Poole dominates opening day of Congressional Cup

The 61st edition of the Congressional Cup hosted by the Long Beach Yacht Club roared to life today as ten of the world’s leading match racing teams clashed in a high-stakes opening day battle for early qualification points.

Leading the day, two-time event champion Chris Poole/Riptide Racing (USA) set the bar finishing undefeated with six straight wins. Defending champion Eric Monnin and his Swiss Match Racing Team also posted a strong performance, finishing the day at five wins and one loss.

With a steady 10-14 knot westerly sea breeze building throughout the afternoon, Long Beach delivered near-perfect racing conditions for the tightly matched Catalina 37 fleet as teams fought hard to put valuable points on the results board. There was no shortage of drama and action with the International Umpires giving out a total of fourteen penalties.

One of the day’s standout showdowns saw Poole pushed by USA’s Christian Prendergast in a close-fought match which Poole was able to maintain the win. 20 yr old Prendergast, sailing in his first Congressional Cup, later secured victory over Denmark’s Jeppe Borch in a nail-biting race featuring multiple lead changes, two penalties, and a finish decided in the final seconds.

“The field is wide open,” commented Prendergast at the post-race press conference.  “There is a five-way tie on teams with two wins after today; every race is very bow-to stern.” Adding that his father James Prendergast is sailing as part of his crew, Prendergast added “I remember well every time I have been shouted at, now it’s my turn to crack the whip.”

Fresh off his Ficker Cup victory last weekend, earning him an invite to the Congressional Cup, Long Beach YC’s own Scotty Dickson energized the home crowd by defeating France’s Aurélien Pierroz to claim his first win of the regatta. Dickson finished the day on two wins after winning his race against Sweden’s Oscar Engström.

“We had a great win at the Ficker Cup,” said Dickson. “Often, you can make small mistakes and still win a race. But at the Congressional Cup, that’s not the case.”

Racing continues tomorrow at Belmont Pier at 11:30 a.m. local time. Following a double round robin between the ten teams, the top four teams will advance to the semi-finals with racing continuing through Sunday.

The 61st Congressional Cup runs April 29 through May 3, 2026, featuring the world’s top match racing skippers competing off the Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier in Long Beach, California.

Viewing is free for spectators daily from approximately 11:30 a.m. to 5:00p.m., with live broadcast coverage Friday through Sunday.

For more information, visit www.thecongressionalcup.com and www.wmrt.com.

2026 Congressional Cup Teams

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1.  CHRIS POOLE, RIPTIDE RACING (World ranking #1)

Crew: Joachim Aschenbrenner, Bernardo Freitas, Mal Parker, Lars-Peter Rosendahl, Harry West

2.  JOHNIE BERNTSSON, BERNTSSON SAILING TEAM (World ranking #2)

Crew: Martin Krite, Johan Bäckman, Bjorn Lundgren, Henrik Walderyd, Daniel Wallberg

3.  COLE TAPPER, KAIROS RACING (World ranking #3)

Crew: Max Brennan, Jack Frewin, Nathan Guliksen, George Richardson, Hamish Vass, Jordon Reece (coach)

4.  IAN GARRETA, MED RACING (World ranking #4)

Crew: Calixte Benoit, Simon Bertheau, Thibaut Demal, Pierre Garreta, Gaulthier Germain, Vicenç Girodeau

5.  AURÉLIEN PIERROZ, MATCH AGAIN BY NET (World ranking #5)

Crew: Paul Dagault, Jules Ducelier, Hugo Feydit, Camille Pfaff, Sebastien Riot

6.  JEPPE BORCH, BORCH MATCH RACING (World ranking #6)

Crew: Bastian Beach, August de la Cour, Thomas Jorgensen, Matias Rossing, Gustav Wantzin

7.  CHRISTIAN PRENDERGAST, A TEAM (World ranking #10)

Crew: Sam Gilmour, Connor Mashlan, Peter Nicholas, James Prendergast, Mark Spearman, Justin Wong

8. ERIC MONNIN, SWISS MATCH RACING TEAM (World ranking #11)

Crew: Julien Falxa, Maxime Mesnil, Jean Claude Monnin, Marc Monnin, Ute Monnin Wagner, Cyril Schüpbach

9.  Scotty Dickson, Dickson Racing, United States (World ranking #214)

Crew: Danny Bailey, GArret Brown, Jackson Mccoy, Cameron Feves, Matt Whitfield

10.  Oscar Engstrőm, Team LIROS, Sweden (World ranking #8)

Crew: Filip Karlsson, Emil Wolfgang, Zak Merton, Rasmus Alnebeck, Severin Gramm

World Sailing Open match racing rankings as at 1 April 2026