LONG BEACH, Calif. (April 29, 2026) – 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.
Boating New Zealand Insert
Chris Poole leads the 61st Congressional Cup after a perfect Round Robin 1
Long Beach Yacht Club • April 29 – May 3, 2026
Chris Poole has stormed to the top of the leaderboard at the 61st Congressional Cup, winning all six of his Round Robin 1 matches to sit on a perfect 100% record at Long Beach Yacht Club.
The American skipper was untouchable through the opening round, defeating Eric Monnin, Oscar Engström, Scotty Dickson, Ian Garreta, Jeppe Borch and Christian Prendergast to claim outright leadership heading into the next stage of racing.
Switzerland’s Eric Monnin sits second with five wins from six races (83%), his only loss coming against Poole in what was one of the round’s standout results. Monnin otherwise had the measure of the fleet, beating Ian Garreta, Cole Tapper, Aurélien Pierroz, Johnie Berntsson and Oscar Engström along the way.
Sweden’s Johnie Berntsson and Australia’s Cole Tapper are locked together in third and fourth at 67%, both with four wins apiece. Berntsson accounted for Aurélien Pierroz, Christian Prendergast, Oscar Engström and Jeppe Borch, but lost against Garreta and Monnin; while Tapper beat Jeppe Borch, Christian Prendergast, Scotty Dickson and Aurélien Pierroz, though he dropped races to Monnin and Engström.
Five sailors are bunched together on two wins and 33%: Garreta (FRA), Borch (DEN), Engström (SWE), Prendergast (USA) and Dickson (USA). Aurélien Pierroz sits last with just one win, against Prendergast, from six starts.
The Congressional Cup, recognised as the granddaddy of modern match racing, is the premier and longest-running event of its kind in North America. Racing continues through to May 3.
| Sailor | W | L | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Poole USA | 6 | 0 | 100% |
| Eric Monnin SUI | 5 | 1 | 83% |
| Johnie Berntsson SWE | 4 | 2 | 67% |
| Cole Tapper AUS | 4 | 2 | 67% |
| Ian Garreta FRA | 2 | 4 | 33% |
| Jeppe Borch DEN | 2 | 4 | 33% |
| Oscar Engström SWE | 2 | 4 | 33% |
| Christian Prendergast USA | 2 | 4 | 33% |
| Scotty Dickson USA | 2 | 4 | 33% |
| Aurélien Pierroz FRA | 1 | 5 | 17% |
Round Robin 1 standings • Source: MatchRacingResults.com
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.For more information, visit www.thecongressionalcup.com and www.wmrt.com.
2026 Congressional Cup teams1. 🇺🇸 Chris Poole, Riptide Racing (World ranking #1)Crew: Joachim Aschenbrenner, Bernardo Freitas, Mal Parker, Lars-Peter Rosendahl, Harry West2. 🇸🇪 Johnie Berntsson, Berntsson Sailing Team (World ranking #2)Crew: Martin Krite, Johan Bäckman, Bjorn Lundgren, Henrik Walderyd, Daniel Wallberg3. 🇦🇺 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 Girodeau5. 🇫🇷 Aurélien Pierroz, Match Again by Net (World ranking #5)Crew: Paul Dagault, Jules Ducelier, Hugo Feydit, Camille Pfaff, Sebastien Riot6. 🇩🇰 Jeppe Borch, Borch Match Racing (World ranking #6)Crew: Bastian Beach, August de la Cour, Thomas Jorgensen, Matias Rossing, Gustav Wantzin7. 🇺🇸 Christian Prendergast, A Team (World ranking #10)Crew: Sam Gilmour, Connor Mashlan, Peter Nicholas, James Prendergast, Mark Spearman, Justin Wong8. 🇨🇭Eric Monnin, Swiss Match Racing Team (World ranking #11)Crew: Julien Falxa, Maxime Mesnil, Jean Claude Monnin, Marc Monnin, Ute Monnin Wagner, Cyril Schüpbach9. 🇺🇸 Scotty Dickson, Dickson Racing, United States (World ranking #214)Crew: Danny Bailey, GArret Brown, Jackson Mccoy, Cameron Feves, Matt Whitfield10. 🇸🇪 Oscar Engstrőm, Team LIROS, Sweden (World ranking #8)Crew: Filip Karlsson, Emil Wolfgang, Zak Merton, Rasmus Alnebeck, Severin GrammWorld Sailing Open match racing rankings as at 1 April 2026
About Long Beach Yacht ClubEstablished in 1929, Long Beach Yacht Club is recognized as a leading organization in the international yachting community for its commitment to excellence in yacht racing and innovation in race management. In addition to hosting the Congressional Cup and numerous other local, national and international yachting events, the Club’s member families enjoy a year-round calendar of social, yachting and junior activities at its beautiful clubhouse on the shore of Alamitos Bay. www.lbyc.orgAbout World Match Racing TourFounded in 2000, the World Match Racing Tour (WMRT) promotes the sport of match racing around the world and is the longest running global professional series in the sport of sailing. The WMRT is awarded ‘Special Event’ status by the sport’s world governing body –World Sailing – and the winner of the WMRT each year is crowned World Sailing Match Racing World Champion. Since 2000, the World Match Racing Tour and its events have awarded over USD24million in prize money to sailors which has helped to contribute to the career pathway of many of today’s professional sailors. www.wmrt.com
