Mackenzie Cooper admits the pressure valve has been released after Team BDA’s “monumental achievement” of qualifying for the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup Finals.

The new darlings of Bermudian sport continued their incredible story by advancing from the Qualifying Series as one of the top four teams from their pool yesterday.

By reaching the finals the home-town favourites have already exceeded the expectations of many of those who cheered their every move across the Great Sound during the past two days.

Having won the hearts of a nation, Cooper’s team will now carry the island’s hopes on their young shoulders when they race to become the best youth sailing team in the world.

“It’s a sigh of relief for sure and the pressure is off now really,” said Cooper, the team’s skipper.

“Yesterday was incredible and while today doesn’t have that same feeling, it’s more monumental as we’ve officially qualified. I think everyone knows we have the speed and ability to beat anyone on our day and we’ll go into the finals with an open mind.”

Being able to race relatively pressure free makes Team BDA a dangerous proposition, according to Cooper.

The 22-year-old now believes the heat is on the “massive sailing nations” such as New Zealand, Britain and Spain — the three other qualifiers from pool B.

“We didn’t win the qualifiers so people aren’t looking at us and thinking, ‘These are the guys to beat’,” he said.

“We know we have everyone’s support and we’ll just go out and go for it — there isn’t really anything to lose. You look at Bermuda, a population of 65,000 people, and we’re up against these massive sailing nations like New Zealand, Britain and Spain, and we’re out there competing neck-and-neck.

“That gives us a lot of confidence and we think we can do that in the finals as well.”

The prospect of racing on home waters in the most prestigious youth sailing regatta has given Cooper a few sleepless nights in the build-up.

After all, half of Team BDA’s six-man crew did not know a tack from a gybe having never sailed until 18 months ago.

“I’ve had some nerves the past couple nights and it’s been hard to eat throughout the day,” Cooper said. “But the support from everyone has been amazing and so crucial to instilling that confidence in us.”

Team BDA, who started the day tied for third, posted finishes of second, sixth and fourth to come fourth, with Austrian Candidate Sailing Team and Carson Crain’s Next Generation USA both being eliminated.

While admitting he was disappointed with his team’s final two finishes, Cooper believes there were plenty of positives to take from those performances.

“Getting that second in the first race was huge and we knew that helped with the [overall] points,” added Cooper, who is also the team’s tactician.

“A sixth and fourth to end the day wasn’t great but, look, we were third in both of those races and shifts happen and that’s the way sailboat racing goes.

“It was really tough conditions on the Sound today, really light and shifty. We move on, though, and we’re very happy about that and can’t wait to race in the finals.”

Despite achieving their primary goal, Cooper insists there will be no celebrations in the camp just yet. “Maybe we’ll have an ice bath and a protein shake. We’ll be taking it pretty easy.”

Results

Pool B, Race 4

1, NZL Sailing Team (10pts)

2, Team BDA (9)

3, Spanish Impulse (8)

4, Candidate Sailing Team (7)

5, Land Rover BAR Academy (6)

6, Next Generation USA (5)

Pool B, Race 5

1, Spanish Impulse (10)

2, Land Rover BAR Academy (9)

3, Candidate Sailing Team (8)

4, NZL Sailing Team (7)

5, Next Generation USA (6)

6, Team BDA (5)

Pool B, Race 6

1, NZL Sailing Team (10)

2, Land Rover BAR Academy (9)

3, Spanish Impulse (8)

4, Team BDA (7)

5, Next Generation USA (6)

6, Candidate Sailing Team (5)

Final standings

1, NZL Sailing Team 51

2, Land Rover BAR Academy 51

3, Spanish Impulse 51

4, Team BDA 45

5, Next Generation USA 36

6, Candidate Sailing Team 36

• Watch the 2017 Red Bull Youth America’s Cup Finals, live on Red Bull TV on June 20 and 21 from 2pm Bermuda time