American Andy Horton registered three wins on Hamilton Harbour yesterday, running his overall record to 5-0, and remaining the only undefeated skipper in round robin racing at the Swedish Match Tour’s Bermuda Gold Cup, hosted by the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club.

With his 5-0, record Horton sits atop Group 1, two wins ahead of the four skippers tied for second place. Horton dispatched of American Bill Buckles, local skipper Peter Bromby of ‘Team Bacardi’ and Sweden’s Marten Hedlund of ‘Team Victory Lane.’ ‘We had two really tough races today and were the benefit of some penalties by our opponents which allowed us to escape with wins,’ admitted Horton. ‘We sailed pretty solidly all day, the crew did a great job.’

Also going 3-0, yesterday and putting himself in the thick of the four-way tie was another local skipper Adam Barboza, helming a second ‘Team Bacardi’ entry. Barboza bounced back following a disappointing 0-2, opening performance to regatta.

In the afternoon’s press conference Barboza admitted to drawing motivation from the large contingent of spectators gathered on the RBYC pier. ‘It’s awesome to race in front of the crowds on the pier,’ said Barboza. ‘It sounds like an NFL stadium when you cross the finish line in front of the pier,’ said Barboza. ‘Placing the start/finish line just off the pier creates an awesome experience for both the crews and the spectators.’

In Group 2 action, Chris Law and ‘The Outlaws’ rebounded from a disappointing first day to post two wins and move .5 points off the pace. ‘Yesterday, we were a bit tired and sailing together as a team for the first time, but today we came out and sailed clean,” said Law. ‘I’m quite happy with how we’re doing and our fate is in our hands tomorrow.’

American skipper Tucker Thompson, who has competed as part of Law’s crew on previous Swedish Match Tour events, also posted two wins to move into a first place tie with local skipper Glenn Astwood. Astrid followed up his perfect opening day by splitting his matches, losing to Law and defeating Anthony Kotoun of the US Virgin Islands.

Results (Round Robins)

Group 1

1st Andy Horton (USA) 5 wins , 0 losses

2nd Adam Barboza (BER/Team Bacardi) 3,2

3rd Mason Woodworth (United Kingdom) 3,2

4th Peter Bromby (BER/Team Ace Group) 3,2

5th Marten Hedlund (SWE/Team Victory Lane) 3,2

6th Michael Green (St. Lucia) 2,3

7th Sally Barkow (USA/Team Seven-Barkow Racing) 1,4

8th Bill Buckles (USA) 0,5

Group 2

1. Glenn Astwood (BER/Team Bacardi) 4,1

2. Tucker Thompson (USA/Team T2 Productions) 4,1

3. Chris Law (Great Britain/”The Outlaws”) 3.5, 1

4. Karl Ziegler (USA) 3,2

5. Scott Dickson (USA/Dickson Racing Team) 3,2

6. Andy Lovell (USA) 3,2

7. Tino Ellegast (Germany) 0,5

8. Anthony Kotoun (U.S. Virgin Islands) 0,5

Results

Group 1

Flight 3

Green def. Barkow

Bromby def. Woodworth

Barboza def. Hedlund

Horton def. Buckles

Flight 4

Barboza def. Green

Horton def. Bromby

Woodworth def. Buckles

Hedlund def. Barkwo

Flight 5

Barboza def. Buckles

Horton def. Hedlund

Woodworth def. Green

Bromby def. Barkow

Group 2

Flight 4

Law def. Astwood

Thompson def. Ellegast

Ziegler def. Kotoun

Dickson def. Lovell

Flight 5

Astwood def. Kotoun

Thompson def. Lovell

Law def. Ziegler

Dickson def. Ellegast