Long Beach Yacht Club was the setting for compelling drama on 2 May 2026 as the 61st Congressional Cup moved into its penultimate day of racing, with the semi-final draw confirmed and the knockout rounds already well underway before the afternoon sea breeze faded.
Cole Tapper, representing Kairos Racing out of Sydney, Australia, claimed the fourth and final semi-final berth, joining USA's Chris Poole, Sweden's Johnie Berntsson, and Switzerland's Eric Monnin in the championship's knockout stage. By the time racing wrapped for the day, both Tapper and Monnin were facing 2-0 deficits in their respective semi-finals, leaving each of them with a mountain to climb heading into the final day at Belmont Pier.
Poole had been a class apart throughout the double round robin. The American skipper wrapped up the qualifying series with a 17-1 record, accounting for Aurélien Pierroz and Johnie Berntsson in flights 17 and 18 to finish as the clear leader of the standings. His only loss across all 18 qualifying matches came against Berntsson in the opening flight of Round Robin 1.
Three former Congressional Cup champions had already locked in their semi-final places after the previous day's racing, so attention on this penultimate day centred on who would claim the remaining spot. Tapper arrived needing two wins from his final two round robin matches but could not deliver, dropping back-to-back races, including one to Ian Garreta in flight 18. That result left Denmark's Jeppe Borch with a genuine chance to leapfrog him.
Borch capitalised by defeating defending champion Monnin, putting himself one win away from drawing level with Tapper on ten victories. That final win proved beyond him, though. French skipper Aurélien Pierroz produced a strong performance in the last round robin race, beating Borch to end the Dane's campaign and simultaneously confirm Tapper's place in the semi-finals. Borch closed out the qualifying series at 9-9, one win short of the final four.
Garreta's victory over Tapper was among the more notable individual results of the day, even if it brought little consolation to the French contingent overall. Both Garreta and Pierroz finished at the foot of the round robin standings. Monnin recovered from a flight 17 defeat to Borch by beating Scotty Dickson in flight 18, finishing second in the overall standings, with Berntsson third and Tapper fourth.
Flights 17-18 Results Table
| Sailor | W | L | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Poole USA | 2 | 0 | 100% |
| Eric Monnin SUI | 1 | 1 | 50% |
| Johnie Berntsson SWE | 1 | 1 | 50% |
| Jeppe Borch DEN | 1 | 1 | 50% |
| Scotty Dickson USA | 1 | 1 | 50% |
| Christian Prendergast USA | 1 | 1 | 50% |
| Oscar Engström SWE | 1 | 1 | 50% |
| Aurélien Pierroz FRA | 1 | 1 | 50% |
| Ian Garreta FRA | 1 | 1 | 50% |
| Cole Tapper AUS | 0 | 2 | 0% |
Final standings after Round Robin 2
| # | Sailor | W | L | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chris Poole USA | 17 | 1 | 94% |
| 2 | Eric Monnin SUI | 14 | 4 | 78% |
| 3 | Johnie Berntsson SWE | 12 | 6 | 67% |
| 4 | Cole Tapper AUS | 10 | 8 | 56% |
| 5 | Jeppe Borch DEN | 9 | 9 | 50% |
| 6 | Scotty Dickson USA | 6 | 12 | 33% |
| 6 | Christian Prendergast USA | 6 | 12 | 33% |
| 6 | Oscar Engström SWE | 6 | 12 | 33% |
| 9 | Aurélien Pierroz FRA | 5 | 13 | 28% |
| 9 | Ian Garreta FRA | 5 | 13 | 28% |
As top qualifier, Poole earned the right to choose his semi-final opponent and opted for Tapper, which placed Monnin against Berntsson in the other pairing. Principal Race Officer Randy Smith then launched the semi-final programme in ideal afternoon sea-breeze conditions.
Berntsson moved swiftly to assert himself against Monnin, taking the opening race before doubling his advantage in race two after the Swiss crew were hampered by a costly spinnaker problem at the leeward gate. The mishap ended any real contest in that race, handing the Swede a commanding position in the series.
"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. From there, it was fortunately our race to win."
Poole was equally clinical in Semi-Final 2, winning the opening match against Tapper before moving to 2-0 after a careless spinnaker drop by the Australian crew in race two handed him the advantage and put him within one win of a place in the final.
Semi-finals — in progress
| Sailor | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Johnie Berntsson SWE | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | 2 |
| Eric Monnin SUI | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 |
| Sailor | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Poole USA | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | 2 |
| Cole Tapper AUS | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 |
Both semi-finals now stand suspended at 2-0, with the first skipper to reach three wins progressing to the final. Tapper and Monnin each need two consecutive victories to stay alive, a sizeable ask against two of the most accomplished skippers in Congressional Cup history.
Semi-final racing is scheduled to resume at 11:30 a.m. local time at Belmont Pier, with the petit-final and final to follow. All competing teams will also take part in a fleet race and a parade of sail. Entry to the Congressional Cup Stadium for spectators is free of charge.
