Richard unstoppable

After day two of the Congressional Cup match racing in Long Beach, reports Rich Roberts

Just when it appeared that the pecking order was falling into place, Denmark's young Peter Wibroe rose from the depths of the 42nd Congressional Cup presented by Acura Wednesday and turned the event on its head.

Wibroe, at 20 the youngest skipper in the field, was tied for last with two wins and eight losses and was 0-5 on the day when he stunned France's previously unbeaten Mathieu Richard by 16 seconds in the day's sixth and final Round.

"It was my only win today, but it was the best one to win," he said. "We're happy with that."

At that time the ten competitors had been racing for about six and a half hours as principal race officer Bobby Frazier tried for as many races as possible because of a weather outlook that forecasts rain and thunder on Friday, the last day of the double Round robin schedule before Saturday's champion sailoffs.

They need to complete seven more Rounds in two days. The top three - Richard (10-1), Britain's Ian Williams (9-2) and two-time winner Gavin Brady (8-3) may be difficult to dislodge, but a fierce scramble looms for the last semifinal slot among three or four boats led by Finland's Staffan Lindberg (6-5), followed by New Zealand's Simon Minoprio and Sweden's Johnie Berntsson at 5-6 and Long Beach's own Scott Dickson at 4-7.

Winds remained about as light as they were on opening day Tuesday, starting at 4 knots and flirting with 9 at mid-afternoon but adequate for six and a half hours of sailing. Although the breeze worked slightly to the right, it never went far enough southwest to escape the lee of Santa Catalina Island 25 miles offshore and open the door to Long Beach's popular sea breeze down the San Pedro Channel.

Williams' only loss Wednesday was to Richard, who hadn't done much wrong until running into Wibroe (3-8), who is distinguishable from a distance by his tousled bush of blond hair that his mum must love.

How did he did he pull it off? Basically, as the wind remained light but creeping right, he won the start and the right side - although he confessed that it made him nervous when Richard went left. "It was a big split and quite risky," Wibroe said, "but we were in front at the windward mark and felt pretty comfortable then."

Richard said, "They won the start so they chose the right side. We had to go left." Richard's first loss quickly quieted discussion about the last guy to go 18-0 through the double Round robin.

"That was me three years ago," Brady said at the dock. He didn't need to add that he lost the title match to Ken Read that year, so he knows what a Round robin record is worth, as long as it gets you to the semifinals.

Brady, despite going 5-1 on the day remains more concerned with the traffic in Long Beach - not on the 710 freeway but on the Congressional Cup race course. "In nearly every race we were having to sail aRound other boats," he said. "In four races we were stuck in traffic racing three boats---our opponent and somebody from another race. There's nothing the race committee can do, but I've never seen it this way."

Part of Brady's problem, he felt, was having late starting slots - fourth once and fifth twice, when the other four matches were already on the course.

The larger problem may be this event's blessing of enough boats - eleven Catalina 37s, counting a spare - to go aRound for everybody. Most events on the world match racing circuit provide only six boats, allowing only three races at a time while half the teams watch.

Brady's only loss Wednesday was to Brian Angel, the newcomer from nearby Redondo Beach. "We got beaten by the 'Blue Angels,' " Brady said, perhaps coining a moniker for the new team."It goes to show you that no matter who you are or how you're doing, if you get a good start, as they did, and sail smart good things can happen."

Wibroe couldn't have said it better.

With a $41,000 purse at stake, competition is scheduled to start at noon each day, conditions permitting. The course is set adjacent to the Belmont Pier, which has accommodations for spectators with expert race commentary at no charge.


Day 2 results:

Round 6
Scott Dickson, Long Beach, Calif., d. Simon Minoprio, New Zealand, 1 minute 2 seconds; Cameron Appleton, New Zealand, d. Peter Wibroe, Denmark, 0:02; Gavin Brady, New Zealand, d. Staffan Lindberg, Finland, 0:09; Ian Williams, Great Britain, d. Johnie Berntsson, Sweden, 1:30; Mathieu Richard, France, d. Brian Angel, Redondo Beach, Calif., 1:37.

Round 7
Williams d, Lindberg, 0:33; Richard d. Dickson, 0:45; Angel d. Appleton, 0:35; Brady d. Minoprio, 0:12; Berntsson d. Wibroe, 0:02.

Round 8
Dickson d. Appleton, 9:36; Angel d. Brady, 0:37; Minoprio d. Berntsson, 0:02; Richard d. Lindberg, 0:05; Williams d. Wibroe, 0:29.

Round 9
Dickson d. Angel, 0:16; Appleton d. Minoprio, 0:22; Brady d. Wibroe, 1:00; Lindberg d. Berntsson, 0:29; Richard d. Williams, 0:29.

Round 10
Berntsson d. Angel, 0:03; Richard d. Appleton, 1:05; Lindberg d. Wibroe, 0:25; Williams d. Minoprio, 0:21; Brady d. Dickson, no time.

Round 11
Wibroe d. Richard, 0:16; Minoprio d. Lindberg, 0:35; Williams d. Angel, 0:13; Berntsson d. Dickson, 1:32; Brady d. Appleton, 0:19.

Standings: (after 11 of 18 Rounds)

1. Richard, 10-0
2. Williams, 9-2
3. Brady, 8-3
4. Lindberg, 6-5
5. tie between Minoprio and Berntsson, 5-6
7. Dickson, 4-7
8. tie between Wibroe and Angel, 3-8
10. Appleton, 2-9.

More photos on page 2...