HARDESTY FINISHES AS TOP US SKIPPER IN 46TH CONGRESSIONAL CUP
3/28/2010

Difficult conditions on final day of racing, but pleased to have made the top tier in the highest-graded match race event in the US

Long Beach, CA – Bill Hardesty and his Team CMRC finished yesterday’s final day of racing in the 46th Congressional Cup in 4th place, a result better than any other US skipper in this prestigious ISAF Open Grade 1 event. The feat is consistent with Hardesty’s title as the reigning US national match race champion.

“We’re not excited about losing these matches,” said Hardesty, “but this was after all only my 4th match race event I’ve sailed as a skipper, and the first time I’ve driven these boats. All the other Final Four teams have been here before.”

Conditions were tricky for the final day, with an atypically shifty offshore breeze challenging teams and race managers alike. Hardesty first fell to 4-time Congressional Cup winner Gavin Brady (NZL) in the Semi-Final stage 2-0, then also 2-0 to the reigning champion, Johnnie Berntsson (SWE) in the Petite-Finals.

Eventual winner of the event and its emblematic Crimson Blazer award was Francesco Bruni (ITA), who defeated Brady 2-1 in the Final. This was only Bruni’s second Congressional Cup, though both teams were seasoned well from the recent conclusion of the Louis Vuitton Series in Auckland.

Racing with Hardesty this week on the equally-matched Catalina 37 class yachts was Matt Cassidy, Rod Hagebois, George Peet, Andy Escort, and Andrew Campbell. The team earned a $4500 share of the prize money purse.

“Just getting to the Semi’s was exciting in such a talented field,” he said, “and shows the value of our training at CMRC. Last year we trained two days a week, but this year we will try for three.”

And while there are no boats in the frigid Lake Michigan waters yet, Hardesty is on a plane this evening from the West Coast to Chicago for a special Modern Match Racing Classroom Session tomorrow evening. Here will be an opportunity for those interested in learning about this most exciting form of the game to come and hear Hardesty and other top racers teach tactics and techniques.

For more information about the Congressional Cup, results, live audio, and nightly videos of the day’s action on the water from t2p.tv, visit the event website at www.lbyc.org.

For more information about the Modern Match Racing Classroom Session, contact Beth Paul at CMRC on 312-542-1505 or visit www.chicagomatchrace.com.

About CMRC: The Chicago Match Race Center is the only center of its kind in the US founded to promote and grow the sport of match race sailing. Besides being used in the America’s Cup, match race sailing has recently also been adapted as a Women’s discipline in the 2012 Olympic Games. As part of its mission to provide the highest-level match racing training facility for professional and amateur sailors in the US, CMRC has procured a fleet of Elliott 6M class boats, the type that will be used in the Games, and will use them to train and race teams with Olympic aspirations. Additionally, the CMRC retains a full fleet of TOM 28 class boats and all umpire and support boats needed to run international-caliber regattas. The 2010 Regatta schedule will feature multiple ISAF Grade 3 events beginning in May, as well as the Grade 2 Chicago Match Cup in August, while also hosting the Richardson Trophy and the Windy City Match Race. For the complete 2010 schedule, please visit www.ChicagoMatchRace.com.