WMRT: Weis wins Ficker Cup; advances to Congressional Cup along with Thomson

The Ficker Cup is a Grade Two match race hosted by Long Beach Yacht Club and part of the World Match Racing Tour (WMRT). The event, which was held April 14 to 16, also serves as a qualifier for the 58th Congressional Cup.

In three days of racing in variable conditions – which ranged from blustery winds in the high teens, to this morning’s light breeze – eight teams from across the US, New Zealand and Ireland battled for Ficker Cup honours. Petersen had dominated the double round robin series, while Weis and Breault each finished 9-5. Thomson slipped in on a tiebreaker over Peter Holz (USA) and Pearson Potts (USA).

Progressing to the semi-finals Petersen elected to pair up against Weis and won the first match, while Thomson beat Breault.

But Weis turned the tables on Petersen and captured the next three wins to move into the finals. Meanwhile Thomson and Breault traded points, but Thomson returned with victory in match four to eliminate Breault.

Earlier Principal Race Officer Wendy Corzine had called for a brief postponement until the prevailing wind filled, and by the final and petit final stages the breeze had increased to an idyllic 8 to 10 knots.

Each duo – Weis vs. Thomson and Petersen vs. Breault – went one and one, leaving the decision to the last match of the day in this best-of-three series. Weis triumphed over Thomson, and Petersen over Breault.

Weis, who had earned his way into the Ficker Cup through the California Dreamin’ Series, said, “I’ve dreamed of going to the Congressional Cup for a while: to be honest I don’t think we expected to be here, but it’s all thanks to the guys,” acknowledging his team.

“It’s pretty cool to be able to sail your way into it and I thank Long Beach Yacht Club and everyone who enabled the pipeline to get us here,” Weis continued. “We had great competition out there, some really hard fought matches, but we really enjoyed it and I’m really happy.”

Weis and Thomson will round out the 10-team roster for Congressional Cup. Thomson, a 25-year-old Kiwi skipper, admitted she had a boost from her crew: Congressional Cup competitor Nick Egnot-Johnson and his WMRT Championship team. In an ironic twist, Thomson will go on to compete against Egnot-Johnson and his crew in the Congressional Cup this week: with a pick-up crew.

This was the first time in anyone’s memory that two female skippers had made the Ficker Cup semifinals. “I know it’s newsworthy to some, but I think one of the things that makes Megan and me good competitors in an open field is that we see each other as peers, peers of the guys, just as strong,” Breault noted. “I’ve raced against Megan before and I knew she could bring it as well as any other skipper or competitor in the regatta. When I see her, I just see another sailor.”

Breault – four-time US Women’s Match Race Champion, making her third appearance at Ficker Cup – applauded her team saying, “I feel really lucky; my team was great, always ready for action. We knew our main goal was to be players, and to make the semis. But we were realists too: it was our first time coming together as a team. The attitude on the boat was really positive; it’s been a fantastic experience and so much fun.”

Text and images courtesy of WMRT.com.