Johnie Berntsson and Eric Monnin seized the early advantage in their respective groups on the opening day of the Bermuda Gold Cup.

The vastly experienced Swedish skipper Berntsson and his crew of Herman Andersson, Bjrn Lundgren and Patrik Sturesson, best mastered the shifty light conditions on Hamilton Harbour, ending the day with a flawless record of four wins to top group Two.

They lead the Jeppe Borch-skippered Danish team, who had a perfect record until going down to defeat to Berntsson in the fourth and final flight of the day, with the British team, skippered by Ian Williams, also claiming three victories.

“We are very happy and a little lucky to get out with four wins because it was very shifty,” said Berntsson. “We had to come from behind in three of the four matches, but I’m really happy with how we performed.

“Sometimes we had to fool the other teams, including a really good fake tack on the Borch team in the final flight. A combination of playing the races well and getting the right shift was the winning formula.

“We have sailed here many years now, so we know the conditions and boats a little more. Maybe we are capitalising on our experience over the others, but that can happen in the beginning of the regatta, we have to see how the other days will turn out.

“Tomorrow we need to improve our starts a little so we can be even more on top, but I’m happy with today.”

Also remaining in contention for a top-three position, which would guarantee a spot in the quarter-finals, are Anna Östling’s Swedish team and a United States team skippered by Gavin Brady, who both clinched two wins apiece.

Action in group one proved more closely fought with the Swiss team led by Monnin, and defending champion Taylor Canfield and his Stars+Stripes Team USA, finishing the day with three wins from four.

However, it is Monnin who holds the slender advantage heading into day two after beating his nearest rival in the opening flight, meaning he would claim top spot in a tiebreak situation should nothing separate them at the conclusion of the group stage.

“I don’t think there was a single race where we didn’t shift positions multiple times,” said Monnin, who was denied a perfect day after going down to defeat against Harrison Price, of New Zealand.

“Three wins on the first day from these type of conditions is always good, but we need more than just three wins.

“We like these type of conditions and the team have done a great job in making the boat go fast.

“Obviously every race is different, but we have gained some great feedback to learn from heading into the next day.

“The teams who sail well and put things right early will probably go through. Having done this regatta a number of times in the past, if you struggle on the first day it is really hard to come back, every point is very important.”

Despite the setback against Monnin, Canfield remains comfortable in the knowledge that his team are firmly on course to progress.

“Overall it was a great day and I’m happy to get those three wins on the board,” said Canfield, who won the won the World Match Racing Tour regatta for the third time in 2020.

“I’m happy to still be tied for the lead and I’m not to worried to have lost that first race, If anything that fired us up more. We had a chat among ourselves on board to get it together.

“I’m in no doubt we will get through to the quarter-finals and then from there our aim is to keep getting better because if we do we’ll get through to the final.”

Outside of the top two, the rest of the group remains tightly contested with four teams skippered by Nick Egnot-Johnson (New Zealand), Pauline Courtois (France), David Hood (United States) and Price (Australia) all picking up two wins, while the teams led by Celia Willison (New Zealand) and Chris Poole (USA) claimed a victory apiece.

It proved a difficult day for local competitor Joshua Greenslade and his Bermuda team, who suffered defeat in each of their races in group two.

Despite the disappointment, Greenslade spoke of his pride of representing the country in such a prestigious event on island.

“We actually sailed the boat well, but we have not had any pre-start practice and that showed in terms of getting off the line,” he said,

“This is our first real event sailing together and we learnt a lot, so hopefully we can get some better results tomorrow.

“It is really cool representing Bermuda in this event. To have an all-Bermudian crew is pretty special and so hopefully we can make the island proud.”

The RenaissanceRe Junior Gold Cup regatta returns today after a three-year hiatus caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Started in 2002, the 19th edition of the five-day regatta, incorporates 14 invited sailors from 14 different countries including Antigua, Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Britain, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States. They will be joined by 26 of Bermuda’s best youth sailors.