Strong women's turn out for Bermuda

News from the forthcoming Investor's Guarantee Bermuda Gold Cup

Bermuda’s most celebrated sailor, Paula Lewin, will return to Hamilton Harbour for the 2003 Bermuda International Women’s Match Racing Championship, scheduled for 18-21 October.

Lewin, the reigning champion, will face the top female sailors from the US, Denmark and Sweden in match-racing competition for $15,000 in prize money. The winner and runner-up of the Bermuda International Women’s Match Racing Championship will advance to Round One of the Investors Guaranty Presentation of the King Edward VII Gold Cup on 22-26 October, the second event of the Swedish Match Tour 2003/04, where they will compete for another $100,000 in prize money.

Lewin, ranked 17th in the world in match racing, will have her work cut out for her. She will compete head-to-head with the crew of current no1 world-ranked skipper Marie Bjorling of Sweden.

Jenny Axhede, who usually crews for Bjorling, will take over the helm in Bjorling’s absence. Klaartje Zuiderbaan of the Netherlands, who is ranked no12 in the world, returns to competition, having placed third in last year’s event.

American Betsy Alison, who is ranked no8 and a past world match racing champion, will make her debut in Bermuda with this event. Also returning from last year are Americans Deborah Willits (no.16), Elizabeth Kratzig (no.25), Sandy Hayes (no.21) and Sally Barkow, who competed as an unseeded skipper in 2002.

"There will be an increase in the level of competition," said Lewin, who is an Olympic hopeful in the Yngling class, "especially with the skippers who are returning from last year. They are going to be more savvy with the weather and the boats. Our team will have about a week before everyone else arrives for the regatta to practice boathandling in the IODs. And we will prepare exactly the same way as with our Yngling campaign. Every night there is a debrief of the day’s racing, a rules discussion and a visualisation session on our strategy."

Now in its second year of offering women sailors elite-level competition and a significant prize purse, the Bermuda International Women’s Match Racing Championship has become known as one of the premier events on the international women’s match racing calendar. "Interest is up with competitors around the world," said Lewin. "It’s a high profile, well run event that every woman sailor wants to do."

Title sponsor is Investors Guarantee. The event is hosted by the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club and the Bermuda Department of Tourism. Renaissance Reinsurance is the Presenting Sponsor. Primary Sponsors are Bacardi, Colorcraft, Continental Airlines, Coral Beach & Tennis Club, Horizons Resort, Oleander Cycles, Omega, The Waterloo House and Wedgwood.