Upsets set up exciting Congressional Cup finish

LONG BEACH >> Unpredictable winds and stormy weather have made for very exciting match racing and unexpected results this week at the 52nd Aual Congressional Cup, hosted by the Long Beach Yacht Club. The top 12 skippers in the world are in Long Beach for this prestigious event as part of the World Match Racing Tour.

The unpredictable theme continued on Saturday, as strong performances and thrilling finishes moved skippers Taylor Canfield, Nicolai Sehested, Sam Gilmour and LBYC representative Scott Dickson into the semifinals.

The semifinal flights, $2,000 fleet race and final match race will all take place Sunday off the Belmont Pier.

The talented field opened up after the round-robin seeding matches on Thursday and Friday when the No. 1-ranked skipper in the world, Ian Williams, was eliminated from competition after disappointing losses to Canfield and Schested.

The match-race format is much like a volleyball match in which five flights, or sets, are run until one team wins three flights.

Canfield, a Virgin Islands native who is ranked No. 2 in the world, is also the two-time defending champion of the Congressional Cup. He swept No. 4 Eric Moin, and the No. 12-ranked Sehested swept No. 3 Bjo Hansen from Sweden.

The most thrilling moments on Saturday came at the end of the quarterfinal round in two fifth-flight races. Dickson, who has represented the LBYC in 17 Congressional Cup events, was one of the last skippers to qualify for the quarterfinals. He fell behind 2-0 to No. 8 ranked Chris Steel out of New Zealand. However, Dickson won the next two flights to force the tiebreaker.

Dickson was penalized to start the fifth flight, but his patient response forced Steel into a mistake that gave the LBYC boat an 18-second lead. Dickson stretched that lead and was able to complete the penalty, a 360-degree tu before crossing the finish line, before Steel could catch up.

Meanwhile, Phil Robertson and Sam Gilmour finished the most surprising result of the day in their fifth flight. Robertson, who was a dominant 10-1 in the round robin, won the fourth flight to force the fifth, and took a big lead after a perfect start.

Gilmour, the No. 5 Australian competing in his first Congressional Cup, was able to catch up, but he was penalized while retaking the lead. He also completed the penalty tu as Robinson closed in on him, but initially the race official on the water lifted both flags.

Advertisement

The rules officials reviewed the tape and gave the win to Gilmour.

The semifinal round started on Saturday afteoon, but once again, the lack of consistent wind forced the postponement until Sunday moing.