Argo Group Gold Cup Stage One Unveiled
[Written by Talbot Wilson]
Argo Group Gold Cup Sailing Instructions have been posted on the event website and with them the all important 10-team Groups for the qualifying Round Robin have been set.
Taylor Canfield [ISV] USone, the reigning champion and #1 in the ISAF Open Rankings leads Group 1. Ian Williams [GBR] Team GAC Pindar, #2 by ISAF, current leader on the Alpari World Match Racing Tour heads up Group 2. Both are past King Edward VII Gold Cup winners.
The unranked ‘wildcard’ Sir Ben Ainslie [GBR] Ben Ainslie Racing Team [BART], sponsored by Argo Group— a two-time winner of the Gold Cup, five time Olympic medalist and 2013 America’s Cup winner— fell into Group 2 with countryman Williams. Mathieu Richard [FRA] GEFCO Match Racing Team, another previous Gold Cup winner, also landed in Group 2.
Ben Ainslie leading Ian Williams in the 2010 ARGO Group Gold Cup:
Adam Minoprio [NZL] Team Alpari FX is seeded second in Group 1. He is ranked 33 by ISAF because he has been relatively inactive in match racing outside of the Tour events and hasn’t accumulated points. Minoprio is tied with Canfield in the number 2 spot on the Tour. He was knocked out in the 2012 Quarter Finals by Williams.
Also in Group 1 is Johnie Berntsson [SWE] Stena Sailing Team. He was the 2008 Gold Cup winner and was beaten by Canfield in the 2012 finals. Berntsson likes the IODs and will be looking for his first win on the Tour this year.
Stage 1 for the Gold Cup is the Qualifying Round-Robin. Each team will race each of the other teams in its group once. The top four from each group move up to the Quarter Final Series. The Quarter Finals are a ‘first to three points’ knock out series.
The winners in the Quarters move on to the Semi Finals. They are also ‘first to three points’ knock outs. The Quarter and Semi Finals are scheduled for Friday and Saturday. The ‘first to two points’ Petite Finals and ‘first to three points’ Finals are scheduled for Sunday.
Bruni leading Richard in the 2011 Argo Group Gold Cup at the Royal Bermuda Yacht club in Hamilton, Bermuda:
GROUP 1
| SKIPPER | TEAM | COUNTRY |
| Taylor Canfield | USone | ISV |
| Adam Minoprio | Team Alpari FX | NZL |
| Keith Swinton | Black Swan Racing | AUS |
| Johnie Berntsson | Stena Sailing Team | SWE |
| Francesco Bruni | Luan Rossa | ITA |
| Simone Ferrarese | Ferrarese Racing Team | ITA |
| Eric Monnin | Swiss Match Race Team | SUI |
| Marek Stanczyk | POL | |
| Christopher Poole | Riptide Racing | USA |
| Lance Fraser | Digicel Business | BER |
GROUP 2
| SKIPPER | TEAM | COUNTRY |
| Ian Williams | Team GAC Pindar | GBR |
| Bjorn Hansen | eWork Sailing Team | SWE |
| Phil Robertson | WAKA Racing | NZL |
| Mathieu Richard | GEFCO Match Racinag Team | FRA |
| Pierre-Antoine Morvan | Vannes Agglo Sailing Team | FRA |
| Ben Ainslie | Ben Ainslie Racing Team | GBR |
| William TIller | Full Metal Jacket | NZL |
| Nicolai Sebested | TREFOR | DEN |
| Chris Steele | 36 Below Racing | NZL |
| Joshua Greenslade | RBYC Sailing Academy | BER |
Bermuda Weather Service forecast calls for windy conditions early in the week. A frontal passage later on Thursday will bring northerly winds to Bermuda.
Tuesday – Winds southeasterly 16 to 22 knots… Scattered showers with a risk of thunder and fair to poor visibility…
Wednesday – Winds south-southeasterly 12 to 18 knots, with strong gusts in showers, veering south-southwesterly 10 to 15 knots later…
Thursday – Winds southwesterly 10 to 15 knots, veering northwesterly 8 to 12 knots later…
Previews and daily videos will be posted on the Argo Group Gold Cup Website at and on the Tour site.
Ian Williams [GBR] and Adam Minoprio [NZ] at the the start of one of their matches:
The Renaissance Re Jr Gold Cup is scheduled for Oct 10 – 12 in Bermuda’s Great Sound and concludes on the Hamilton Harbour Gold Cup course Sunday, Oct 13. With 13 international champions and entries from 17 countries overall, the world’s best will compete in a regatta that includes some 40 Bermudians ranging in age from nine to 15. For more on the Jr Gold Cup, please visit renrejrgoldcup.com.
