| HAMILTON HARBOUR, BERMUDA-(10-9-2002) The next America’s Cup
winner could be discovered in Bermuda. As one of the few Grade 1 regattas in
the world to offer amateur skippers and up-and-comers a chance to match race
against the professionals, the Bermuda Gold Cup regularly shows up on
resumes of the world’s best yachting skippers. Paul Cayard, Russell Coutts,
Peter Gilmour and Gavin Brady have all made their mark on this event and
there are scores of young sailors working their way toward future America’s
Cup campaigns by gaining valuable experience on the Swedish Match Tour.
Seeded Skippers
The Royal Bermuda Yacht Club (RBYC) has announced the eight seeded skippers
who will compete in the Bermuda Gold Cup to be held October 12-20 -- the
fourth of nine events on Swedish Match Tour 2002/3. Three of the skippers
are ranked on the Swedish Match Tour rankings. The winner of the Bermuda
Gold Cup will receive the King Edward VII Trophy and a share of the $65,000
prize purse.
“There are a number of highly qualified skippers making their debut in
Bermuda this year,” said RBYC Commodore Les Crane. “Traditionally the Gold
Cup fields a strong fleet of talented sailors and this year is no
exception.”
The eight seeded skippers are: Bjorn Hansen (Sweden), Jes Gram-Hansen
(Denmark), Karol Jablonski (Poland), Lars Nordbjerg (Denmark), Jesper Radich
(Denmark), Steffan Lindberg (Finland) Mikael Lindqvist (Sweden) and Matthias
Rahm (Sweden).
Unseeded Skippers
The RBYC also named the unseeded skippers who will compete in a qualifying
round with the top-finishing eight teams advancing into Round One of the
Bermuda Gold Cup. The unseeded skippers include: Sally Barkow (USA), Bill
Buckles (USA), Scott Dickson (USA), Andy Horton (USA), Peter Bromby
(Bermuda), Michael Green (St. Lucia), Marten Hedlund (Sweden), Henrik Jensen
(Denmark), Anthony Kotoun (U.S. Virgin Islands), Chris Law (U.K.), Tucker
Thompson (USA), Mason Woodworth (U.K.) and Karl Ziegler (USA), and the top
two skippers in the Bacardi Cup (September 28-29 in Hamilton Harbour,
Bermuda).
Women’s Event
The Bermuda International Women's Match Racing Championship will serve as a
unique qualifying round to the Bermuda Gold Cup, with the winner and
runner-up advancing to Round One. The skippers for the Bermuda International
Women's Match Racing Championship include: Elizabeth Baylis (USA), Marie
Bjorling (Sweden), Sandy Hayes (USA), Elizabeth Kratzig (USA), Paula Lewin
(Bermuda), Lotte Pedersen (Denmark), Deborah Willist (USA) and Klaartje
Zuiderbaan (The Netherlands).
With a 32-skipper format the largest of its kind in the world -- the
Bermuda Gold Cup remains as one of the few grade 1 match-racing events that
offers an opportunity for unranked skippers to break into the sport of match
racing.
The event is hosted by the RBYC and the Bermuda Department of Tourism.
Renaissance Reinsurance, and Investors Guaranty Fund, both based in Bermuda,
are the Presenting Sponsors. Primary Sponsors include Bacardi and
Continental Airlines. Supporting sponsors include Coral Beach and Tennis
Club, Horizons and Cottages and Waterloo House, Smatt’s Cycles and Telecom.
The Bermuda Gold Cup is an Octagon-managed event. The website for the
regatta is www.bermudagoldcup.com.
|
