Inexperience proved no barrier to success as the first four skippers sailed into the quarter-finals on the second day of the World Match Racing Tour Bermuda Gold Cup.

But it was not until the last of the 17 flights and the 66th match in Hamilton Harbour that the top four could celebrate a spot in the knockout stages, with Chris Poole’s loss to Tom Picot leaving him stranded on seven points to miss out on a qualification spot by one win.

Poole, a veteran of the Gold Cup, was pipped to the final four by three skippers who were racing in the event for the first time.

Among them is Christian Hamilton, who continued his stratospheric rise through the World Match Racing Tour rankings, by racking up eight wins in the round-robin stage and he was understandably thrilled to have made it into the latter stages at his first attempt.

“This is my first time at the Bermuda Gold Cup and it’s been amazing,” Hamilton said.

“The weather is insane, the venue is insane, as is the hospitality. Today was a great day, we managed to win four and lose one, which we were really happy with, and that meant we were straight through into the quarters. So far it’s been an amazing, really fun event.”

Hamilton is sailing with a storied crew, including multiple world champion Ian Williams, and admits that their advice has proved invaluable in the first two days of racing.

“I’m sailing with Ian, who has won the world championships nine time, and Richard and Gundy, who have both won it five-plus times,” Hamilton said.

“It’s amazing to be able to sail with those guys and learn so much from them. Even when I make mistakes, they can somehow pull me back into the race, they are a really amazing team.

“Match racing is one of those things where you get instant feedback for doing something wrong or right. I just love that kind of that competitiveness. The races are short, but you can get loads of them in a day, so there are lots of stories and always near misses and celebrations.”

Joining Hamilton in the quarter-finals are first-time Bermuda Gold Cup contenders Oscar Engstrom and Aurelien Pierroz, who both finished with eight wins from their 11 round-robin races.

Completing the skippers straight through to the quarter-finals is Jeppe Borch, who could not quite match his five wins of yesterday but picked up three victories to also make it to eight points.

Among the big names forced to compete in the repechage is perennial Bermuda Gold Cup champion Johnnie Bentsson.

Berntsson finished with a losing record of five wins and six defeats to finish eighth of the 12 skippers, behind Poole, Eric Monnin and Pauline Courtois.