Gary Jobson & Andy Rose  with 2014 semi‐finalists Will Holz and Christophe Killian and America’s and Gov Cups 

Mark Whitmire OC Register 

July 20-25, 2015 Balboa Yacht Club Corona del Mar,

California

Susan Kenney Photo 

49th Annual

Governor’s Cup International Junior Match Racing

Championship Mark Rightmire OC Register 

2015 Schedule Monday,  July 20    Registration; Practice  Sailing; Opening Dinner 

Tuesday,  July 21    1st Race Day; Crew Dinner 

Wednesday,  July 22  2nd Race Day; 

Offsite Crew Party 

Mark Rightmire, OC Register 

“Pathway for Champions” The Governor’s Cup is the oldest youth match racing regatta in the world. The first “Gov Cup” was held in 1967 and Gov Cup sailors have gone on to sail in and win the America’s Cup, the Volvo Round the World Race (and its predecessors), Olympics, and World Match Racing Tour including America’s Cup winner James Spithill, America’s Cup, Round the World Race and Olympic medalist John Kostecki, Round the World Race Winners Paul Cayard and Mark Christensen, World Match Race Tour Champs Tay-lor Canfield and Phil Robertson, and many more.

The Cup has had many international winners but renewed interest in match racing in the United States should make this year’s Governor’s Cup espe-cially competitive among the best young match racers in the world.

Above, flags of past Governor’s Cup competitors’ home countries and territories 

Governor’s Cup

The Boats 

Many Gov Cup teams will have experienced a wide variety of boats in their careers as they move from event to event throughout the world. These boats range from the heavier and more traditional Sonar keel boat to more dinghy like Elliott designs used primarily in Australia and New Zealand.

The Governor’s Cup 21 is the only one of these boats designed specifically for match racing in the waters off Southern California. It falls somewhere between the Elliott and the Sonar with less dinghy characteristics than the Elliott, compensated with greater sail area for the lighter conditions in Newport Beach, but lighter than the Sonar with higher, more modern performance.

The boats have a state of the art ’T’ keel with bulb, an open cockpit, fractional non-overlapping jibs with swept spreaders and a generous masthead symmetrical spin-naker.

Teams will find them easy to sail but like all modern boats, difficult to sail fast all the time. They are maneu-verable but do not turn so quickly so as to negate many match racing pre-start tactics.

Thursday,  July 23   3rd Race Day; “Beer Can”  

Sailing & Barbecue 

Friday,  July 24    4th Race Day; Semi‐Final Races; Crew & Member Reception 

Saturday,  July 25  Final Race Day; Semi‐Finals; Finals: Trophy Reception 

Gilmour Beats Snow for Second Gov Cup in 2014 Sometimes an event lives up to its high expec-tations. If Western Australia’s Sam Gilmour’s 3-2 win over San Diego’s Nevin Snow in the final match of Balboa Yacht Club’s 2014 Governor’s Cup Junior International Match Racing Champion-

ship was the only evidence, the 2014 “Gov Cup” exceeded its already lofty prom-ise. The Gilmour-Snow final was one of the most exciting on record as befitting its historic nature as the first-ever final between two former Governor’s Cup winners. Sam and his crew, Adam Negri and Storm Brown, lost races 2 and 3 to Snow, AJ Reiter and Jake Reynolds, but came back strong to win the final two races and Sam’s second Cup. While both Snow and Gilmour have “aged out” of the Gov Cup, 3rd and 4th place finishers Christophe Killian and Will Holz are still eligible and would be among the favorites in 2015 if they are invited and attend.

Adam Negri, Sam Gilmour & Storm Brown  

Susan Kenney Photo 

F ounding the Governor’s Cup is only one part of BYC’s 94 year history. It has had members sail in the Olympics, the America’s Cup, and virtu‐ally every major ocean race in the world and two members have been 

named Rolex U.S. Yachtsman of the Year. Many senior and junior club mem‐bers compete actively  in dinghies and team racing has become a relatively new addition to club racing. BYC hosts many high school sailing teams’ prac‐tice sessions in addition to a summer junior sailing program averaging 100‐150 participants each year.   

      The Club is located in the village of Corona del Mar in the City of Newport Beach, Califor‐nia.  Located  approximately  40  miles  south‐east of Los Angeles, the city is both a business center in Orange County and a resort commu‐nity with approximately 90,000 full time resi‐dents.        Governor’s  Cup  teams  and  coaches  are housed with BYC members and many families have developed  long  term  relationships with “their” teams including BYC’s Stoughton fami‐ly  who  have  hosted  both  James  Spithill  in 1994  and  1996  and  James’  younger  brother Thomas from 2004‐2006. 

      The Governor’s Cup Committee has planned a social event each evening after racing which range from  a barbecue to sailing on big boats during the Club’s “Beer Can Regatta”.         Sailing  conditions  normally  feature  light  to moderate  breezes  of  5‐15 knots in the afternoons from the south to southwest direction.  A light chop is generally present along with a normal ocean swell.  Outside temperatures will generally be in the mid‐70’s (22‐25.5 0C). 

The Governor’s Cup Selection Committee will select 12 teams of 3 per-sons each from among qualified skippers and teams submitting a Re-quest for Invitation (“RFI”) by May 15, 2015. No member of a team may have reached their 21st birthday by the first day of the regatta and teams must be composed of members of the same yacht club or sailing associ-ation.

Generally, the fleet is roughly split between international and U.S. teams. Skippers may be invited directly by the Selection Committee or, for skip-pers from the United States, qualify by finishing in the top three in the U.S. Youth Match Racing Championships (“USYMRC”) for the Rose Cup to be held this year at the Balboa Yacht Club June 17-21, 2015. If the skipper wishes, the RFI for the U.S. Youth Match Racing Championships for the Rose Cup will be considered an RFI for the Governor’s Cup.

Honoring ties between Governor’s Cup alumni and the America’s Cup, the most important trophy in sailing visited BYC for the second time in 2014 (see picture on cover). At a press conference with NBC and ESPN America’s Cup commentator, Gary Jobson, Commo-dore Norbert Bajurin of the Golden Gate Yacht Club, current holder of the America’s Cup, said it best, “...the Governor’s Cup is the America’s Cup for youth!”

(Below, America’s Cup arriving at BYC)

Susan Kenney Photo 

“The Governor’s Cup is the America’s Cup for Youth!”

Golden Gate YC Commodore Norbert Bajurin at the 2014 Governor’s Cup Press Event 

Unless the Selection Committee shall decide otherwise, only the top three USYMRC finishers will be automatically invited. If a top three finish-

er shall be unable to attend or has already been invit-ed by the Committee based on his or her resume, the 4th place finisher, for example, will not necessarily receive an invitation. USYMRC finishers beyond the top three will only receive invitations if the Committee has either previously decided to expand the USYMRC qualifiers to greater than three or if the 4th place fin-

isher, for example, has been designated as the 1st alternate invitee for the “Gov Cup” and one of the invitees cannot attend. For information on the U.S. Youth Match Racing Championships for the Rose Cup go to:

http://racing.ussailing.org/racing/championships/youth/usymrc

Team Qualification and Requesting an Invitation

More Information on the Governor’s Cup RFI process is on the back page

The Venue 

Susan Kenney Photo 

Newport Beach from the air

 

♦ Teams will consist of a skipper and two crew. No competitor may have reached his or her twenty-first birthday before the first day of the regatta, July 20, 2015.

♦ The Governor’s Cup is an invitational event based primarily on Requests for Invitation (“RFI”) submitted by skippers repre-senting yacht clubs (or sailing associations) worldwide. All members of each team must be members of the club or associa-tion authorizing submittal of the Request for Invitation. Balboa Yacht Club’s Selection Committee will select final invitees from among skippers submitting a complete Request for Invitation package by the deadline of Friday, May 15, 2015. The selection will be based on information and resumes contained in the completed Request for Invitation packages and other factors which may be considered by the Selection Committee and which are designed to produce a diverse fleet of the best junior match racing talent worldwide. Invited skippers will be notified no later than Friday, May 29, 2015. Criteria con-sidered by the Selection Committee are available on the BYC website listed below.

♦ As noted elsewhere in this brochure, for U.S. sailors, the top three finishing skippers in the U.S. Youth Match Racing Champi-onship (“USYMRC”) for the Rose Cup will receive automatic invitations. If a skipper desires and so designates, the USYMRC RFI will also be considered an RFI for the Governor’s Cup although the Selection Committee reserves the right to ask for ad-ditional information. Only the top three USYMRC finishers will receive automatic invitations. So, if one skipper cannot attend, only two automatic invitations will be issued, and so on, unless the Selection Committee shall have previously increased the number of automatic qualifiers from the USYMRC or designated a lower finisher as an alternate selection for the Gov Cup (in which case, were a Gov Cup invitee to be unable to attend, alternates may be invited as necessary in designated order of preference—first alternate, second alternate, etc. Note that alternates actually receiving invitations is rare.

♦ Small subsidies to assist with travel expense based on need and provided through the generosity of some of our sponsors may be granted at the discretion of the Selection Committee to international competitors outside North America. See ap-plication materials for details.

♦ All information necessary to prepare a Governor’s Cup Request for Invitation including forms is available for download by following the link on the Club’s website at www.balboayachtclub.com. Potential entrants may also obtain a Request for Invitation package by telephoning the club at 949-673-3515 or sending an email to sailing@balboayachtclub.com.

♦ The event will include international competitors, but Balboa Yacht Club also wishes to encourage the highest level of com-petition from across the United States so teams from all parts of the country are encouraged to submit Requests for Invita-tion to both the USYMRC and the Governor’s Cup.

For More Information:

Susan Kenney, General Chair Balboa Yacht Club

Phone: 949-673-3515 Fax: 949-673-8937

Email: sailing@balboayachtclub.com Go to the Governor’s Cup link on the BYC website: www.balboayachtclub.com

Requesting an Invitation  Mark Rightmire  OC Register