All star line-up prepares for World Championship season opener

Twelve skippers from nine nations have converged on Long Beach Yacht Club (LBYC), all with the same goal: to win the prestigious 51-year-old Congressional Cup, and set the pace for the season ahead.
Current ISAF Match Racing World Champion and two-time Congressional Cup winner Ian Williams,
GBR (ISAF No.1 ranked) is back, eager to topple defending champion Taylor Canfield, ISV (ISAF No.2). Returning skippers include Eric Monnin, SUI (ISAF No.4); Joachim Aschenbrenner, DEN (ISAF No.9); Keith Swinton, AUS (ISAF No.10), Phil Robertson, NZL (ISAF No.13), Przemeyslaw ‘Tara’ Tarnaki, POL (ISAF No.26), Dustin Durant USA (ISAF No.84) and Scott Dickson, LBYC (ISAF No.167). Making their Congressional Cup debuts, as skippers, are Bjorn Hansen, SWE (IAF No.5), Chris Steele, NZ (ISAF No.11) and Reuben Corbett, NZL (ISAF No.12).

The teams will compete in five days of match racing, a form of yachting competition that entails a series of one-on-one races, sailed in identically equipped boats: crews even have a weight limit, to guarantee the playing field is absolutely level. And then, the action begins. The competition is close, and aggressive. Collisions are not rare, and on-the-water umpires serve up ‘instant justice’ with the wave of a flag. The Congressional Cup promises plenty of thrilling action, sure to escalate as the week wears on and nerves wear thin, in their quest for victory.