Ted Murphy won the coveted Vrengen Gold Cup for the third time after coming out on top of a close battle with defending champion Bill McNiven at the Bermuda International Invitational Race Week regatta.

The Canadian pipped McNiven by two points for overall honours in the eight-race series, which was contested by a formidable International One Design fleet in the Great Sound,

Murphy, who also won the three-race B series and with it the Dick Kempe Memorial Trophy, was consistent throughout the series with six top-three finishes, including two firsts.

McNiven finished runner-up and also retained the Jordy Walker Memorial Trophy after winning the five-race A series.

The local helmsman won two of the final three races in the B series but came up short in his attempt for a fourth consecutive title after he was forced to carry a fifth-place finish in the opening race of the A series towards his overall score.

American Courtenay Jenkins finished third overall, a farther seven points off the lead, to round off the podium.

The annual regatta also featured the J105 class, with Adam Barboza winning the Past Commodore’s Cup by four points over compatriot Peter Bromby.

Barboza and crew Tre Maxwell, Butch Agnew, Michael Wollmann, George Buckley, Aiden McPhail and wife Debbie won three races and finished no lower than third in the five-race series to top the leaderboard with six points.

Bromby, the four-times Olympian, pipped compatriot Kelsey Durham for second on a tie-break.

This year’s international regatta was not without incident as the IOD helmed by England’s Oliver Dix was dismasted in a collision with rival McNiven’s boat, which resulted in the latter being forced to retire from the race after being judged at fault for the mishap.