WMRT: Egnot-Johnson surges, Östling shines in Bermuda

Berntsson finished unbeaten for the second day running. Five skippers have a chance to claim the final three spots in the knockout stages in what was a thrilling day of round-robin action on Hamilton Harbour. In the Aspen Bermuda Women’s Match Race Regatta, Sweden’s Anna Östling overcame a penalty to beat Pauline Courtois/FRA and remain at the top of the leaderboard.

It was moving day at the 73rd Bermuda Gold Cup with New Zealand’s Nick Egnot-Johnson and his Knots Racing team thrusting themselves into contention for the semi-finals after posting three wins. After what by his own admission was a disappointing couple of days, Egnot-Johnson reversed his fortunes with victories over Ian Garreta/FRA, Chris Poole/USA and Peter Wickwire/CAN.

“We had a really tough first couple of days and were really struggling to get used to the boats as we don’t have anything like this back home,” he said. “There has been a lot of calibration over the past few days but today it feels like it finally started to click and we’re now pretty happy with how we’re sailing going into the final day of round robins. We just need to be getting the starts right now.”

While Egnot-Johnson will be sailing for a spot in the semi-finals tomorrow, for one man the pressure is off after another perfect day in Hamilton Harbour. For the second day running, defending Gold Cup champion Johnie Berntsson from Sweden was the only skipper to remain unbeaten, with his nine victories across three days making his crew the first to book their place in the semi-finals with three races to go.

Berntsson’s match against French skipper Ian Garreta and his Med Racing team drew the eyes of those watching from shore, with their boats appearing to be stationary for about three minutes as Berntsson attempted to stop his opponent from shedding a penalty.

With Berntsson through to the knockout stages, the final day is shaping up to be a thrilling fight for the final three places, as American Poole, Eric Monnin/SUI, Ian Williams/GBR and Garreta all holding hope of advancing to the next round.

While he has no chance of reaching the semi-finals, it is worth noting the progress of Timothee Rossi/FRA and his Sudistes Sailing Team as they picked up their first two victories at the regatta.

Swedish skippers Anna Östling (Wings Sailing) and Martina Carlsson (Beyond Racing) stole the show on day three of the Aspen Bermuda Women’s Match Race regatta with

Östling continuing her assault on the top of the leaderboard winning three of her four races, including an important victory over France’s Pauline Courtois, while Carlsson picked up her first win of the regatta after a tough opening two days.

Östling’s compatriot Carlsson cut a dejected figure after two days without a win, but her smile lit up an already sunny Hamilton Harbour when she returned to the dock after three wins, including one over her more experienced countrywoman.

While Östling and Courtois cemented their positions at the top of the standings on nine and eight points respectively, the race for the last two semi-final spots is heating up.

America’s Nicole Breault has move into third on seven points, with Denmark’s Lea Vogelius fourth on six points. Dutch skipper Julia Aartsen and her Team Out of the Box are still in the mix on five points with three races remaining.

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/

Text and images courtesy of WMRT.com. Read more here.