Local sailor Julia Lines has plenty to smile about after she clinched a spot in the Bermuda Gold Cup semi-finals with her Down Under Racing team-mates.

However, Lines will have to wait until Saturday for her next opportunity to compete with racing cancelled as a result of Tropical Storm Philippe.

Trailing 2-0 in their best of five quarter-final match with rivals Capvis Swiss Match Race Team in Hamilton Harbour on Wednesday, the Australian team won the next three points to advance to the last four and keep alive their hopes of lifting the King Edward VII Trophy.

“I am absolutely thrilled and exhausted but it’s really exciting to have improved on the last Gold Cup result and really looking forward to doing some more racing with these guys,” an elated Lines told The Royal Gazette.

As for her team’s amazing comeback from the brink of elimination, Lines added: “That was tough but we kept the morale high on board and the guys knew that we could do it. I trusted them, they trusted me and we got through it.

”Today was really shifty at the windward mark but we figured it out throughout the day and obviously that paid off. This team is pretty good and I am just glad to be involved in such high-performance racing.”

Lines, 26, is making her second appearance in the regatta after making her debut three years ago with Swedish syndicate, Team Wings, led by female skipper and former world champion Anna Ostling.

Down Under Racing is led by helmsman Harry Price, who also expressed his joy at reaching the semi-final of the World Match Racing Tour event.

“I am really happy. We came here with really not much expectations and went all the way, five races with Eric Monnin [Capvis Swiss Match Race Team helmsman],” he said.

“We lost the first two with a few mistakes here and there and pulled it together for the last three.

“The team just did a phenomenal job. We’ve got Julia doing all of the work up on the bow sort of gasping for air on the last downwind and just held it together for the finish and really proud of the team.”

Among those congratulating Lines was her proud father, former Royal Bermuda Yacht Club commodore, Bruce Lines.

“I am excited and absolutely thrilled,” he said. “She works hard, sails hard and is an absolutely solid kid.

“To sail with these group of guys from the Australian team is just amazing. To be invited to sail with them I guess she must be all right in sailing.”

Past winners Stars+Stripes Team USA, Team Williams Sail Racing and Flux Team were the others to progress to the semi-finals.

Led by US Virgin Islands helmsman Taylor Canfield, defending Gold Cup champions Stars+Stripes Team USA beat fellow American team True Blue Racing 3-1 to keep their title bid on track.

“I am pretty pleased with the way things are going,” Canfield said.

“There’s still a lot to improve onboard but the fact we are sailing well enough to get to where we are at this point is awesome.

“We kept learning all day and getting better every day is the key and that’s what is going to get you through to the final and to win the event ultimately.

“So we are in good shape, we have a great team and everyone is feeling strong onboard and happy with how things are going.”

Team Williams Sail Racing, led by English helmsman Ian Williams, cruised to a resounding 3-0 win over rivals Borch Racing Team to remain on course for a third Gold Cup title and first since 2019.

Also gunning for a third title this year is Sweden’s Johnie Berntsson and his Flux Team team-mates ,who beat New Zealand’s KNOTS Racing team 3.25-0 in their quarter-final match to extend their unbeaten run in this year’s regatta.

“Winning all of the races so far is over the moon and better than what we thought we could do,” Berntsson said.

“These guys kept the boat going really fast. We picked some good shifts and managed to come out of tricky situations knowing how to use these boats to get some good results.”