Photos: Gold Cup Round Robin Finalists
Adam Minoprio (NZL) Team Argo Group, the Alpari World Match Racing Tour champion in 2009, came storming out of the Argo Group Gold Cup Qualifier round robin matches.
Unbeaten during the last two days, the New Zealander finished up as top scorer among the eight skippers that have made it to the Quarter Finals, with 8 points to his credit. Minoprio’s only loss came on the first day against Bjorn Hansen (SWE).
As top qualifier out of the round robin matches, Minoprio should have had first choice of opponent in the Quarter Finals, but left the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club before the draw was conducted.
Team Monnin (SUI) protests against Adam Minoprio (NZ) but without success:
That privilege then fell to the next ranking skipper, Taylor Canfield (ISV), Team Chicago Match Race Center competing in his third Gold Cup. He selected David Chapman (AUS), a rookie to Bermuda, as his Quarter Final opponent.
Chapman however, has been the surprise performer in Bermuda. Ranked 91 in the ISAF world standings and seeded 9th in Group 1, the Australian match racer is the only Quarter Final qualifier who was not among the top eight seeds coming into this Gold Cup regatta.
Stefan Lindberg (SWE) guages his approach to Taylor Canfield (USVI):
Staffan Lindberg (FIN) Alandia Sailing Team got the next choice for his Quarter Final opponent and picked Eric Monnin, (SUI) Oklays Corum Sailing Team. Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team, picked to sail against his Swedish nemesis Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Mekonomen Sailing.
Bjorn Hansen (SWE) gains an advantage over Monnin:
That left the top ranked Ian Williams, (GBR) Team GAC Pindar un-chosen, so he matches up with Minoprio by default. This pits the top scoring team from the qualifier round robin stage against the number one match race sailor in the world as ranked by both ISAF and by Alpari World Match Racing Tour points. Not a choice that Minoprio would probably have made.
Stage 7 of the Alpari World Match Racing Tour:
Bermuda’s two entries, national champion Blythe Walker and college student Lance Fraser, were eliminated after the final four Qualifier flights.
They had a respectable chance to move up, but suffered from errors on the windy race course today. Winds of 10-15 came through as predicted and gusts to 20 also rolled down the Hamilton Harbour course.
Taylor Canfield (USVI) on his way to scoring 8-1 in Group 1:
Full listings of the results in each group and the full pairings for the Quarter Final matches that begin at 10:00 Friday can be found at www.argogroupgoldcup.com/.
The Quarter Final matches are knockouts with first to three in each of the matches moving on the Semi Finals on Saturday.
Johnie Berntsson leads Bjorn Hansen around the final windward mark after a topsy turvy match:
Look for good racing again Friday, Bermuda Weather predicts winds north-northeasterly 8 to 12 knots, becoming light and variable by evening… Isolated showers, mostly in the morning, with mainly fair visibility — Another Bermudaful day.
The Quarter Finals, semi-finals and finals, will be shown live online with a scheduled 14:00 local time (ADT/GMT-3) start. The schedule will be available pre-event at www.wmrt.com/live and on www.argogroupgoldcup.com/
- Story photos by Charles Anderson/RBYC, slideshow by John Manderson
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