Lewin and Walker take aim at Gold Cup

Successful Bermudian sailors look to win first championship against stiff competition

Bermudians Paula Lewin and Blythe Walker have competed frequently at the King Edward VII Gold Cup through the years, but never won. They get another chance to correct that next week on Hamilton Harbour.

Lewin and Walker are two of the 16 entrants in the $50,000 Gold Cup regatta, stage four of the 2006-’07 World Match Racing Tour. Racing is scheduled for 11-15 October and will be conducted in the International One-Design (IOD), a 33-foot sloop designed in the 1930s.

The lineup includes reigning event champion James Spithill of Italy’s Luna Rossa Challenge for the America’s Cup. Spithill, 27, won last year’s Gold Cup with a 3-2 victory over the event’s leading winner, Russell Coutts. Spithill faced a 2-1 deficit in the final but rallied for a 3-2 victory.

While Spithill guns for back-to-back victories neither Lewin, 35, nor Walker, 38, can recall how many Gold Cups they’ve participated in. Both began racing in the event back in the late 1980s and early 1990s and simply say they’ve done many since.

Lewin has enjoyed past success at the Gold Cup. Bermuda’s four-time Female Athlete of the Year, Lewin is the only woman skipper to advance through the qualifying rounds of the Gold Cup, which she did in 1999, 2002 and ’03. In ’02 Lewin finished 5th overall, the best finish for a female skipper in the history of the Gold Cup. Lewin recently placed fifth in the women’s championship at the ISAF Nations Cup.

“I love to match race, I love Hamilton Harbour and I love the boats,” said Lewin. “I’ve spent a lot of time racing overseas and it’s so pleasurable to be in home waters with all the support.”

Lewin’s crew includes sister Peta White, Lisa Neasham, Leatrice Roman and Diana Mitchell.

“Diana’s new to the crew,” said Lewin. “We feel comfortable with each other. We’re competitive and want to win, but we’re also out to have a good time as well. That was foremost in putting together the team. If things fall the right way, it’ll be great.”

Walker, Bermuda’s representative in the 470 class at the 1992 Olympic Regatta in Barcelona, recently won the 2006 Bermuda National Match Racing Championship.

“I love the intensity of match-racing,” said Walker, a father of two daughters. “You can get a lot of great racing in a short time. It tests your skill and ability to respond.”

Walker will be racing with Adam Barboza, Somers Kempe and Carola Cooper. Cooper raced with Walker in the nationals, but Barboza and Kempe are replacements for the other crewmembers who had conflicts.

“We have a lot of experience, particularly in the IODs, it’s a matter of how well we come together,” said Walker. “We’ve never sailed together so it’ll be interesting.”

Although they can’t recall how many events they’ve raced, both noted the change in format as the biggest difference for this year’s Gold Cup.

In the past the event featured 24 teams. Sixteen teams raced in a three-day qualifier with the top eight advancing to meet eight seeded skippers in a knockout round.

This year, the 16 teams will be split into two groups of eight. Each group races a single round robin with the top four advancing to the quarterfinals. The quarterfinals, semifinals and final are all knockout rounds of three or five races.

The old format lent itself well to upsets as the qualifiers were well practiced when they met the seeds in round one. However, Walker thinks the new format will have its own benefits.

“The round robins will be a little more intense than in the past,” said Walker. “The guys typically in the seeded rounds are now in the round robins, so you get a flavor of the level they’re competing at from the start. You need to hit the ground running, but if you get through to quarters, I think it’ll be a little more level.”

Running concurrently with the Gold Cup is the Junior Gold Cup for junior sailors from around the world. Thirty-seven sailors, including 12 from overseas, will sail four races per day from 12-14 October on Great Sound. The final day, Sunday 15 October, will see the championship sailed on Hamilton Harbour during the final rounds of the King Edward VII Gold Cup.

The Gold Cup is stage four of the 2006-’07 World Match Racing Tour, the world’s leading professional sailing series. The events of the World Tour determine the ISAF Match Racing World Champion.

The oldest one-design match-racing event in the world, the Bermuda Gold Cup rejoined the World Tour after a one year absence. This year’s event marks the seventh time in eight seasons that the Gold Cup is part of a World Tour schedule. Also, it is the 58th match-race competition for the cup, first presented to the legendary C. Sherman Hoyt in 1907 at a regatta marking the 300th anniversary of the founding of the Virginia Colony.

The Royal Bermuda Yacht Club is a private club and is the third oldest club holding a Royal Warrant outside the British Isles. The Royal Bermuda Yacht Club was established on 1st November, 1844, and now has approximately 850 resident and non-resident members.

The Bermuda Department of Tourism is an Official Host Sponsor of the Gold Cup. Event sponsors include Renaissance Re, Max Re, BTC, Bermuda Premium Spirits Ltd., local distributors of BACARDI rum, and Oleander Cycles.