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Vetus-Maxwell 2021 v2 LEADERBOARD

17th RenRe Junior Gold Cup at Royal Bermuda Yacht Club

by Sean McNeill 14 May 2019 04:39 NZST 9-11 May 2019
George Lee Rush win the 17th RenRe Junior Gold Cup © Charles Anderson

George Lee Rush of Takapuna, New Zealand, put forth a commanding performance to win the 17th RenRe Junior Gold Cup. Rush led the regatta from start to finish.

Rush, the 14-year-old from the Wakatere Boating Club, previously competed in 2017 and placed 13th overall. This year he stormed out of the gate, won three of the first four races and never looked back. Rush finished with the low score of 32 points in the 12-race regatta and had the championship wrapped up before the final race on Hamilton Harbour.

"It feels great to win," said Rush at the awards ceremony. "When I got here, I didn't expect to win. And then after the first day I thought it was possible."

Bermudian Sebastian Kempe placed second overall after a strong final race on Hamilton Harbour. Heading into the race Kempe was tied with Matheo Capasso of the Cayman Islands at 49 points, but Kempe placed third in the race to Capasso's 13th to place second while Capasso finished third.

Kempe also won the Dick Kempe Memorial Trophy, awarded to the top Bermudian sailor.

Fourth place was won by Yanne Broers of the Netherlands, who was also the top girl skipper in the fleet of 34 entrants from 14 nations, which included 20 Bermudians. More than 30 percent of the fleet were girls, and there were four first-time entries from the Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Israel and Peru.

Winner of the Peter N. Cooper Memorial Trophy for the Harbour Race on Saturday was Maayan Shemesh from Israel. Shemesh represented Israel's first participation in the regatta that invites one youth sailor from foreign countries.

The top Bermudian girl was Laura Hupman in 11th place.

A total of 12 races were held, with 11 being conducted on Great Sound between Wednesday and Friday and the traditional final race on Hamilton Harbour on Saturday, between the semifinals and final of the King Edward VII Gold Cup.

"Although the scores don't reflect it, this year's regatta was one of the closest on the water with a very talented group of sailors," said event chairwoman Dede Cooper. "The wind was consistently between 11 and 16 knots throughout the week with some tricky, shifty conditions. George's consistency is what really paid off. It's a pleasure and privilege to give so many youth sailors and opportunity to compete at this boutique world class regatta."

Rush was the story of the week. His four first-place finishes and two seconds meant that he held a 17-point lead going into the final race. Besides being spectacular on the water, he was equally entertaining at the awards ceremony.

In his speech he thanked Cooper saying, "That's a lot to organize." Then he brought down the house when he spoke of his parents.

"I also have to thank mom and dad. Mom had to stay home and work all week while dad got to come to Bermuda and drink rum," he said to uproarious laughter. "But they both always help me out. They got me started in sailing and hopefully this is the start of something for me."

Overall Results:

PosSail NoHelmR1R2R3R4R5R6R7R8R9R10R11R12Pts
1stNZL4659George Lee Rush11614241525‑832
2ndBER1010Sebastian Kempe9822745‑18732352
3rdCAY1106Matheo Capasso12384213(UFD)8531362
4thNED3118Yanne Broers1053‑19351121681771
5thPER323Maria Gracia Vegas Trivelli2411111‑191524417475
6thBER1224Christian Ebbin3241711467‑20814278
7thARG3675Tadeo Funes de Rioja66166671361216‑2785
8thISR2005Ma'ayan Shemesh716118189(UFD)53713198
9thBER1205Magnus Ringsted1375951210216‑2211099
10thAUS1599Eddie Reid413(UFD)788710109423103
11thBER1129Laura Hupman‑20912161731142102011115
12thSWE4771Theo Westerlind151110129(RET)1631912166129
13thDEN8600Mikkel Krogh(UFD)1813221316211921712144
14thGBR6519Henry Heathcote161775‑2568918202218146
15thUSA22597Jonathan Siegel‑2310181315139817141514146
16thBER1118Millie Lewis1712152116112015161911‑30173
17thBER1234Ava Adams11‑262223212512131317109176
18thBAH176Joshua Weech815201023202116(RET)11925178
19thCHI503Rafaela Salvatore514914102324(DNS)26182416183
20thSUI1795Maria Mazuay14202426201018221116(UFD)5186
21stBER1226Nicole Stovell222514‑291417141414132120188
22ndBER1127Rachael Betschart19191915121519202125‑267191
23rdBER1018PJ Rodrigues18241731918(RET)1722151926198
24thBER1033Kipling Rossouw24‑2826182222171923241821234
25thBER1017Sophia Dias(UFD)2223243021262915262319258
26thBER1215Ava Rosser(RET)2721282826232828271228276
27thBER1031Ben Redburn252928‑302427292324232529286
28thBER1210Sarah Davis29212527(DNC)DNCDNC2625282722300
29thBER1009Isaac Wickramage212327312729272431‑332933302
30thBER1115Sergio De Frias2831293226242225303028(UFD)305
31stBER1001Jacques Stefani263030252928282727‑343032312
32ndBER1122Jack Adderley(UFD)333120RETRET25DNF29293124327
33rdBER1121Ciarra Wells30343334(DNF)DNS303133323315340
34thBER1239Trystan Hocking27323233(DNF)DNFRET3032313231350

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