New dates announced for 56th Congressional Cup at Long Beach Yacht Club

LONG BEACH—The 56th Congressional Cup hosted by Long Beach Yacht Club has new dates: Sept. 14 to 19. The yacht club announced on Jan. 13 the event was being moved from May to September due to the status of the covid-19 pandemic and recovery. The last Congressional Cup was held in April of 2019. The 2020 event was canceled due to the coronavirus. “We look forward to celebrating a return to the glory of Congressional Cup racing,” Congressional Cup Chairman Chris Macy said in a released statement. Organizers plan to follow the traditional program with the world’s top-ranked skippers from around the globe competing for the iconic grand silver trophy and Crimson Blazer. The revised schedule will commence with the Ficker Cup qualifier Sept. 10 to 12, to determine the final two entries to Congressional Cup. On Sept. 15, the premier-level match racing returns to the waters off Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier for five days, culminating with finals on Sept. 19. Racing commences at roughly noon each day and is held in a fleet of identical 37-foot Catalina keelboats. Ian Williams was the last to win the iconic Crimson Blazer and hoist the trophy. In the 2019 event, he scrambled up the leaderboard...