Top sailors from around the world compete for the 2017 Congressional Cup in Long Beach

Long Beach Yacht Club hosts the annual Congressional Cup March 27-April 2.

LONG BEACH ― Skilled skippers from around the world are set to sail the 2017 Congressional Cup regatta in Long Beach from March 27 to April 2. The Congressional Cup represents the highest level of sailboat racing in the world, as it is the second event for this year’s World Match Racing Tour.

Last year’s Congressional Cup champion, Taylor Cansfield, returns to race this year. Cansfield is a U.S. Virgin Islands native living in Miami.

Phil Robertson from Auckland, New Zealand, Ian Williams of Great Britain, Sam Gilmour of Australia and Joachim Aschenbrenner from Denmark are just a few of the top sailors competing against the defending champion.

The Ficker Cup, set to run March 24-26 in Long Beach, will determine two more competitors for the Congressional Cup.

The winning skipper of the Congressional Cup is awarded the coveted Crimson Blazer. Past winners over the years included top sailors as Ken Read, Gavin Brady, Dennis Conner, Ted Turner and Dean Barker.

Cansfield became “the first skipper to win three Crimson Blazers back-to-back, in the…history of the legendary regatta,” as stated on the Congressional Cup website in regards to his win last year in Long Beach.

Races are sailed in a fleet of identical 37-foot Catalina monohulls designed specifically for the event, which guarantees an equal and competitive platform. The races take place directly off the Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier.

Spectators view the competition of the Congressional Cup match races from The Long Beach Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier. (Betsy Crowfoot/LBYC photo)

This is Long Beach Yacht Club’s 53rd year hosting the Congressional Cup. This is the Congressional Cup’s 8th year as part of the World Match Racing Tours. The Long Beach Yacht Club established this match race in 1964.

The Congressional Cup is part of the esteemed World Match Racing Tour, and one of seven championship level events held around the globe.

For more information on Congressional Cup visit the congressionalcup.com. Details of the World Match Racing Tour are available at wmrt.com.

(Betsy Crowfoot/LBYC photos)

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