Berntsson accepts the Crimson Blazer and a $10,000 check from LBYC Commodore Jordan Bradley and event chair David Stotler. Image copyright Rich Roberts.
by Rich Roberts
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."
The crew is all attention on Berntsson's boat. Image copyright Rich Roberts.
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 best-of-three finals Saturday.
That followed a 2-1 win over France's Mathieu Richard in the semifinals 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 canceled the foul while drawing one off Richard before the start, but later learned he'd have to do it all over again.
Richard protests Berntsson for a collision in their semifinal. Image copyright Rich Roberts.
"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.
Berntsson stalks Bruni late in his comeback victory. Image copyright Rich Roberts.
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.
Berntsson, 36, won 11 of his last 13 races after starting 4-7, and the most dramatic was his first win over Bruni, who had led almost the entire two laps around the half-mile windward-leeward course as they approached the finish line, spinnakers straining full of a brisk 15 knots of southwest Long Beach sea breeze.
Johnie Berntsson beats Francesco Bruni by inches in the first race of the Congressional Cup finals. Image copyright Rich Roberts.
Then Berntsson jibed away to aim for the nearer pin end of the line, while Bruni continued toward the committee boat end. Berntsson's bow crossed a couple of feet ahead by a single second. The next clinching race was an almost anti-climactic 24-second victory as Berntsson controlled the favored right side of the course.
Berntsson, who won last year's Bermuda Gold Cup on the World Match Racing Tour and was second in the last two Congressional Cups, gave all credit to his crew of tactician Daniel Wallberg, trimmer Johan Backman, main sail trimmer Johan Barne, pitman Niklas Calzon and bowman Bjorn Lundgren.
Bowman Bjorn Lundgren gets champagne from the skipper. Image copyright Rich Roberts.
"The guys made me grow and didn't blame me when I made the mistakes," he said. "If you have that confidence you can come back and do better. My plan was to make some aggressive starts."
Bruni, 27, was glum but gracious at the dock.
"It's been a good regatta," said the leader of the Joe Fly Sailing Team. "With the competition, the organization and the hospitality, [of all] the events I've sailed in my life I've never seen anything like this."
The competition, in fact, was so strong that France's Sébastien Col and Philippe Presti and New Zealand's Adam Minoprio---currently ranked 1, 6 and 8 in the world---didn't reach the semifinals.
Hutchinson, who lost out after posting the top round-robin record at 15-3, said, "One of Berntsson's crew sails with us [Quantum Racing] on the TP52 [circuit), so we're going to have to listen to this all summer long."
Start of the fleet race, won by Ben Ainslie on boat number 5. Image copyright Rich Roberts.
Great Britain's Ben Ainslie, who started fast but faded later, won the fleet race for non-sailoff teams to collect $1,000 and an Oceanaut watch.
The fleet race runs to the finish. Image copyright Rich Roberts.
The Congressional Cup has maintained a high level of organization over the years with a volunteer force of some 300 club members and their families. Each crew is assigned boat hostesses and a housing team to deliver the outstanding local hospitality the Congressional Cup has offered now for 45 years.
The 2009 Congressional Cup is supported by Spinnaker sponsors F&M Bank, Catalina Adventure Tours, the Press Telegram and Oceanaut Watches Luxury Swiss Timepieces; Sail sponsors Union Bank, Newmeyer and Dillion LLP, Port of Long Beach, Gladstone's Long Beach and MCA Logistics; Hospitality sponsor Mount Gay Rum, and Honorary sponsor Catalina Yachts.
Bruni congratulates Berntsson, observed by Dobbs Davis. Image copyright Rich Roberts.
Results
FINAL ROUND-ROBIN STANDINGS:
1. Terry Hutchinson, USA, 15-3
2. tie between Francesco Bruni, Italy, and Mathieu Richard, France, 13-5
4. tie between Johnie Berntsson, Sweden, and Adam Minoprio, New Zealand, 10-8 (Berntsson wins tiebreaker)
6. Ben Ainslie, Great Britain, 9-9
7. Sébastien Col, France, 7.5-10*
8. Staffan Lindberg, Finland, 7-11
9. Philippe Presti, France, 4-14
10. Brian Angel, USA, 1-17
*---Penalized half-point.
Berntsson and crew celebrate the victory. Image copyright Rich Roberts.
SEMIFINALS
Berntsson d. Richard, 0:22
Richard d. Berntsson, DNF
Berntsson d. Richard, 0:33 (Berntsson wins, 2-1)
Bruni d. Hutchinson, 0:55
Bruni d. Hutchinson, 0:26 (Bruni wins, 2-0)
Berntsson and crew celebrate after their one-second win. Image copyright Rich Roberts.
FINALS
Berntsson d. Bruni, 0:01; Berntsson d. Bruni, 0:24 (Berntsson wins, 2-0).
PETIT FINALS
Hutchinson d. Richard, 0:55; Hutchinson d. Richard, 0:02 (Hutchinson wins, 2-0).
Congressional Cup
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