his first ever Bermuda Gold Cup, posted an impressive four wins in the round robin finishing the stage in third place after breaking a three-way tie against USA's Gavin Brady and Switzerland's Eric Monnin.

"On the first day we definitely had boat handing and starting issues but we have improved on those, and we know we are not slow" commented Tapper at the post-race press conference.

Racing continues today with the start of the Quarter final stage.

See full results here

Overall results after Round Robin stage:

    1. Johnie Berntsson (SWE). 6-1
    2. Chris Poole (USA). 5-2
    3. Cole Tapper (AUS). 4-3
    4. Eric Monnin (SUI). 4-3
    5. Gavin Brady (USA). 4-3
    6. Nick Egnot-Johnson (NZL). 2-5
    7. David Hood (USA) 2-5
    8. Kelsey Durham (BER) 1-6

Visit the Bermuda Gold Cup and World Match Racing Tour websites for more information.

Related Articles

How navigation tech is protecting our seabeds
Seagrass meadows store 10% of the ocean's carbon Just under two years into partnering together and more responsible sailing and seagrass conservation has been put on the map by Clean Sailors, the Ocean Conservation Trust (OCT) and Savvy Navvy. Posted on 21 Nov
ASMFC to meet on 2025 Striped Bass Management
The meeting is in response to the 2024 Stock Assessment Update The Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) will meet on December 16th to consider changes to the 2025 management measures to meet the stock's rebuilding targets. Posted on 19 Nov
Fishing: 11th Hour Muskies
Stalk the biggest muskies of the year Take advantage of the gap between fall and ice fishing season to stalk the biggest muskies of the year. Posted on 19 Nov
Marine Auctions: November Online Auction
Bidding to Open on Friday 22 November and Close on Thursday, 28 November 2024 at 2pm AEST Bidding to Open on Friday 22 November and Close on Thursday, 28 November 2024 at 2pm AEST. Posted on 19 Nov
Fishing: Win Randy Howell's Boat
Randy Howell is once again doing his part to support King's Home With the 2024 bass tournament season now complete, noted pro bass angler Randy Howell is once again doing his part to support King's Home. Posted on 18 Nov
Fifteen years of searching for smalltooth sawfish
NOAA Fisheries scientists have been studying smalltooth sawfish in South Florida since 2009 NOAA Fisheries scientists have traveled to South Florida multiple times a year for 15 years to study smalltooth sawfish. Posted on 17 Nov
Top 10 baits from Toyota Series Championship
The jighead minnow accounted for yet another big win While the infamous jighead minnow proved to be the winning lure for rising star Hayden Marbut at the Toyota Series Championship Presented by Bass Boat Technologies, it was far from the only way to catch bass on Wheeler Lake. Posted on 13 Nov
Contender Boats rolling in new features for 2025
Get ready to fish harder with new innovations on all 2025 Contender models Get ready to fish harder with new innovations on all 2025 Contender models. These exciting updates are geared towards improving functionality, reliability, and overall experience for Contender Boats' 2025 models. Posted on 13 Nov
Nauticstar More Bay Boat coming soon
Big enough to explore, sized to go anywhere Need a bigger bay boat that can still get into the narrows and shallows? Want a larger deck without giving up maneuverability? Posted on 12 Nov
Advanced Weather Integration for Safer Boating
Savvy Navvy's integration of Meteomatics allows boaters to see precise wind speeds and directions Meteomatics, the global leader in weather intelligence, looks at how their data integration supports digital navigation for boaters. Posted on 12 Nov
Savvy Navvy 2024Maritimo 2023 S-Series FOOTER