Rich Roberts Reports
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Congressional Cup 2002 - Day 1 Report HOLMBERG UNBEATABLE ON OPENING DAY LONG BEACH, Calif.---Who is going to stop Peter Holmberg from winning his fourth Congressional Cup in five years? Nobody had the answer on a breezy opening day of racing Tuesday when the world's No. 1-ranked match racer ran the table against fellow America's Cup campaigners Ken Read and Rod Davis, former world champion Ed Baird, local favorite Scott Dickson and Britain's Andy Green to stand alone at 5-0. Holmberg, from the U.S. Virgin Islands, looked even more like a solid choice to lead Oracle Racing's challenge starting later this year. With 13 flights remaining in the double round robin format before Saturday's semifinals and finals, Denmark's No. 3-ranked Jes Gram-Hansen is next at 4-1, followed by Read, Dickson and Gavin Brady at 3-2, Baird and New Zealand's Dean Barker at 2-3 and Davis, Green and France's Luc Pillot at 1-4. The sturdy Catalina 37s came alive as the wind grew from 8 to 14 knots before fading in the final round. The Congressional Cup, hosted by the Long Beach Yacht Club for the 38th year, is the fifth stop on the current Swedish Match Tour. Barker not only won the event in 2000 but is Team New Zealand's America's Cup defender, while Davis and Brady are four- and two-time winners, respectively, indicating that the powerhouse lineup has no respect for past success. Chief umpire John Doerr of Britain thought that might explain the flurry of protest flags that flew throughout the afternoon. "I think it reflects the fact that there are a lot of skippers here that are very good," Doerr said. "They realize that if you get behind it's going to be very hard to recover." Even Holmberg wasn't invincible. "We beat him two out of three," Baird said. "Doesn't that count for anything?" He was joking in reference to the two false starts the pair sailed before the last match of the day. Twice the race committee mistimed their start, each time recalling the boats when Baird was in front. On the third try, long after the other boats had returned to port, Holmberg seized the advantage to finish first by a comfortable 18 seconds, although he had to survive a protest by Baird, who thought the windward-leeward course was askew from the wind direction. Baird's opening day effort was commendable, considering the opposition, in that he was invited only 10 days earlier to replace a dropout and had to collect a pickup crew of local sailors, including successful Star and Snipe sailor George Szabo of San Diego. "I can call 'em all by their first names now," Baird said. "I'm working on their last names."
Gram-Hansen, 29, also was a late entry. Although he was runner-up
in the Steinlager/Line 7 Cup in New Zealand last month, he may have
been taken lightly here because of his inexperience in sailing boats
with steering wheels instead of tillers---a feature that makes the Catalina
37s unique on the circuit. This is only the second time he has stood
up to drive, but his "The crew work was the key," he said, praising bowman Michael Arnhild in particular. "Jes was on fire," Flam said. Flam, 40, has served mostly visiting skippers as tactician 12 times. Those teams have won twice---Brady and Chris Law---and finished second five times. Flam knows the territory. Holmberg, coming off wins in the last two Swedish Match Tour events,
also was on his game. He beat Read by forcing him over the starting
line early with a quick, deft tack. Next he got Dickson when he feinted
a "dial-down" hunting move, then came back on the wind as
Dickson, sailing with older brother Chris as tactician, hesitated and
momentarily fell into irons head Other action included a couple of America's Cup veterans tumbling overboard---bowman Jerry Kirby off Read's boat and main sail trimmer Steve Erickson off Brady's boat. Each hauled himself back on board without serious injury, although Kirby was still bleeding from the bridge of his nose back on shore. "The sheet caught around my throat and my face hit the mast," Kirby said. Trimmer Mike Toppa said there was blood on the deck, but Kirby hardly missed a beat. The action in the Long Beach outer harbor may be viewed from the end of Belmont Pier, where there is commentary for spectators at no charge. The Congressional Cup's total purse is $25,000. The top eight finishers receive Swedish Match Tour Championship Prize points. The top eight point leaders at the conclusion of the Swedish Match Tour divide a $200,000 prize purse, with the Swedish Match Tour champion receiving $60,000.
Congressional Cup sponsors include F&M Bank, Trojan Battery, Jones Lumber, Port of Long Beach and Mondavi Winery. Results (skippers listed by America's Cup affiliations or home bases): ROUND 1
STANDINGS (after 5 of 18 rounds) MORE INFORMATION: Congressional Cup Mike Van Dyke Rich Roberts
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