Why sailing’s Crimson Blazer deserves more attention

The ‘Crimson Blazer’ sounds like the costume of a villain from a superhero film – but it’s not. It’s arguably much cooler, and you might not have heard of it.

What the Masters Green Jacket is to golf, the Crimson Blazer is to sailing, and it’s awarded annually to the winner of the Congressional Cup, an event on the World Match Racing Tour.

The battle for this year’s cup is just around the corner and will take place on the soon-to-be Olympic waters in Long Beach, California, from 29 April to 3 May.

No foiling tech, just classic one-versus-one racing in identical Catalina 37s. With a round-robin, semi-final, petit-final and final, it’s a familiar format that anyone can follow. It’s a contrast to what we know in comparison to SailGP and the America’s Cup, but it still offers a stadium-racing format utilising Belmont Pier.

Format aside, the event is steeped in class and pedigree. Current US SailGP driver Taylor Canfield sits alongside match racing legend Ian Williams as the two skippers with the most Crimson Blazers at five each. That amounts to over $165,000 USD worth of prize money between them.

The stakes at the event are no joke, with a fresh $75,000 USD up for grabs this weekend. The skippers eyeing the prize this year include reigning champion Eric Monnin, 2009 winner Johnie Berntsson and two-time winner and America's Cup hopeful Chris Poole.

With Poole’s Riptide Racing not challenging for the 38th America’s Cup and seeking a shot at the 39th edition instead, the Connecticut-born skipper will be looking for a strong result to give prospective funders reason to back his team.

After all, some notable past Congressional Cup winners have gone on to compete for the Auld Mug. Dean Barker, Ken Read, Terry Hutchinson and Dennis Conner, to name a few. Whether the Crimson Blazer will continue to pave the way for future America’s Cup protagonists remains unknown.

So if the America’s Cup or SailGP grabs your attention, the Crimson Blazer should too. The Congressional Cup may be a quiet giant of professional sailing, but the names on its trophy have a habit of becoming the names on everyone else's. It might not have the budget of an America’s Cup event or the broadcast polish of SailGP, but it’s worth following for the lore alone.