By Kevin Wilkerson, PubClub.com Editor & Publisher
What would you do if I told you that there is a big event in Long Beach, CA, that has people from all over the world coming in for it and that it’s completely free?
The first thing you might do is check the calendar to make sure it’s not April 1. The second thing you might do is think I did not read the fine print.
But it’s true. There is a free event taking place in Long Beach and it is happening April 29-May 3 at the Belmont Pier. To watch, all you have to do is show up between about 11 a.m., and 5 p.m.
It is the Congressional Cup, a major regatta involving skippers and crews from around the world. Last year, a team from Switzerland won it. This year, it could be one from Sweden. Or France. Denmark or Australia. Or right here in the USA.
The Congressional Cup is so named because it began under a charter granted by Congress. It has been around for 61 years. It is also part of the World Match Racing Tour, which sanctions races all over the world (Italy, Ireland, Bermuda and Abu-Dhabi to name a few, as well as in the USA at New York, Chicago and Detroit). As the longest running event of its kind in North America it is the granddaddy of modern world-class match racing events.
Now you may be thinking something along the lines of the America’s Cup or even Sail GP. But about the only thing they have in common with the Congressional Cup is that they involve boats.
For one thing, with those races, you watch from a distance. At the Congressional Cup, you are so close you may get your nose clipped by a mast if you lean too far over the pier. Secondly, these are not high-tech boats. They are fairly basic Catalina 37s, the kind many recreational sailors take on a leisurely trips to Catalina Island. But they are manned by professional skippers and crew who use all their knowledge, experience and skill to be successful. Reading the waves, the wind and even the other team’s boat is all a part of it. They must do all this while constantly adapting to the changing conditions of the sea.
Not only that but the boats all belong to the host Long Beach Yacht Club, meaning that they are identical. The teams are not even assigned them until the start of each day. That further challenges the skippers and crew.
All this is perfectly explained by PA announcer Tucker Thompson, who manages to inform the novice while not insulting the knowledgeable. This makes it easy to understand what is happening on the water.
“Winning this regatta is a big step for us,” Switzerland’s Eric Monnin said after taking last year’s title. “It’s a big deal, and it means a lot to do it with this crew.”
You can visit the Congressional Cup website to learn more. But you don’t have to go there to get tickets. Just be there on the pier.
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