The RenaissanceRe Junior Gold Cup regatta returns after a three-year hiatus due to a break during Covid.
Started in 2002 the RenaissanceRe Junior Gold Cup invitational regatta invites some of the best Optimist sailors in their country to come to Bermuda and sail against the Bermudians.
The 19th edition of the regatta will be held at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club October 3-7, 2023, with invitations to 14 sailors from 14 different countries. Dede Cooper, Regatta Chair, says she is thrilled to see this regatta return to the Bermuda sailing calendar.
Expected on the start line will be sailors from Antigua, Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and the USA. Six of the sailors are female. They will be joined by 26 of Bermuda’s best youth sailors.
Twelve of the fourteen invited sailors represented their country at the 2023 IODA World Championship with 8 finishing in the top 100. Look out for Edward Hirsch from Switzerland who place 19th at the 2023 World Championship in Spain and Mariana Pinto from Portugal who finished 28th and was awarded the 2nd female at the World Championships as well.
On the Bermuda front, 2022 Bermuda national champion Miguel Power,who finished 115th at the World Championship and 22nd at the IODA North American championship will be looking to place on the podium here. Shiloh Cruickshank, who ages out of the class in December will also be looking to cap off a good year. Shiloh finished 106th at the world championship. Bermuda’s top female Nina Gotfredsen is ready for the challenge from the overseas female sailors for the top female prize having competed at the World and North American championships as well as spent time this summer with the Lake Ontario Optimist Team (LOOT), training and sailing in international events.
Bermuda Optimist Dinghy Association spokesperson said that this regatta brings the World to Bermuda and gives BODA sailors an opportunity to test their skills against the best in their home waters. BODA is very grateful to RenaissanceRe for their long-standing commitment and to the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club for hosting the regatta.
