New York skipper Chris Poole has won the Congressional Cup twice — but his goals go even further than the granddaddy of match racing.
He wants to be the best sailor in the world.
“Winning the second time in a row is absolutely incredible,” Poole said after he won his second consecutive Congressional Cup, organized by the Long Beach Yacht Club, in 2024. “I don’t stop and I won’t stop. You know hard work pays and that’s what we are showing here every year.”
Poole, who hails from Oyster Bay, New York, and competes under the syndicate name of Riptide Racing, is the world’s top-ranked match racing skipper. He is also a man of his word.
“I just want to be the best sailor in the world and I’m not there yet,” he said in April 2024, right after donning the Crimson Blazer, which goes to the Congressional Cup winner. “I want to be in the America’s Cup. I think that I can be an America’s Cup winner.”
Two-time defending champion Chris Poole mans the wheel for his American team which finished second in the 60th Congressional Cup on Sunday, May 4, 2025, in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Chris Poole waits to see who his team will face in the finals of the 59th Congressional Cup on Sunday, Apr. 28, 2024, at the Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
American Chris Poole wins his second consecutive Crimson Blazer on Sunday, Apr. 28, 2024, in the 59th Congressional Cup at the Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
American Chris Poole waves to spectators after winning his second consecutive Crimson Blazer on Sunday, Apr. 28, 2024, in the 59th Congressional Cup at the Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Show Caption
1 of 4
Two-time defending champion Chris Poole mans the wheel for his American team which finished second in the 60th Congressional Cup on Sunday, May 4, 2025, in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
But to do so, his prospective team must first be selected as the challenger to go up against America’s Cup holders, a crew from the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron.
Riptide Racing has announced it is working to confirm a late American challenge for the 38th America’s Cup. The team has partnered with Pindar by Manuport Logistics, a specialist marine logistics provider with decades of experience across elite yacht racing, to submit the challenge.
The syndicate is headed by Poole, who is leading Riptide’s push to secure entry before the deadline at the end of January. The strategy is to acquire an existing AC75 in order to have a boat, a technical platform and design data so they can hit the water sailing.
The challenge is officially supported by the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club, a historic name in the cup. This New York club, founded in 1871, was the originator of the famous Seawanhaka Rule used from 1893 to 1903 to classify yachts at the time.
Riptide Racing has a goal of raising $30 million to meet late entry requirements and a total campaign budget of $50 million.
For more details, go to riptideracing.com.
Olympic news
We have heard about athletes moving to Long Beach to start training for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in local waters — and more training houses will likely be announced soon.
One local example is the Hellenic Olympic Team House, whcih will be located at the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church on Colorado Street in Long Beach.
But what’s happening on the water? The first large sailing vessel that will call Long Beach home for the 2028 games is the Danish Training Ship DANMARK. The vessel attended the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro and the 2020 Games in Tokyo. Ulrich Skovbo Johannesen, captain of the ship, confirmed the plans for the visit.
The vessel will in Long Beach on July 8, 2028, and will depart on Aug. 2, 2028.
“Everything is still on the table and still some time (until) LA28,” Johannesen wrote in an email. “So not much to share yet.”
The Denmark team will ultimately be stationed off Pine Avenue – right next to Long Beach’s Gladstone’s restaurant – which will be perfect. Managing owner John Sangmeister is an accomplished sailor and one of the eatery’s most popular events is its annual Danish Christmas Dinner, prepared by vhef Pete Lehmar. The multiple course dinner celebrated its 20th year in 2025.
Danish sailors have fared well in Long Beach. Joachim Aschenbrenner appears as a crew member on Chris Poole’s American team, which finished second overall in the 2025 Congressional Cup. Aschenbrenner is one of Denmark’s top match racers and has previously skippered at the event in earlier years.
Danish skippers such as Nicolai Sehested, Joachim Aschenbrenner and Jesper Radich have also raced in past Congressional Cups. Emil Kjaer won the 2021 Ficker Cup — gaining him entry into that year’s Congressional Cup.
I’m sure our Danish visitors will feel very welcome in Long Beach. It will take the training vessel several months to navigate its way here — a voyage many locals will be tracking.