Top 3 set, 4th berth up for grabs at LBYC 56th Congressional Cup
by Betsy Senescu 18 Sep 05:33 BST
14-19 September 2021
56th Congressional Cup day 3 © Bronny Daniels
Today the top three skippers racing in the 56th Congressional Cup regatta at Long Beach Yacht Club here cemented their positions in the semi-finals, but the battle is still waging for fourth place and who will advance to the next stage.
In round robin racing, Johnie Berntsson (SWE) and Eric Monnin (FRA) joined the ranks of the untouchable and will move into the semi-finals tomorrow. Ahead of them Taylor Canfield (USA) continued to flaunt the form that earned him his second World Match Racing Champion title in 2020, and four Crimson Blazers.
The Crimson Blazer is yacht racing's equivalent to the The Masters' green jacket. It's more than just a red sport coat: it a sign of joining the legion of celebrated skippers who have donned it before. Dennis Conner, Peter Holmberg, Dean Barker, Harold Cudmore, Chris Dickson, Ted Turner, Bill Ficker, Ken Read, Francesco Bruni... LBYC members tease that when Simone Ferrarese won his Crimson Blazer in 2013, 'He was like a little kid on Christmas morning, he was so smitten with winning it. We think he slept in it.'
In today's racing, in a light breeze that freshened up to 10 knots, penalty flags flew and collisions continued. Infringements of the strict rules of racing - determined by an expert team of on-the-water umpires - come at a hefty price, as a penalized boat is required to do a 360-degree penalty turn; while their opponent slips away.
But all collisions, Monnin pointed out, are not bad. The Swiss competitor, who has long sailed with his brother Marc on his team - along with Julien Falxa, Mathieu Renault, Lukas Gerig, Simon Brugger - has a new crew on traveler and main this year: his wife Ute Wagner.
They met on the racecourse in Lake Constance, Austria, Wagner said: "A nice meeting at the starting line."
"A big t-bone," Monnin clarified.
On opposing teams, at the start of a match race, Wagner explained, "But they were blue and we were entering yellow (on starboard tack)..."
"... and I got the penalty," Monnin conceded. "We call it the Big Bang!"
The couple married last month and jokingly say they are honeymooning at the regatta. "I always wanted to come to Long Beach to the Congressional Cup as a honeymoon," Ute interjected with a laugh. "It was my dream from the day I met Eric."
In truth, winning the Congressional Cup has been a long-standing dream of Monnin's. He has competed in the event six times in the last decade, yearning to add the Crimson Blazer to his impressive list of accomplishments, which includes current top-ranked match racing skipper in the world.
His team has never made the Congressional Cup podium, but poised to enter the semi-finals, Monnin's chances have never been better. "We didn't have so much racing this year, so the challenge has been to get back to doing what we know we can do, as soon as we can, and improve day to day," said Monnin. "We've never had a coach or trainer, but I've found it's okay to figure it out ourselves, working with our strengths. It's working... slowly, but it's working."
His wins today came at the expense of Jeffrey Petersen (USA) and Emil Kjaer (DEN) who are among a tightly packed posse - which also includes Sam Gilmour (AUS), Chris Poole (USA) and David Wood (USA) - battling for the fourth and final slot in the semi-finals, which will commence tomorrow: Saturday Sept. 18 directly off the Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier in Long Beach.
Racing is also live streamed on the official Facebook page at @CongressionalCup. For up-to-the-minute results visit www.matchracingresults.com/2021/congressional-cup
For details on Congressional Cup go to thecongressionalcup.com; visit wmrt.com for details on the World Match Racing Tour.