Twelve skippers will chase the King Edward VII Gold Cup in Hamilton Harbour this October, after the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club confirmed an expanded field for the 2026 Bermuda Gold Cup. The regatta is the oldest match racing trophy for one-design keelboats in the world, and this year the invitation list has grown from eight to twelve, with the men's and women's fields brought into a single combined event.
The regatta runs October 13-18 and sits as the penultimate stop on the World Match Racing Tour, ahead of the Tour final in Saudi Arabia in November.
Eleven of the twelve places are locked in, drawn from six countries. The twelfth goes to whoever wins the Oakcliff International, a Grade 2 Tour stage running 27-30 August.
Sweden's Johnie Berntsson heads back to Hamilton as a three-time defending champion, chasing something no one has done since the Gold Cup adopted its modern format in 1985: a fourth straight title. He beat Great Britain's Ian Williams 3-0 in last October's final to complete the hat-trick, taking his career tally to five Gold Cup wins. Only Sir Russell Coutts, with seven, has more.
He won't have it easy. Chris Poole of the USA and Switzerland's Eric Monnin, both top-four finishers in Bermuda last year, sit alongside him at the top of the world rankings.
The women's line-up is just as strong. Sweden's Anna Östling, the reigning Aspen Bermuda Women's champion, lines up against France's Pauline Courtois, the defending Women's World Match Racing Tour champion, plus Sweden's Martina Carlsson and USA's Allie Blecher.
The Royal Bermuda Yacht Club has taken delivery of eight brand new Fareast 28R keelboats, designed by Simonis Voogd Yacht Design, which will run the 2026 Gold Cup and become the club's regular racing fleet from here on. They are currently being commissioned in Bermuda ahead of October.
The Fareast 28R is no stranger to the Tour, having already been used at the Macao and Sweden stages, meaning most of the field will step aboard boats they know well.
Somers Kempe, Past Commodore and Rear Commodore, International Sailing Events at RBYC, said the club was investing in the Gold Cup's future. "The RBYC is very happy to invest in the future of the Gold Cup with the purchase of a fleet of boats that are widely accepted upon the WMRT. The Club is looking forward to the boats also supporting an expansion of sailing initiatives at the Club for our Members, and hosting new events bringing visitors to the island to experience Bermudian hospitality and pristine sailing conditions."
World Match Racing Tour CEO James Pleasance called it a new era for an event long associated with the International One Design fleet. "Whilst the Bermuda Gold Cup has long been recognised for it's iconic IOD fleet (International One Design), this year marks an exciting new era for the event with the brand new Far East 28 fleet recently delivered to the club. The Far East 28R's are also used at the world tour's Macao and Sweden stages so the boats are already well known to most of the teams and we look forward to seeing the new fleet in action in Hamilton Harbour in October."
The Royal Bermuda Yacht Club thanks RenaissanceRe, the Bermuda Tourism Authority, and Howden for their continued support as sponsors and partners of the 2026 Bermuda Gold Cup.
2026 Bermuda Gold Cup field (World Sailing rankings at 1 July 2026):
Johnie Berntsson (SWE), defending champion, WS Open Ranking No. 3 Chris Poole (USA), WS Open Ranking No. 1 Eric Monnin (SUI), WS Open Ranking No. 4 Christian Hamilton (GBR), WS Open Ranking No. 5 Oscar Engström (SWE), WS Open Ranking No. 6 Aurélien Pierroz (FRA), WS Open Ranking No. 9 Jeppe Borch (DEN), WS Open Ranking No. 13 Anna Östling (SWE), WS Open Ranking No. 70 / WS Women's Ranking No. 2 Pauline Courtois (FRA), WS Open Ranking No. 19 / WS Women's Ranking No. 1 Martina Carlsson (SWE), WS Open Ranking No. 53 / WS Women's Ranking No. 5 Allie Blecher (USA), WS Open Ranking No. 344 / WS Women's Ranking No. 9 TBC, winner of Oakcliff International 2026
