Match racing reaches its climax at the 61st Congressional Cup, with four teams advancing to the semi-finals in Long Beach, California.
Australia’s Cole Tapper secured the final berth to join USA’s Chris Poole, Sweden’s Johnie Berntsson and Switzerland’s Eric Monnin in the knockout stage.
The breakthrough came late in the double round robin series. Tapper faltered in his final two races, opening the door for Denmark’s Jeppe Borch.
Borch closed the gap with a win over defending champion Monnin. But France’s Aurélien Pierroz intervened, defeating Borch in the final flight to confirm Tapper’s progression.
As top qualifier, Poole chose Tapper as his semi-final opponent. That left Monnin to face Berntsson in the second pairing.
Racing resumed in steady sea-breeze conditions off Belmont Pier. The opening matches quickly set the tone.
Poole’s Riptide Racing team moved 2-0 ahead of Tapper. The American capitalised on a costly spinnaker error in race two to tighten control.
Berntsson also took a 2-0 lead over Monnin. The Swedish skipper benefited from a Swiss spinnaker issue at the leeward gate.
“It was a hard race and we had to push hard,” Berntsson said. “We had a tough tacking duel with Eric and managed to force a penalty before their spinnaker problem.”
Both trailing teams now face a must-win scenario. Tapper and Monnin require two straight victories to force deciding races.
Semi-final racing resumes at 11:30am local time, followed by the petit-final and final. Spectator viewing is open at the Congressional Cup Stadium.
