The Gov Cup Challange - Day Three

by Nancy Mellon on 20 Jul 2013 The third day of the Gov Cup Challenge started with heavy overcast and very light winds. The course was set up north of the Newport Pier with observers on shore and on the pier. After one round of six races, the committee chose to wait for wind.

The racers enjoyed their lunches while waiting for 45 minutes. The wind came up a bit to about five knots. Throughout the afternoon changing wind directions meant moving marks between races. Despite the limited winds, sixty races were completed and the Semi-Finals results are above. By the end of the day the wind increased enough that the sailors were able to finish the series and sail back to Balboa Yacht Club.

Two of the races ended quickly when one of the teams in each was penalized three times during the pre-start and starting sequence. They were disqualified from those races, so their opponents won by default. Very significant was the success of skipper AJ Reiter of the San Diego Yacht Club team. He and his crew of Storm Brown and David Larson were able to win all but two of the races in the Semis moving from eighth place to fourth place by the end of the day. They lost only to the two top teams.

A reception was held in the evening for members, guests and friends of the regatta. An America's Cup style press conference was led by Andy Rose, who interviewed the four skippers of the final four teams. Chris Steele, the skipper of the first place team from Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron was asked about his choice of San Diego Yacht Club's AJ Reiter to be his opponent in his first match tomorrow.

Answers from the four top skippers to Andy's questions are enjoyable and can be seen on the balboayachtclub.com web site. Additional video will be available tomorrow after racing as well. In addition, Andy will narrate the action from the water throughout the remaining racing.

Tomorrow the top four teams will race each other for final places in the first four. The teams that are at fifth through eight will race in a consolation round to establish their final placement. Trophies will be presented on Sunday afternoon at Balboa Yacht Club. One of the most prized trophies will be the Chet Purcell Good Sportsmanship trophy.

The 2013 Governor’s Cup is proud to announce the addition of several new sponsors as well as the continued support of Sterling BMW as our Title sponsor. CR&R a leading Southern California Waste Management company returns as well and is joined by HOM Sotheby's International Realty and Vanetik International providing significant financial support.

We are pleased to have David and Deborah Lake and Faucet Depot returning as valued team sponsors and this year they are joined by a host of new companies including Skyline Resources, Pretend City Children’s Museum, The Smith Group, Island Marine Fuel, Barney and Barney and The Hartford insurance agencies. Support also comes from the generous people at Armite, DMI, California Sunset Escrow, Law offices of Lemkin, Barnes and Row, Preferred Dental Care and Trenton Rhodes. Levendi Winery, Ullman Sails, the OC Register, Vineyard Vines and The Hill Family Corporation are providing what they do best, wonderful products and services to help the Governor’s Cup maintain its fleet of boats, wonderful wine for the event, shirts for the participants and accessories for the competitors and unparalleled advertising.

The Governor’s Cup Committee and the Balboa Yacht Club wish to extend their heartfelt gratitude to all those who have contributed to one of the major sailing events of the year that shapes young people into premier sailors of the future. Without your generosity none of this would be possible.

Up to date information will be available before, during and after the racing at www.balboayachtclub.com as well as on Gov Cup pages on facebook and twitter. On Saturday, live commentary will be available on the spectator boats.

Day Three of the Gov Cup
Results at the end of the Semi-finals
               Organization                                      Skipper                         Boat #R            Color   
  
1st          Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron          Chris Steele                       10                   Yellow       
2nd         Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club             Sam Gilmour                       8                    Green       
3rd          Balboa Yacht Club                                  Ryan Davidson                    4                    Red       
4th          San Diego Yacht Club                             A J Reiter                          12                    Red/Yellow       
5th          Chicago Yacht Club                                Will Holz                             9                    Aqua       
6th          San Francisco Yacht Club                       Scott Buckstaff                   12                   Yellow/Green   
7th          Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club             Adam Middleton                    7                     Pink       
8th          Cruising Yacht Club of Australia              Henry Kernot                       2                    Red/Blue

After the Consolation Round for the following teams, they finished in the following order
1st    Newport Harbor Yacht Club                          Jack Thompson                    3                   Black       
2nd    Portland Yacht Club                                   Charlie LaLumiere                6                   Grey       
3rd    Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron             Claudia Pierce                     10                   Lt Grey/Grey   
4th    Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club                      Malcolm Parker                  5                    Blue