Upset in Bermuda

Britain's Ian Williams to line up against Switzerland's Eric Monnin in final of King Edward VII Gold Cup

Bermudian Blythe Walker and Swiss sailor Eric Monnin pulled stunning upsets in the quarterfinal Round of the King Edward VII Gold Cup, but their lucky hand ran out in the semifinals of Stage 4 of the 2006-’07 World Match Racing Tour.

As a result, Frenchman Mathieu Richard will face Englishman Ian Williams in the final of the 58th annual regatta. Both skippers won their semifinal matches by scores of 3-0, over Walker and Monnin, respectively, to set up a showdown of young guns for the championship of the $50,000 event, which awards $25,000 to first.

“We’re very happy,” said Richard, 30, who has advanced to his second final of a World Tour event. “We also made the final in Croatia, but were disappointed to lose that one. I think we sailed very well today.”

Williams, 29, survived a five-race quarterfinal match against Sweden’s Björn Hansen to make the semis, and then rolled in three straight. “Today, the guys who timed the starts better won,” said Williams. “In the light wind it was easy to get caught out in the starts.”

The semifinals were anticlimactic to the quarterfinals, where three matches went the full five races and Walker thrilled the hometown crowd with a huge upset. Bermuda’s former Olympic sailor, ranked No. 251 in the world, took down Finland’s Staffan Lindberg, who finished third overall in the World Championship last season, 3-2.

Walker hasn’t done much match-racing in the past few years. He said that this year he has sailed the least amount since he returned to Bermuda five years ago. But he won the Bermuda nationals to gain entry and, based on how he fares in tomorrow’s Petite Final, stands to equal Peter Bromby’s third-place finish from 2002, the best finish by a Bermudian since Gordon Lucas won in 1986.

“It’s a matter of having a good team,” said Walker. “We have a good crew that came together in the end. Today it came down to the starts, and I didn’t do well in the semis.”

Monnin posted the other shocking upset of the day. Monnin defeated the reigning event champion, James Spithill of Australia, 3-2. Monnin rallied from a 2-1 deficit to pull the upset. “I feel quite good, there were so many emotions today,” said Monnin, 31. “I think James is one of the best match-racers in the world. This is the biggest win of my life.”

Monnin, however, ran out of steam in his semifinal match against Williams. “We were so excited about beating James,” he said, “but it cost us a lot of energy, in our minds and emotions.”

“It was a tough loss,” said Spithill, helmsman for the Luna Rossa challenge from Italy. “It was very light and one boat won every race. But there are no excuses. I give full credit to Eric. He deserved to be in the semis.”

In consolation racing Spithill went on to win fifth place, followed by Hansen, Lindberg in seventh and Chris Law.

Richard enters the final as the hottest skipper in town. He has a 12-1 record, which includes a 3-0 whitewash of Law in the quarterfinals. “We are very close. We sail each other so much on the Tour,” he said. “They are very consistent. We can be a bit more up and down, but we know we can beat him and we’ll be very disappointed if we don’t.”

Williams enters the final with a 10-5 record and a four-race winning streak. “I’ve been sailing against Mathieu for nine or 10 years. I’ve probably sailed against him more than anyone else in the world,” said the British skipper. “I think we sail each other so much that we end up with similar styles, which leads to close races. I suspect it’ll be five races.”

Semifinal Round

Match 1
Ian Williams (GBR) Williams Sail Racing, 3
(Crew: Bill Hardesty, Gerry Mitchell, Mark Nichols)
Eric Monnin (SUI) Team Monnin, 0
(Crew: Simon Brugger, Fabien Froesch, Alain Marchand, Marc Monnin)
Match 2
Mathieu Richard (FRA) Saba Sailing Team, 3
(Crew: Greg Evrard, Olivier Herledant, Yannick Simon)
Blythe Walker (BER), 0
(Crew: Adam Barboza, Carola Cooper, Somers Kempe)

5th – 8th Places
Match 1
James Spithill (AUS) Luna Rossa Challenge, 1
(Crew: Magnus Augustson, Torben Grael, Christian Kamp)
Chris Law (GBR) The Outlaws, 0
(Crew: Karl Anderson, Mark Ivey, Scott Norris)
Match 2
Björn Hansen (SWE) Team Apport.net, 1
(Crew: Martin Angsell, Pontus Meijer, Johan Tempelman)
Staffan Lindberg (FIN) Alandia Sailing Team, 0
(Crew: Nils Bjerkas, Robert Skarp, Carl-Johan Uckelstam)
Match 3
James Spithill (AUS) Luna Rossa Challenge, 1, 5th Overall
Björn Hansen (SWE) Team Apport.net, 0, 6th Overall
Match 4
Staffan Lindberg (FIN) Alandia Sailing Team, 1, 7th Overall
Chris Law (GBR) The Outlaws, 0, 8th Overall

Quarterfinal Round

Match 1
Eric Monnin (SUI) Team Monnin, 3
James Spithill (AUS) Luna Rossa Challenge, 2
Match 2
Ian Williams (GBR) Williams Sail Racing, 3
Björn Hansen (SWE) Team Apport.net, 2
Match 3
Blythe Walker (BER), 3
Staffan Lindberg (FIN) Alandia Sailing Team, 2
Match 4
Mathieu Richard (FRA) Saba Sailing Team, 3
Chris Law (GBR) The Outlaws, 0

The Bermuda Department of Tourism is an Official Host Sponsor of the Gold Cup. Event sponsors include Renaissance Re, Max Re, Bermuda Telephone, Bermuda Premium Spirits and Oleander Cycle.