The 68th running of the $100,000 Argo Group Gold Cup commences tomorrow with round robin racing scheduled.
The matches in Flight 1 pit Poland’s Marek Stanczyk against Australia’s Sam Gilmour, Italy’s Ettore Botticini against Women’s World Match Racing Champion Lucy MacGregor of the U.K., Australia’s Torvar Mirsky versus Sweden’s Nicklas Dackhammar and Sweden’s Johnie Berntsson against Chris Poole of the U.S.
Other skippers in the field include Joachim Aschenbrenner of Denmark, and Taylor Canfield and Charlie Lalumiere, both of the U.S. They’ll take to the water in Flight 2.
The field of 11 crews will sail a round robin with the top four advancing to the Quarterfinal Round. The remaining skippers will sail a Repechage Round with the top four advancing to the Quarterfinals.
The Quarterfinals, Semifinals and Final are knockout rounds. The crews will be paired with the winner of the round robin choosing their opponent, followed by the next highest finisher from the round robin picking their opponent and so on. The winners of the Quarterfinals, Semifinals and Final will be the first to score 3 points. They’re all vying for a shot at the $30,000 winner’s check.
The weather for the week looks to be stunning. According to the Bermuda Weather Service the wind is forecast to blow from south or south/southeast between 10 and 18 knots through Friday, ideal conditions for Hamilton Harbour.
