Swedish skipper Johnie Berntsson has won the King Edward VII Gold Cup, the championship trophy of the Bermuda Gold Cup match racing tournament, for the third time since 2008. Hosted by the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, the Bermuda Gold Cup is a World Championship event of the World Match Racing Tour.
The Berntsson Racing Team—including Herman Andersson on tactics, Björn Lundgren on mainsail trim and Patrik Sturesson on headsail trim—finished the regatta with a perfect score of 11-0 and won $25,000 of the $75,000 prize purse.
“I can recall being over the moon the first time I won this trophy. I never thought it would happen. Now it’s happened a third time and I’m super grateful,” said the 51-year-old Berntsson from Stenungsund, Sweden, a medical IT consultant. “Sailing with Patrik, Herman and Björn, they pushed me all around the course. The tactics were excellent, the trimming was excellent, and it all helped me grow as a helmsman and build our confidence.”
The Royal Bermuda Yacht Club thanks Host Sponsor Bermuda Tourism Authority, Presenting Sponsors RenaissanceRe and Aspen, and Primary Sponsors Goslings, BF&M, Best Shipping and Joe Vieira Trucking, and Supporting Sponsors Healthcare Solutions, the Bermuda IOD Fleet, Oleander Cycles, Clearwater Systems and ECL Bermuda.
For Berntsson it is the third time that he has won the coveted gold trophy that was first awarded in 1907, having previously captured it in 2008 and ’14. He also finished runner-up four times (2011, ’12, ’18, ’19) and has the second-most finals appearances behind the event’s all-time winner Russell Coutts of New Zealand, who won the trophy seven times between 1990 and 2004 and finished runner-up twice.
“I’m so proud to be part of the history of the King Edward VII Gold Cup,” said Berntsson. “There have been so many great sailors racing and winning here. I’m really proud to be part of that nice, successful group of sailors. It’s very good feelings.”
71st Bermuda Gold Cup Overall Results:
1. Johnie Berntsson (51, Stenungsund, Sweden) Berntsson Sailing Team – 11-0, $25,000
Crew: Herman Andersson, Björn Lundgren, Patrik Sturesson
2. Taylor Canfield (34, Miami, USA) Stars+Stripes USA – 9-2, $12,000
Crew: Robby Bisi, Mike Buckley, Ian Liberty, Erik Shampain
3. Ian Williams (46, Lymington, England) Chinaone.Ningbo – 8-2, $10,000
Crew: Jon Gunderson, Gerard Mitchell, Richard Sydenham
4. Harry Price (28, Sydney, Australia) Down Under Racing – 8-4, $8,000
Crew: Taylor Balogh, Julia Lines, Connor Mashlan
5. Eric Monnin (47, Immensee, Switzerland) Capvis Swiss Match Racing Teamn – 8-4, $5,000
Crew: Simon Brügger, Hugo Feydit, Marc Monnin, Ute Monnin-Wagner
6. Gavin Brady (49, Annapolis, Md., USA) True Blue Racing – 6-5, $5,000
Crew: Chris Cullen, Tom Powrie, Dave Sweete
7. Jeppe Borch (25, Copenhagen, Denmark) Borch Racing – 5-5, $5,000
Crew: Thor Malthe Andersen, Sebastian Pieters, Gustav Wantzin
8. Nick Egnot-Johnson (25, Auckland, New Zealand) KNOTS Racing – 4-7, $5,000
Crew: Sam Barnett, Bradley McLaughlin, Zak Merton
9. Anna Östling (39, Lerum, Sweden) WINGS – 3-4
Crew: Annika Carlunger, Anna Holmdahl White, Elisabeth Nilsson, Linnéa Wennergren
10. Chris Poole (34, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA) Riptide Racing – 2-5
Crew: Joachim Aschenbrenner, Matt Cornwell, Mal Parker, Luke Payne
11. Pauline Courtois (34, Brest, France) Match in Pink by Normandy Elite Team – 2-5
Crew: Louis Acker, Clara Bayol, Maelenn Lemaitre, Laurane Mettraux
12. David Hood (Long Beach, Calif., USA) DH3 Racing – 2-5
Crew: Ricky McGarvie, Chris Steele, Will Tiller
13. Jeffrey Petersen (21, Santa Ana, Calif., USA) Golden State Match Racing – 2-5
Crew: Will Birch-Tomlinson, Tyler Walk, Josh Wijohn
14. Celia Willison (25, Auckland, New Zealand) Edge Racing New Zealand – 1-6
Crew: Alison Kent, Charlotte Porter, Rosie Rowell, Ruby Scholten
15. Peter Holz (30, Chicago, Ill., USA) Windy City Match Racing – 1-6
Crew: Sam Gilmour, John Hammond, Ellis Tonissi
16. Joshua Greenslade (32, Pembroke, Bermuda) 0-7
Crew: Dale Brangman, Ruairi Brown, Peter Dill
