The 58thĀ Congressional Cup kicked off with fiery action beneath blue skies and splendid winds of 10 to 14 knots, as 10 of the top-ranked match racing teams from seven nations began the battle for the iconic Crimson Blazer.
The Congressional Cup is one of the most prestigious and long-running match racing events on the globe. A founding event of the World Match Racing Tour, it is a World Sailing Grade One competition hosted by Long Beach Yacht Club, starring the worldās top ranked match racing skippers.
Although itās been a full year since the last running of the Congressional Cup, it didnāt take long for the skippers and crews to get warmed up and fired up: clashing fiercely throughout the day ā including several collisions, breakdowns and fouls.
Leading the charge was defending Congressional Cup champion and six-time World Champion Ian Williams (GBR). Competing in the Congressional Cup since 2006, Williams has won an astonishing five Crimson Blazers in 12 attempts.Ā āCongressional Cup is the first event on the 2023 World Match Racing Tour, so itās very important for us to start the year strong, in our bid for our seventh match racing World Championship,ā he pointed out.
But Williams spreads his time competing in a diverse range of classes and series. āThis year Iām focused on the WMRT with ChinaOne.Ningbo, plus fleet racing in M32 catamarans. So meaningful preparation has been difficult for us, with a team spread around the world.ā Instead, he explained, āWeāve watched videos of previous years and read up on our notes to get ready for this Congressional Cup.Ā Itās been a struggle,ā Williams added, āWeāre really happy finishing the first day 4-2.ā
Williams noted he is one of the more senior teams on the lineup: with only one crew member under 40. By contrast, several opponents have much younger crews like Jeppe Borch (DEN), 25 and Nick Egnot-Johnson (NZL), 24 nipping at his heels.
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