Bermuda make big strides at Team Racing World Championship
Bermuda’s sailors departed the Team Racing World Championship in Stockholm, Sweden, with heads held high after producing their best showing at the event.
Led by co-skippers Alan Frith and Joshua Greenslade, the island’s eight-strong contingent finished sixth among the 12 participating countries to improve on last year’s tenth place in Newport, Rhode Island.
“We're overall very happy with the event, our final position and the experience we've gained,” Frith told The Royal Gazette.
“We beat two of the top five teams and were very competitive in almost every race. It was a big improvement from our results last year, and with how much we've learnt over the past four days of racing, we're already looking forward to our next chance at international team racing.”
Fellow co-skipper Greenslade was also pleased with the team’s performance and vast improvement this year.
“Overall it was a great event for us. Getting this many reps in these past four days has been great, and we made fewer and fewer silly errors.”
Cecilia Wollman, Samantha Dill, Sebastian Round, Amelia Lewis, Aiden Young and Emily Davis were the remaining members of Bermuda’s that competed in the one-design J80 class on the waters of Riddarfjärden.
Davis said she also had an a “great experience” racing against world class team racers in a format unfamiliar to her.
“Coming from three-boat team racing in the UK at university, changing to 2v2 was an interesting change, feeling slightly more like match racing at times,” she said.
“We experienced all types of conditions and we’re pleased with how we adapted and kept racing tight.”
Lewis was also delighted with the improvements she and her team-mates made as the championship progressed.
“Over the course of the four days our starts improved with many tight races. Many teams mentioned that the races against us were long and competitive due to changing control and well executed manoeuvrers,” he said.
“I think our team dynamic across our two boats was super strong especially since we hadn’t had much practice as a full team.
“I also enjoyed experiencing the different styles of team racing by the various countries. Had a great event and would love to compete again in the future.”
Greenslade was the skipper of Boat 1, whose crew also included Lewis, Young and Davis.
Frith was at the helm of Boat 2, competing alongside Wollman, Dill and Round.
USA 1 were crowned champions after defeating defending champions USA 2 3-0 in the final.
