King Edward VII Gold Cup

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Gold Cup holds formal opening reception after sailors practice

By Talbot Wilson

HAMILTON BERMUDA, October 7, 2008: Racing in the King Edward VII Gold Cup presented by Argo Group gets under way on a breezy morning on Hamilton Harbour today. All twenty-four teams entered in the 2008 King Edward VII Gold Cup got in their two hours of practice Monday, met for a briefing at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, then headed off for the Opening Reception at Bacardi International just up the harbour.

Sailors were welcomed at the reception by the Managing Director of Bacardi, Michael Brennen, the RBYC Commodore Ralph Richardson, Mark E. Watson chairman and CEO of Argo Group, and Bermuda’s Deputy Governor Mark Capes.

Watson welcomed the sailors and reiterated his comments from earlier last week, “This is the 101st Gold Cup held in Bermuda. As the event enters its second century, it’s imbued with history, tradition and a reputation for excellence that has literally been burnished in over 100 years of competition. Continuing to host a prestigious event like this in Bermuda reinforces the Island’s reputation as one of the best sailing destinations in the world.

by Talbot Wilson

HAMILTON BERMUDA, October 3, 2008- The three groupings for Stage 1 of the 2008 King Edward VII Gold Cup presented by Argo Group were announced Friday. Mathieu Richard (FRA) standing first in the ISAF Match Racing rankings and third in the World Match Racing Tour tops Group 1. Ian Williams (GBR), second on the ISAF list and first on the Tour, heads up Group 2. Last week’s winner of the Troia Portugal Match Cup, Sebastian Col (FRA), ranked seventh by ISAF but holding second on the Tour, tops Group 3. Group details are available at http://www.bermudagoldcup.com/ under Skippers.

Racing on Bermuda’s Hamilton Harbour starts on Tuesday October 7. The first stage will see round robin competition within the three groups. Round robin Flights 1-3 will sail Tuesday, round robin Flights 4-6 are scheduled for Wednesday and the final flight is Thursday morning.

The top two teams from each group move on to the Quarter finals and the third and fourth place finishers in each group sail off in a “repecharge” round robin on Thursday afternoon for their second chance to win one of the last two Quarter final slots. Following the Quarter finals on Friday, winners move into the semi finals on Saturday and the top two go to the finals on Sunday. There is a $100,000 prize purse with $50,000 going to the winner, $20,000 for second and $10,000 for third. Fourth through eighth divide the remainder.

by Talbot Wilson

HAMILTON BERMUDA, September 2- Get ready for some the world’s best match race sailing October 7-12 on Bermuda’s Hamilton Harbour in the King Edward VII Gold Cup presented by Argo Group. Frenchman Mathieu Richard will be back in Bermuda in just over a month to defend his title in the 101st year of sailing for the spectacular golden trophy. In 2007, Richard defeated Bjorn Hansen of Sweden 2-0 in the finals to take the gold. Hansen will also return hoping to unseat the reigning champion. Great Britain’s Ian Williams, winner of the 2006 Gold Cup, will be on hand sailing hard to regain his championship form in the Bermuda classic.

The top match race sailors in the world will be on the line in Bermuda for the annual event organized by the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club. Mathieu Richard is currently ranked first in the ISAF ‘Open” Match Race rankings, Williams is second, Paolo Cian of Italy is ranked third and Hansen, who was ranked fourth when the invitations went out in the spring, is now ranked sixth. The same skippers were the top four in the 2007 World Match Race Tour, but with Williams first and Richard second. Eleven of the twenty-four competitors are in the ISAF top twenty. Ian Williams and his team just scored a 3-0 victory at the conclusion of the Danish Open to win that World Match Race Tour event.

As the penultimate event on the Tour, teams will be looking to gather as many Tour points as possible to carry forward to the Monsoon Cup in Malaysia. Bermuda will be the place where the psychological games intensify.

This year’s event also welcomes Ben Ainslie of Team Origin fresh from his Olympic success in Beijing. Eric Monnin returns to Bermuda for his fifth consecutive Gold Cup, along with Bermuda’s threat for the gold, Blythe Walker.

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