Williams Versus Walker first up at Argo Group Gold Cup

by RBYC on 7 Oct 2015 The seedings for the 67th annual Argo Group Gold Cup have been determined and racing for Group A is scheduled to begin tomorrow at 9 am (ADT).

The first match pits a skipper on top of his game, world number one Ian Williams of Great Britain, against one who’s returning for the first time in three years, Bermudian ace Blythe Walker. The quirkiness of the International One-Design (IOD) sloop used in the Argo Group Gold Cup can make a famous crew look average very quickly, and that aphorism will be put to the test first thing tomorrow.

“We’ve had a strong year but really haven’t hit our straps yet,” said Williams, the five-time world match racing champion. “We’re hoping to hit the ground running and get a good result.”

“We’re a little rusty, have to shake the cob webs out,” said Walker, who placed third in 2006. “For guys like me this is a great opportunity to do match racing at a level we don’t get on a regular basis here in Bermuda. We’re happy about the opportunity to compete against the world’s best.”

The Argo Group Gold Cup is hosted by the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club. At stake is the prestigious King Edward VII Gold Cup trophy that was first awarded in 1907 and $100,000 in prize money, with $35,000 earmarked for the winner. It also is the penultimate event of the World Match Racing Tour, giving skippers one final chance to secure their invitation to the season-concluding Monsoon Cup.

The weather on the destination island in the Atlantic Ocean has returned to idyllic now that Hurricane Joaquin has passed. The Bermuda Weather Service is forecasting southwesterly winds of moderate strength tomorrow and the rest of the week looks good as well.

Group A features Williams as the number one seed. Also in the group (in order of seeding) are Denmark’s Joachim Aschenbrenner, the runner-up at the recent ISAF Youth Match Racing World Championship, world number three and last year’s runner up Eric Monnin of Switzerland, Phil Robertson of New Zealand, the two-time reigning event champion Johnie Berntsson of Sweden, Chris Poole of the U.S., SoftBank Team Japan CEO and skipper Dean Barker and Walker.

The eight crews in Group A are slated to sail the first four flights of their round robin before giving way to Group B in the afternoon.

The number one seed in Group B is 12-time entrant Björn Hansen of Sweden. The group also includes world number two and past champion (2012) Taylor Canfield of the U.S. Virgin Islands, Reuben Corbett of New Zealand and his compatriot Chris Steele, Keith Swinton of Australia, Nicolai Sehested of Denmark, Francesco Bruni of America’s Cup team Artemis Racing, and Adam Minoprio of New Zealand.

Group B is scheduled to begin racing tomorrow afternoon at approximately 12:30 pm, depending on the completion of Group A.

The round robins are expected to be completed by the end of Thursday at which point the top three teams in each group will advance to Friday’s quarterfinal round. The crews finishing fourth through seventh in each group will sail a round robin repechage with the top two crews advancing to the quarterfinals. Racing in the quarterfinals, semifinals and final are each first-to-three points.

Argo Group Gold Cup Group seedings and crew list

Group A:

1. Ian Williams (GBR), Crew: Chris Main, Gerry Mitchell, Mal Parker
2. Joachim Aschenbrenner (DEN), Jeppe Ditlev, Jonas Funk, Hans Christian Wegge
3. Eric Monnin (SUI), Simon Brugger, Jean-Claude Monnin, Marc Monnin, Mathieu Richard
4. Phil Robertson (NZL), Sylvain Barielle, Sam Bell, Luke Payne
5. Johnie Berntsson (SWE), Jakob Gustavson, Robert Skarp, Carl Uckelstam
6. Chris Poole (USA), Sam Barron-Fox, John Colburn, Chris Kennedy
7. Dean Barker (JPN), Chris Draper, Jeremy Lomas, Kazuhiko Sofuku
8. Blythe Walker (BER), Adam Barboza, Somers Kempe, Will Thompson

Group B:

1. Björn Hansen (SWE), Massimo Bortoletto, Mathias Bredin, Phillip Kai Guhle
2. Taylor Canfield (ISV), Garth Ellingham, Hayden Goodrick, Mike Rehe
3. Reuben Corbett (NZL), Tom Dawson, Jay Halligan, Robert Nyberg
4. Chris Steele (NZL), Stewart Dodson, Adam Negri, Justin Wong
5. Keith Swinton (AUS), Ted Hackney, Henry Kernot, Björn Lundgren
6. Nicolai Sehested (DEN), Brad Farrand, Jonas Hviid, Peter Wibroe
7. Francesco Bruni (SWE), Christian Kamp, Luke Parkinson, Iain Percy
8. Adam Minoprio (NZL), Nick Blackman, Andrew Burgess, Tom Powrie