Left to Right: Tom Decker, Tom Camp, Tony Mansour, Steve Meyer and Ken Mattfeld.

Long Beach Sailing Foundation

By Lise Evaul, Chairman

The Catalina 37 eet, donated by Frank Butler, the president of Catalina Yachts, has been used for Congressional Cup for approximately over 30 years. The Long Beach Sailing Foundation, a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization, was formed in 1991 to own, manage and maintain the “37s” which were originally built by Catalina Yachts in 1989. As a part of its mission, the Foundation undertakes activities that promote national and international amateur sailing, maritime education and youth sailing opportunities. In the process you will nd the Catalina 37 eet at the core of all the work the Foundation does. The Foundation’s focus is to be a part of the “future” of amateur sailing competition.

During Congressional Cup week you will see the Catalina 37s in the hands of the best sailors and skippers in the world. In the months following Congressional Cup you’ll be able to see the “37s” being skippered and crewed by both young people, and older “youth” from all over Long Beach and points beyond. In promoting youth sailing, the Foundation has been able to introduce area teenagers who may never have been near a boat, to the excitement of competitive sailing, as they crew on Wednesday evening races throughout the summer. Maybe one day, one of these newly minted sailors will become a skipper or a crewmember competing in Congressional Cup or America’s Cup races. Almost every Congressional Cup skipper who is here during the week has a similar story to tell.

To provide the fairest possible racing, the Foundation maintains the boats to an identical standard in all performance-related areas: weight, equipment, rig tuning and sails. This is possible through the tremendous efforts of dedicated volunteers, contractors and supporters. The Foundation is honored and grateful for the wonderful partners and contractors that are key to helping us ful ll our mission. Special thanks go to US Sailing Center and the Marcedes Lewis Foundation, for being our youth outreach partners, Bahia Marine, Inc., for maintaining the eet, Marina Shipyard, for always being there to do the heavy lifting and hull work and to Sampson Rope Technologies for keeping the eet rigged.

The Foundation is delighted to support Congressional Cup and Long Beach Yacht Club by providing another season of great racing for sailors of all abilities and backgrounds. Learn more about the Long Beach Sailing Foundation at www.lbsailingfoundation.org.