On The Water: Junior Congressional Cup showcases youngsters

Walter McFarland won the Junior Congressional Cup last Friday evening. One of the newer and most fun Congressional Cup traditions is the Junior Congressional Cup. It is a fleet race held in two-man CFJs (Flying Juniors) and with the start and finish right off the Alamitos Bay Long Dock.

Ten junior sailors are paired (via a random drawing) with the 10 Congressional Cup skippers — juniors helming and pros crewing. Junior sailors apply to be considered and are selected based on sailing ability and seniority.

The winner has their name engraved on a perpetual trophy and is presented with a “Crimson t-shirt” a takeoff on the Crimson Blazer that is presented to the winner of Congressional Cup.

I had not chatted with Walter since March of last year, after a Sabot regatta in Mission Bay where he was very successful. What I remember most about talking with the first-generation sailor is his positive attitude and how that served him well in sports and school.

“It was so much fun; the course was very simple three laps on a windward/leeward course directly in front of the club,” he answered quickly as I fired questions about the process.

“I was hoping to draw Jeffery Petersen as the skipper to act as my crew,” he paused, and explained, “Because Petersen has been coaching me since March.”

Jeffery Petersen is the 19-year-old sailor who grew up sailing at Balboa Yacht Club since he was 6 years old.  He sailed his way into a berth at Congressional Cup by taking second in Ficker Cup.

Walter Mc Farland is a ninth grader at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana and Petersen is a 2020 grad of the same school. Aubrey Mayer, the junior sailing director at Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club, who also coaches the Mater Dei team, suggested the two work together.

“Instead, I drew Johnie Berntsson. He was very nice and it was his first time in an FJ,“ he continued. “He was a good partner, he understood the course and was great at reading the shifts and puffs.”

Berntsson won the Congressional Cup in 2009, and 2021 marks his 12th time competing. He started sailing in Optimist at age 9.

“We started the race, and we were about in the middle of the fleet, but at the first mark we were able to get to the front,” Berntsson said. “It was a good feeling to see the boat behind us had Taylor Canfield on board.”

Final results

1 Walter McFarland, Johnie Berntsson

2 Alex Lech, Taylor Canfield

3 Jack Snow, Sam Gilmour

4 Nicky Lech, Dustin Durant

5 Madison Mansour, Jeffrey Petersen

6 Sophia Corzine, Maxime Mesnil

7 Kai Bramble, Chris Poole

8 Hannah Crompton, Emil Kjaer

9 Jack McGhie, Ute Wagner (Monnin)

10 Olivia Corzine, David Wood

About 10 years ago, US Sailing did a survey of yacht clubs and found that more than half of the yacht club’s membership is over age 50. I think the big take-away was that junior programs need to be more robust and encourage more young people into sailing.

Based on the young skippers in this year’s Congressional Cup and the large number of youth in programs, it sounds like club leadership responded.

“Long Beach Yacht Club has demonstrated its commitment to youth sailing for years, with a significant portion of member dues directed to youth sailing programs to develop better sailors, stronger athletes, and young people with exceptional character,”  LBYC Commodore Jon Shull said in an email. “This week’s Junior Congressional Cup Regatta was an excellent example of the success of the youth program.”

If you have an “On the Water” story to share, please email me at Jo@JoVenture.com.

Editor’s note: Jo Murray is a member of and the historian for the Long Beach Yacht Club.