Johnie Berntsson grabbed his own slice of Bermuda Gold Cup history by becoming the only sailor to lift the King Edward VII Trophy for three years in a row since the event switched to the modern format.

The Swedish skipper is also closing in on Sir Russell Coutts’s record of seven victories, with the defeat of Ian Williams in Hamilton Harbour on Sunday taking his record to five wins.

Berntsson swept Williams 3-0 in the final, although the races were closer than the scoreline suggested. He was still trying to process the historic victory a couple of hours after crossing the line for the last time in 2025.

“If you had asked me 20 years ago that I would win this regatta once, I wouldn’t have believed you,” he said.

“So to now be just behind Sir Russell Coutts, I am over the moon. I have been sailing with this team now for three years and I am struggling to describe it. No other Swedes have ever won the Gold Cup. I look at all the other names on the King Edward VII Trophy and it is just such an honour to be on there with them.”

Berntsson was pushed all the way by Williams, gaining the advantage in the first race with a penalty and in the last race coming out on top of a protracted duel.

“The first race we came from behind and it was just a penalty that gave us the advantage, so that was lucky for us,” he said. “The second one he hunted us all the way. It’s never easy when Ian Williams is just behind you.

“The last race there was a fight all around the racecourse and he played us so hard. We had dial-downs, tack covering, tack to splits, it had it all. I would love to see it back on video, as it was great.”

Berntsson has won a lot of races in a lot of places, but Bermuda holds a special place in his heart.

“This is a special place for me,” he said. “I am staying with Craig and Penny MacIntyre and Nancy and Charles Swart, their neighbours. They always open up their family to me and it’s so great to be here, with the island such a beautiful place.”

The Swede is one of the nicest men you could meet off the water but one of his opponents this week called him a “jackass” on it and he turns into a killer as soon as he steps on the deck.

“I try to switch on and off but when I am in race mode, boy am I in race mode,” he said.

“We never want to get in race mode too early, as that will drain our energy so I love chatting to people and hanging out. Today, I saw a dog on my way to the boat and I stopped to say hello to her. All the guys we race are our friends, but when we step on the boat a lot of the teams never want to meet us.”

For the vanquished Williams, he was left to rue the small margins in a couple of defeats.

“Johnie outsailed us in race two but a couple of races were super tight,” he said.

“In the real tight moments, he just got the hooks he needed when he needed them, whereas we didn’t. That was great work for him and good decision-making when he needed it.

“His experience in the IODs may have come into play. They have an IOD fleet in Sweden to practise, whereas my last experience in them was two years ago. But that’s not to say it was the only difference; he just did a great job and executed better.

One interested spectator at the event was Andrew Murdoch, the Governor, who spent the Gold Cup final on board Spirit of Bermuda.

While he has been involved in serious issues over the past few months, the Governor was happy to spend a Sunday in the sun to learn about Bermuda’s maritime history.

“I’ve always seen part of my job as being the serious constitutional issues but also to understand all parts of the Bermuda community, and this is part of the community,” he said.

“It’s great to talk to Bermudians but also this event attracts a lot of international sailors and it puts Bermuda on the international stage. It reinforces the fact that this island can attract international events, with SailGP coming back next year.

“It’s a good way of reminding us that sailing is part of the community as an activity. I’ve had a great deal of fun, but I want to signal that this is a really fun, positive event that Bermuda can be proud of.”