Revised plan for 2021 Governor’s Cup

Ten teams will compete in the 2021 Governor’s Cup International Youth Match Racing Championship on July 26-31 in Newport Beach, CA. Due to the pandemic, a revised entry list was necessary when crews from Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom were unable to attend. As a result, the 54th edition will have seven U.S. teams, a record since becoming an international event over thirty years ago.

Competitors for 54th edition:
• Thimoté Polet, a successful sailor in fleet and ocean racing in addition to his skills as a match racer, will represent France.
• Emil Kjaer from Denmark also joins the field having attained a podium finish in three separate Grade 2 match racing events in northern Europe and would have to be considered one of the favorites.
• Scandinavian Marius Westerlind (SWE) will skipper in the GovCup for the first time as the 2020 Swedish Youth Match Racing Champion and will undoubtedly keep up the tradition of strong Swedish teams.
• David Wood and Jeffrey Petersen, who both grew up sailing at host Balboa Yacht Club and then teamed up for their first big match racing event, the U.S. Youth Match Racing Championship for the Rose Cup in 2017, winning that event with Wood steering and Petersen crewing. Petersen turned the tables on Wood in June’s 2021 U.S. Youth Match Racing Championship by skippering the winning team with Wood third.
• San Diego Yacht Club’s Jack Egan who will have another chance at Wood and Petersen in the Governor’s Cup. Egan was undefeated in the double round robin, quarter and semi-finals at 2021 USYMRC but succumbed to the frequent “curse” of undefeated teams at that stage and lost to Petersen in the finals. Egan is a first-time Governor’s Cup skipper.
• Representing Coronado YC, Ansgar Jordan had already accepted an invitation as a first-time Governor’s Cup skipper.
• Porter Kavle of Annapolis, MD who is on the sailing team at Fordham University was also invited and will be another first-time Governor’s Cup skipper.
• Morgan Pinkney of Newport Harbor YC (CA) will, at 16, be the youngest skipper and will be sailing in his first Governor’s Cup.
• 2021 USYMRC semi-finalist Owen Lahr of Richmond YC (CA) is another first-time skipper.

The Governor’s Cup is an invitational event for sailors that have not reached their 23rd birthday by the last day of the regatta. Crews of three or four that meet the weight requirement will sail the Governor’s Cup 22 boats designed and built for the event.

Nick Egnot-Johnson of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron topped the 12-team field from six countries in 2019 prior to the 2020 event being cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Event details: https://www.govcupracing.com/

EVENT FORMAT
Stage 1 ‐ A double round robin of all teams.
Stage 2 ‐ A semi‐final knockout of the top four teams from Stage 1.
Stage 3 – A final knockout of the top two teams from Stage 2
Stage 4 – A petit final knockout of the other two teams from Stage 2.
Stage 5 – A consolation round for the teams finishing five through ten from Stage 1

Source: BYC