SAILING : Congressional Cup to Begin Off Long Beach

Is this the 30th Congressional Cup or musical chairs at the United Nations?

One of 11 events on sailing’s Omega World Match Racing circuit starts at Long Beach today with a fleet of 10 skippers representing five countries, but it isn’t that simple.

Second-ranked Rod Davis, the defending champion and only four-time winner, is a dual citizen of the U.S. and New Zealand, but he is representing Australia’s Southern Cross Yacht Club because he will sail the 1995 America’s Cup for John Bertrand’s One Australia syndicate.

Fifth-ranked Roy Heiner of the Netherlands will have an all-French crew. Heiner has signed to sail the trial boat for Marc Bouet’s Yacht Club Antibes campaign in the America’s Cup.

A double round-robin of racing is scheduled through Sunday, 11 a.m. daily, on a course set near the Belmont Pier. Races may be watched from the pier or from the east end of the grassy bluff along Ocean Boulevard.

Davis, who grew up in Coronado, is the only past winner competing.

“We’re treating this as a training regatta for next year’s (America’s) Cup,” Davis said.

So are Kevin Mahaney of PACT 95, Marc Pajot of Yacht Club de Sete and Neville Wittey of Australian Y.C., who recently joined Syd Fischer’s America’s Cup syndicate.

Other skippers entered are the United Kingdom’s 11th-ranked Chris Law, now a resident of Australia; No. 12 Peter Isler of San Diego; and locals Steve Grillon, Mike Elias and Mark Golison.

All will sail Catalina 37s designed for tight-course match racing.