BERNTSSON BATTLES TO THE TOP AFTER FLAWLESS DAY AT BERMUDA GOLD CUP
(Hamilton, Bermuda, 22 October 2025) Defending champion Johnie Berntsson from Sweden got the better of a penalty-packed race against USA’s Chris Poole on his way to a flawless second day at the 2025 Bermuda Gold Cup, penultimate stage of the 2025 World Match Racing Tour. Berntsson now shares the lead with Switzerland’s Eric Monnin with six skippers within a point of each other. In the Aspen Bermuda Women’s Match Racing Regatta, it is shaping up to be another epic battle between Sweden’s Anna Östling and defending champion Pauline Courtois from France, who bounced back from a disappointing opening day by winning all three races.
Defending champion Johnie Berntsson soared to the top of the 2025 Bermuda Gold Cup leaderboard after a flawless day in Hamilton Harbour. After a disappointing opening day, in which he won just one race, Berntsson won all four of his races on day two to head the standings alongside Swiss skipper Eric Monnin. Berntsson picked up wins against Ian Garreta/FRA, former match racing world champion Nick Egnot-Johnson/NZL and Great Britain’s Ian Williams, but it was his victory against USA’s Chris Poole that caught the eye with both sailors picking up penalties in a race packed with incident.
After penalties were handed out at the start, Berntsson was delighted to have come out on top of a fierce battle. “It was two penalties each and good, fun racing,” Berntsson said. “In the dial-up at the pre-start, he [Poole] hit our stern and got a penalty. After that he got an overtake, which we thought he might have been given a red flag, but then we got a penalty and one we didn’t agree with the umpire about. We gained after the start, passed him and they came back at the second upwind mark and locked us up. Then we overtook him, did a gybe and he got a penalty.”
From being one of the back markers at the start of the day, Berntsson has passed almost the entire field in the space of four flights. “We saw that the conditions were the same as the other day and we really fought hard at the start today to give our opponents some penalties,” he added.
After just two days, it’s already tight at the top with six sailors within a win of each other at the halfway stage of the double round robin stage. Garetta is one of four sailors alongside Ian Williams, Peter Wickwire and Chris Poole with four wins and he claimed the scalp of 2025 Congressional Cup winner Monnin in his final race of the day. “Eric is always strong in these boats and these conditions,” added Garetta. “We started well, won the start and he picked up a penalty. He got back in front but we made a good choice of the downwind gate and managed to pass him again.”
The French skipper has picked up a couple of wins on each day of racing to be in the mix with far more experienced sailors and he is happy with how things are progressing, “If the percentage is 50-50 or above then it’s a good day for us. I may be one win behind the leaders but there are a lot of us there, so nothing is decided yet.”
In the Aspen Bermuda Women’s Match Race, two familiar foes are facing each other at the top of the leaderboard with Sweden’s Anna Östling and France’s Pauline Courtois looking down on their rivals. Östling was a perfect three from three on the second day, with her dramatic run of victories started by a remarkable comeback win over USA’s Nicole Breault.
The US sailor carved out a handsome lead over the Swedish skipper but her failure to capitalise on a dramatic wind shift allowed Östling to reverse her fortunes and produce the unlikeliest of wins. “Last night I was trying to visualise the starts and improving them but we came out in the first race and made a terrible start against Nicole,” Östling said. “But we never give up and that is one of the things we are good at.”
Östling took her regatta record to 6-1, with her only defeat coming on day one against Courtois, who beat her in the final last year. “This week we feel like we are coming on strong, but Pauline is so good.” she said. “I do think, though, that we can be very dangerous this week.” Defending champion Courtois bounced back from a disappointing first day to win all three of her races and take her record to 5-2, but she is still searching for better. “We really need to improve our speed in these boats,” said Courtois. “And we know how to win.”
While nobody would bet against Östling and Courtois progressing to the semi-finals from this position, the remaining spots in the final four appear to be up for grabs.Julia Aartsen, Lea Vogelius and Breault are all on four points, with Denmark’s Kristine Mauritzen on three wins and USA’s Lindsey Baab on two wins, with seven races still to go in the qualifying round.
The Bermuda Gold Cup and Aspen Bermuda Women’s Match Race runs through to Sunday 26 October. Follow live results at https://wmrt.com/live-results/ and for the Aspen Bermuda Women’s Match Race at https://womenswmrt.com/live-results/
2025 Bermuda Gold Cup Entries:
🇺🇸 Chris Poole, Riptide Racing (World ranking #1)
🇨🇭 Eric Monnin, Capvis Swiss Match Racing (World ranking #2)
🇸🇪 Johnie Berntsson, Berntsson Sailing Team (World ranking #3)
🇬🇧 Ian Williams, Pindar by Manuport Logistics (World ranking #10)
🇳🇿 Nick Egnot-Johnson, Knots Racing (World ranking #7)
🇫🇷 Ian Garreta, Med Racing (World ranking #4)
🇫🇷 Timotheë Rossi, Sudistes Sailing Team (World ranking #5)
🇨🇦 Peter Wickwire, Storm Racing (World ranking #9)
2025 ASPEN Bermuda Women’s Match Race Regatta Entries:
🇸🇪 Anna Östling, SWE – WINGS – SWE
(Crew Anna Holmdahl, Elisabeth Nilsson, Annika Carlunger, Linnea Wennergern)
🇫🇷 Pauline Courtois, FRA – Match in Pink by Normandy Elite Team
(Crew Maelenn Lemaitre, Louise Acker, Laurane Mettraux, Claire Pruvot)
🇺🇸 Nicole Breault, USA – Vela Racing
(Crew Molly Vandemoer, Maggie Bacon, Dana Riley Hayes, Hailey Thompson)
🇳🇱 Julia Aartsen, NED – Team Out of the Box
(Crew Iris Van Gerrevink, Ismene Usman, Eva Asbeck Brusse, Floortje Hoogstede)
🇩🇰 Kristine Mauritzen, DEN – Those Seagulls
(Crew Julia Toroi, Christina Andersen, Sophia Jorgensen, Sofie Slotsgaard)
🇩🇰 Lea Vogelius, DEN – WOW Racing
(Crew Joan Hansen, Sille Christensen, Josefine Boel, Louise Ulrikkeholm)
🇸🇪 Martina Carlsson, SWE – Beyond Racing Team
(Crew Svea Sahlin, Amanda Ljunggren, Hanna Gaskell-Brown, Hedvig Medstrom)
🇺🇸 Lindsey Baab, USA – Baab Racing
(Crew Kate Shiber, Elena Vandenberg, Sally Mace, Julie Mitchell)
ABOUT BERMUDA GOLD CUP
The Bermuda Gold Cup, a World Championship event of the World Match Racing Tour, is one of the world’s most storied match race regattas. The trophy, the King Edward VII Gold Cup, was first awarded by King Edward VII at the 1907 Tri-Centenary Regatta in Virginia. First raced as a match race regatta in1937, the King Edward VII Gold Cup is the oldest match racing trophy in the world for competition in one-design yachts and is the only King’s Cup ever to be offered for competition in the United States, which could be won outright. The winner’s list includes the most prominent names in international sailing, including America’s Cup winners Sir Russell Coutts (the event’s all-time winner with seven championships) of New Zealand and James Spithill of Australia, as well as luminaries such as Sir Ben Ainslie(Great Britain), Taylor Canfield (USA), Chris Dickson (New Zealand), Peter Gilmour (Australia) and Ian Williams (Great Britain). www.bermudagoldcup.com
For More Information
Nicole Butterworth, Royal Bermuda Yacht Club Sailing Office, sailing@rbyc.bm
James Pleasance, World Match Racing Tour, info@wmrt.com
Visit the Bermuda Gold Cup and Women’s World Match Racing Tour websites for more information.
For live results, follow https://womenswmrt.com/live-results/
For enquiries, contact info@wmrt.com
For more updates and information on the Women’s World Match Racing Tour and event documents, visit womenswmrt.com and follow us on social media at Facebook (@womenswmrt), Instagram(@womenswmrt) and X (Twitter) (@womenswmrt)
Women’s World Match Racing Tour 2025 Schedule:
Stage 1 Casa Vela Cup, San Francisco USA, 28-31 May
Stage 2 Santa Maria Cup, Annapolis USA, 4-7 June
Stage 4. Nordea Women’s Trophy – Match Cup Sweden, Marstrand, 30 June – 5 July
Stage 5. Women’s Match Racing World Championship, Chicago, 17-20 September
Stage 6. Bermuda Women’s Match Race, Bermuda, 21-26 October
*Dates listed race days only
About Women’s World Match Racing Tour
The Women’s World Match Racing Tour was launched in 2022 to continue the hugely successful legacy of the WIM Series (Women’s International Match Racing Series) providing a global match racing series for female sailors. The name of the series was re-launched as the Women’s World Match Racing Tour with its continued mission to expand and strengthen global match racing and promote opportunities for competitive women’s sailing at every level. The Women’s World Match Racing Tour is the world’s first and only professional sailing series for women providing a valuable pathway for aspiring female world champions in the sport of sailing. womenswmrt.com
womenswmrt.com
