Ian Williams and his Team GAC Pindar crew from the U.K. won the initial Round Robin Stage of the 69th Argo Group Gold Cup and advanced to the Quarter-Final Round as the No. 1 seed.
The conditions today were in contrast to yesterday. Instead of a northwesterly wind blowing across Hamilton Harbour the wind was out of the east, meaning it was blowing the length of the Harbour. There were still shifts of up to 30 degrees but the strength was a bit steadier at 8 to 14 knots.
The on-water umpires issued 14 penalties today, nine less than yesterday, and while Australia’s Torvar Mirsky mostly excelled he stubbed his toe against Bermudian Kelsey Durham, who defeated Mirsky for his first victory in a professional match racing regatta. Durham and crew won the start and fended off Mirsky around the first lap, and then extended around the second lap for what turned out to be an easy win.
Williams’s crew posted a 4-1 record today after yesterday’s 5-1 mark to advance with the top score of 9 points from 11 races. After yesterday’s racing Williams said it was important for the crew to advance to get some needed rest. After today’s tight racing, the day off will be a welcome respite.
Williams is joined in the Quarter-Finals by Mirsky and Harry Price and Johnie Berntsson of Sweden. Mirsky finished the round robin at 8-3, the same record as Price, while Berntsson advanced with a 7-4 record. Mirsky wound up the No. 2 seed because he beat Price in their match yesterday.
2019 ARGO GROUP GOLD PROVISIONAL ROUND ROBIN STANDINGS
1. Ian Williams (42, Lymington, England, U.K.) – 9 points Crew: Gerry Mitchell, Tom Powrie, Richard Sydenham
2. Torvar Mirsky (32, Sydney, Australia) – 8 Crew: Ian Coleman, Rob Scrivenor, Cameron Seagreen
3. Harry Price (23, Sydney, Australia) – 8 Crew: George Anyon, Taylor Balogh, Connor Mashlan
4. Johnie Berntsson (48, Stennungsund, Sweden) – 7 Crew: Anders Dahlsjo, Erik Malmberg, Carl-Johan Uckelstan
5. Chris Poole (30, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., USA) – 6.33 Crew: Emily Nagel, Patrick Vos, Josh Wijohn
6. Eric Monnin (43, Immensee, Switzerland) – 5 Crew: Simon Brügger, Lukas Gerig, Marc Monnin, Alain Stettler
7. Nicklas Dackhammar (SWE) – 5 Crew: Olof Lundgren, Eric Malmberg, Jakob Wilson
8. Maxime Mesnil (30, Le Havre, France) – 5 Crew: Yann Chateau, Hugo Feydit, Yves-Marie Pilon
9. Lucy Macgregor (32, Poole, England, U.K.) – 5 Crew: Sally Barkow, Bethan Carden, Francesca Clapach, Kate Macgregor
10. Pauline Courtois (30, Brest, France) – 3 Crew: Cédric Chateau, Nathalie Corson, Eric le Joliff
11. Ettore Botticini (23, Porto Santo Stefano, Italy) – 2.67 Crew: Simone Busonero, Luca Camilli Meletani, Andrea Fornaro, Lorenzo Gennari
