By Laurie Fullerton 
Hamilton Harbor, Bermuda – Thursday is the opening day of the ninth annual RenaissanceRe Junior Gold Cup. Not only will some of the best youngsters sailing today meet each other in competition, but also the event highlights the growing legacy of commitment from the corporate community here in Bermuda to giving sailors a taste of possibilities to come.
Now in its ninth year of sponsorship, RenaissanceRe along with the sailing community here has established real opportunities for sailors in this sport – and as the 39 young skippers take to the waters of the Great Sound, there will also be three former Junior Gold Cup sailors now racing in the Argo Group Gold Cup this week on Hamilton harbor.
Taylor Canfield, 22 of the USVI, Lance Fraser, 19 and Peter Miller, 21 of Bermuda, all participated in the Junior Gold Cup as youngsters. Canfield is currently 3-1 going into the second day of racing here, and as a graduate of Boston College and captain of its sailing team, he is now the director of the Chicago Match Racing Center in Chicago, Il.
“I came here in 2003 to compete in the RenRe Junior Gold Cup and Peter Holmberg was racing in the Gold Cup,” Canfield said. “We are both from the US Virgin Islands and he was my mentor and he coached me a lot both at home and here. Today, I am racing at the Gold Cup, but I am also keeping my eye on Scott McKenzie of the USVI who is racing here in the Optis. That means three sailors from the USVI have been here both as juniors and senior sailors.”
Miller, who is competing in his first Argo Group Gold Cup, said “by far the RenRe Junior Gold Cup is the coolest one in the Opti world. It is smaller in a sense than a world’s event, but as you see here today you have 11 national champions competing in one place. Although as a youngster you don’t realize you are looking at people who are at the pinnacle of the sport, it can happen to you. Young sailors should take advantage of every opportunity in sailing.”
Lance Fraser is now competing in his second Gold Cup event. “It didn’t seem quite real to me as an Opti sailor at the RenRe Junior Gold Cup that I could one day participate in the Gold Cup. At that time, there were people like Russell Coutts, James Spithill and others here to race. But, now, many of the sailors are younger and the field is opening up. It is hard racing but it is great to be here.”
The RenRe Junior Gold Cup this year will continue to raise the bar and the hopes of the sailors. Up to five Bermudians will earn their berth to attend the Opti Worlds event in New Zealand later this year and all of the competitors will finish out this week as far more seasoned competitors.
“As a company committed to high performance and fostering excellence, we at RenaissanceRe are proud to be the founding and continuing sole sponsor of the Junior Gold Cup,” said Neill Currie, CEO and President of RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd.
“This event brings together the world’s very best and the participants this year are more impressive than ever. With 17 international sailors attending, 11 of who are national champions, we are delighted our Bermudian sailors will experience competition of the highest level as well the opportunity to make friends from around the world. We are also pleased to see so many young sailors (22) representing Bermuda this year. The interest and energy generated by the Junior Gold Cup is a testament to the caliber of this event. And in this 9th year of sponsorship, we are particularly pleased to see three of the international sailors we supported as juniors currently skippering Gold Cup crews.”
