Frenchman wins first Gold Cup with defeat of Hansen; Baird takes 3rd over Walker

HAMILTON, Bermuda (Oct. 14, 2007) — Mathieu Richard of France became the third consecutive first-time winner of the King Edward VII Gold Cup today when he defeated Sweden’s Björn Hansen, 2-0.

Richard and his Saba Sailing Team crew of Greg Evrard (mainsail and tactics), Olivier Herledant (headsails) and Yannick Simon (bow and traveler) rolled through the regatta with a 12-2 record and won $35,000 of the $100,000 prize purse.

“I don’t know what to say,” said Richard, 31, of Nantes, France. “We went 3-0 in the quarterfinals and semifinals and 2-0 today. I guess it was our week. Everything worked well onboard. To win such a prestigious event is great for us.”

Bermudians Anfossi and Bulhoes finish second and third

HAMILTON, Bermuda (Oct. 14, 2007) — Denmark's Jes Lyhne Bonde led an international invasion of the Renaissance Reinsurance Junior Gold Cup this week.

Bonde won overall honors with the low score of 37 points in the 13-race, two-discard series. Bonde, who placed fifth overall last year, showed great consistency in a variety of weather conditions, winning two races, placing second three times and scoring nine top-five finishes overall.

Bermudians James Anfossi placed second with 41 points and Brian Bulhoes was third with 45 points.

There were nine sailors from overseas among the 32 entries, and they claimed nine of the top 14 spots overall. Bonde's compatriot Balder Tobiasen finished fourth with 54 points and Sweden's Jesper Gunneling rounded out the top five with 57 points.

"The sailors got the full schedule of races," said Event Chairman Ron Stan. "They saw everything from 5 to 28 knots."