Taylor Canfield and US One could not have asked for a better start to their bid for a second Argo Group Gold Cup title in three years in Hamilton Harbour yesterday.

The 2012 Gold Cup winner coped best in the blustery conditions, which included wind gusts up to 28 knots during the morning qualifying session, to head back to the clubhouse with a 4-0 record and well within striking distance of a place in the quarter-finals.

“I think that was probably the hardest conditions you can sail in these boats and we are quite happy to get away with 4-0,” Canfield said. “It was definitely a battle in the breeze out there and it’s been awhile since I think we‘ve had a big breeze like that on day one of the Gold Cup. It’s good to survive a day like this.”

Canfield and US One topped group 2 after the first day with the best overall record.

The 2013 World Match Racing champion prevailed in his group matches against Francesco Bruni, the 2013 Gold Cup winner, Reuben Corbett, Nicolai Sehested and Bjorn Hansen, with two of his victories arriving after getting penalties on his opponents.

“We were focused on staying out of trouble, doing the simple things right and just trying to sail the boat well,” Canfield, the 2015 M32 Scandinavian Series champion, added. “Any time we got off the line relatively close to the other boat we were just like ‘oh, we’re happy, sail the boat now’, and we’re confident we can outsail most of the guys.”

Posting the best qualifying record in group one and second best overall was Eric Monnin and Swiss Match Race Team, last year’s Gold Cup runner’s up, who ended the day with a 3-1 record.

Monnin chalked up victories against Chris Poole, Joachim Aschenbrenner and Dean Barker before losing to Phil Robertson in the fourth flight.

“I’m very happy with how we went around the racecourse,” Monnin said.

Johnie Berntsson and Stena Sailing Team, the regatta’s defending champions, finished with a 2-1 record after their match with Barker in the fourth flight was postponed because of a damaged rigging on the latter’s International One Design.

Berntsson prevailed against Robertson and Bermuda’s Blythe Walker but faltered against Ian Williams, the 2006 Gold Cup winner and reigning world match racing champion.

“It was tough racing out there,” Berntsson, the two-times Gold Cup winner, said. “Today was more about keeping your boat and your team together than working on your opponent and I think our strategy worked out well.

“Unfortunately we struggled against Williams and had problems with our boat handling and they managed to win that race. But we are happy with the result and we still have one race in hand with Dean Barker.”

Walker and Team RenRe started the day with a confidence-boosting victory over Williams and Team GAC Pindar before losing their remaining qualifying matches against Berntsson, Robertson and Chris Poole.

“We started with a bang and finished with a whimper,” Walker said. “It was a great way to start the day and then we had a couple of tough races in the middle and in the last one the cobwebs showed up and we started making silly mistakes.”

Walker’s victory did not go without drama as Williams collided with his Bermudian rival and was slapped with a penalty and deducted half a point for causing damage to his opponent’s boat.

“He wasn’t sure which way to go at the leeward mark so he decided to take a chomp at our stern and it was a penalty against him,” Walker said. “But we ended up opening up on that beat anyway and getting a nice lead.”

Yesterday’s blustery conditions took a heavy toll on the boats and kept the repair crews up working well into the night.

Privateer, that sank during Hurricane Joaquin, endured further misfortune after breaking its mast crane.