October 25, 2025
2 minutes reading time
WMRT: Rain delays but rivalries intensify in Bermuda
It’s still all to play for at the Aspen Women’s Match Racing Regatta after rain prevented the round-robin stage from being completed.
With one flight to go, Nicole Breault/USA, Julia Aartsen/NED and Lea Vogelius/DEN are still in with a chance of joining Sweden’s Anna Östling and Pauline Courtois/FRA in the semi-finals. In the Bermuda Gold Cup, the big four made their way into the knockout stages with Johnie Berntsson/SWE, Eric Monnin/SUI, Chris Poole/USA and Ian Williams/GBR advancing to the semi-finals.
By this stage of the Aspen Women’s Match Racing Regatta all four semi-finalists should have revealed themselves but the weather prevented the conclusion of the round-robin stage.
A heavy rainstorm brought the first flight to a premature halt and sent the skippers back to port for about an hour, with the second flight later completed and the third still to come when the wind speed dropped and the race committee called an early end to the day’s racing. The remaining five races will be held on Saturday morning, when the final two semi-final spots will be decided. Anna Östling and Pauline Courtois, who was heavily bandaged after a scooter accident, confirmed their place in the knockout stages and they will be joined by two of Lea Vogelius/DEN, Nicole Breault/USA or Julia Aartsen/NED.
The final day of round-robin action at the Bermuda Gold Cup promised a thrilling fight for the semi-final spots, the big beasts on the World Match Racing Tour showed their claws to book their place in the knockout stages. Sweden’s Johnie Berntsson, who finished top of the leaderboard despite being docked a point for colliding with America’s Chris Poole in his opening race of the day, has made it through alongside Poole, Eric Monnin/SUI and Ian Williams/GBR. Williams, the eight-time World Match Racing champion needed two wins from his three races on the last day to guarantee qualification, which he did by beating Peter Wickwire/CAN and Berntsson.
Nick Egnot-Johnson/NZ was the unlucky sailor to narrowly miss out on the semis with a blank first day the main reason for him missing out by a point.
Racing continues at 0900 Bermuda time.
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.