'Where the Wind Blows… April 2009'
by New Zealand Marine Artist Jim Bolland
Photo © Rich Roberts.
HELMSMEN, STEER - TRIMMERS, TRIM – TACTICIANS SEARCH FOR A WINNING SLANT!
CONGRESSIONAL CUP.
SWEDEN TASTES FIRST VICTORY!
Photo © Rich Roberts.
March 28 2009. They hugged and slapped high fives, sprayed champagne all over the boat and smiled like the Northern Lights. So much for Swedish reserve, and why not let it all go? Johnie Berntsson and his crew are the first team from Sweden - or all of Scandinavia for that matter - to win the Long Beach Yacht Club's Congressional Cup in its 45 years as a traditional match-racing classic.
'We are very happy,' said Berntsson. 'We were very lucky, too.'
In truth, they made most of their own luck in a remarkable recovery from a mediocre start climaxed by a 2-0 sweep of Italy's Francesco Bruni in the bestof-three finals Saturday. That followed a 2-1 win over France's Mathieu Richard in the semi-finals after what appeared to be the Swedes' clinching 24-second victory was tossed out on a damage penalty on Berntsson's pre-start foul. He cancelled the foul while drawing one off Richard before the start, but later learned he'd have to do it all over again.
'I knew there was a collision,' Berntsson said, 'but I couldn't see anything.'
Apparently, both Catalina 37s suffered when Berntsson's bow bashed Richard's hull. Chief umpire Alfredo Ricci said, 'Berntsson turned to bow-down at 90 degrees. It was a T-bone [collision].'
Unfazed and cool, the Swedes came right back to win again by 33 seconds, as Bruni dispatched the USA's Terry Hutchinson in two straight. That dropped both of the former winners---Hutchinson in 1992, Richard in 2007---out of contention and opened the door for a new nationality on the historic list of winners.
For the complete article, including the Congressional Cup, the World Match Racing Tour, the Acura Miami Grand Prix, Geoff Stagg, Bacardi Cup Star Class Regatta, the Audi Etchells World Championship and much more, click here.
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