Eric Monnin wins 60th Congressional Cup, defeats 2-time defending champ in final ...Middle East

Switzerland’s Eric Monnin prevented New Yorker Chris Poole from three-peating at the Congressional Cup, winning a thrilling final on Sunday, May 4, to capture the crimson blazer.

Monnin, 49 — who has a doctorate in physics and has a full-time job in air flow technology — finished the double round-robin earlier in the week in second place out of 10 skippers, behind Poole. Monnin then beat American David Hood three flights to one, setting up the final on Sunday afternoon.

Monnin narrowly beat Poole in the best-of-five flight final to win the 60th running of the Congressional Cup, known as the “granddaddy” of match sailing, which took place at Long Beach’s Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier. Monnin’s family make the trek from Switzerland for the event, with his brother and wife part of the crew, and his mother-in-law and son cheering from Long Beach Yacht Club member Bob Blair’s boat.

This was Monnin’s first Congressional Cup win in 11 attempts.

“For the first time,” Monnin said about winning the crimson blazer and looking forward to the next, “we will not be the team that is chasing the past winner. They will be chasing us.”

Congressional Cup Chair Steve Meyer also lauded Monnin for his win.

“I am so excited that after 11 attempts that Eric Monnin won,” Meyer said dockside.

By donning the crimson blazer — which goes to the winner, much like the green jacket goes to the winner of golf’s Masters tournament — Monnin also denied Poole a spot in history. Poole, who swept his semifinal match against Australian Cole Tapper, was trying to become only the second skipper in history to win the Congressional Cup three times in a row. American Taylor Canfield achieved that feat from 2014 to 2016.

Sunday’s sailing started with strong winds and gray skies off the pier. But as the finals started, the clouds faded and the sun came out — and the wind made a rightward shift.

The offshore action brought a chill to the more than 200 bundled-up fans who watched the races from Congressional Cup Stadium, the waters in front of the pier.

Some spectators have nicknamed the venue “the pit row suites” of yacht racing, an allusion to the city’s other major sporting event, the Grand Prix of Long Beach.

“I think that the stadium experience at the Belmont Pier is terrific,” said GPLB founder and LBYC member Chris Pook, “and provides the spectators with a real close-up as the match race boats try to outwit each other in order to get the best starting position.

“One gets an excellent close-up view of the skills and speed of the skippers and crew members,” he added, “as they execute their respective starting strategies.”

Regatta organizers invited a field of 10 teams based on their world rankings, including berths to be filled by feeder regattas.

The final was a nail-bitter. Poole won the first flight before Monnin won the next two. Poole responded in the fourth flight to force a winner-take-all.

The final race ended within two boat lengths of one another — with spectator horns blasting and fans on the pier cheering.

The Congressional Cup, hosted by the Long Beach Yacht Club, is a high-intensity battle of sailing strategy, pitting the world’s top skippers against one another in Catalina 37 boats. This year, the event, which began on Wednesday, April 30, boasted a $75,000 purse. It’s also part of the World Match Racing Tour, which has doled out more than $24 million in prize money since its founding in 2000.

The Congressional Cup is the crown jewel of the WMRT.

“Anywhere the World Match (Racing) Tour hosts a regatta,” James Pleasance, CEO of the tour, said shortly before the trophy presentation, “fans know Long Beach and the Congressional Cup — it is the granddaddy of all match races.”

Tapper, meanwhile, claimed third place on Sunday. He beat Hood 2-1 in the third-place match, which is called the petit final.

As for Hood, despite the fourth-place finish, the competition was a poignant one. Hood — who first developed his sailing skills in beer-can races, a summer LBYC series — has become one of the world’s top match racers.

He has also served as both an LBYC commodore, chair of the Long Beach Sailing Foundation, which owns and maintains the Catalina 37s Congressional Cup crews compete in, and is an eight-time club sailing champion.

But during Tuesday night’s Meet the Skippers dinner, Hood announced he has been diagnosed with Stage 4 kidney cancer. He expressed gratitude to his crew, fellow competitors and club members for their support.

“I feel really blessed to have the opportunity to have had a week like this, to share with all the people at the Long Beach Yacht Club,” Hood said on Sunday evening. “You know, hopefully there’s more I’m just going to try and stay healthy and keep trying to beat this disease down. And just do the best I can.”

Editor’s note: Jo Murray is LBYC’s club historian.

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