Congressional Cup Countdown

LONG BEACH —The world’s top-ranked match racing skippers will come to Southern California April 5-10 to compete in the 52nd Congressional Cup regatta, hosted by Long Beach Yacht Club.

Reigning World Match Racing Tour (WMRT) Champion Ian Williams fresh off a win at the WMRT 2016 season opener in Fremantle, Australia, returns; in an effort to topple two-time defending Congressional Cup champion Taylor Canfield, and recapture the title he won in 2011 and 2012.

In fact seven of World Sailing’s top 10 ranked skippers will compete, with five more spirited opponents nipping at their heels: including two skippers who will earn their berths in the April 1-3 Ficker Cup.

The Congressional Cup is the only keelboat event in the five-stop WMRT. Recently the other venues changed to a one-design, high performance M32 catamaran platform.

The public is invited to watch this spectacle, as teams from eight nations converge and clash in this elite Grade WC Match Race, directly off Long Beach’s Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier. Racing takes place April 6-10, starting daily at 11:30a.m.

Skipper                     Country         World Sailing Ranking*
Ian Williams               GBR                          1
Taylor Canfield          ISV                             2
Bjorn Hansen              SWE                          3
Eric Monnin               SUI                             4
Sam Gilmour              AUS                           5
Matthew Jerwood      AUS                           6
Joachim Aschenbrenner      DEN                       7
Chris Steele                  NZL                           8
Reuben Corbett            NZL                           9
Johnie Berntsson         SWE                          10

*at press time