56th Governor's Cup at Balboa Yacht Club - Day 2
by Susan Kenney 26 Jul 2023 23:42 PDT
July 24-29, 2023
Jeffrey Petersen (USA) vs. Morgan Pinckney (USA) - 56th Governor's Cup © Tom Walker Photography
Jeffrey Petersen (USA), and his team of Max Brennan (USA) and Enzo Menditto (USA), continued their winning ways today, going undefeated for the second day in a row. They are now 12-0 in the round-robin phase of the 56th Governor's Cup, hosted by Balboa Yacht Club and presented by DISC Sports and Spine Center and the Call of the Sea Foundation.
After yesterday's racing, Petersen said his team's light wind speed was better than ever, and today they proved it in spades. In the best comeback of the day, after a terrible start, Petersen and team steadily clawed their way back on the short four-leg, windward-leeward racecourse in only five knots of breeze, passing Cole Tapper (AUS), another early favorite, on the last leg. Tapper is tied for second on 8-4 with Justin Callahan (USA), yet another early favorite.
The GovCup schedule provides a double round-robin, with the 12 teams from a record of eight countries racing each of the other 11 teams twice over the first three days. This format has proven helpful for teams that have never sailed in the GovCup which, this year, is two-thirds of the fleet.
While Petersen now appears to have a lock on one of the four semi-final slots, with only one race completed in the second round-robin, the race for the other three semi slots is far from decided. In addition to Tapper and Callahan looking strong, three more teams are tied for fourth with a 7-5 record — Nicolas Bernal (BRA), Alec Coleman (CAN), and Morgan Pinckney (USA). Pinckney is another hometown favorite, representing Newport Harbor Yacht Club, just across the bay from Balboa Yacht Club.
Petersen may seek to avoid the "round-robin curse" — the superstition in match racing circles that winning every race in the round-robins may lead to ultimately losing in the semis or finals. But, as five-time US Match Racing Champion Dave Perry (USA) has said, "There may be a curse, but all else being equal, I'd still rather win all the round-robin races."
Round-robin racing continues tomorrow, Thursday, July 27. At the end of the round-robins, the top four teams advance to the semis on Friday, with the finals on Saturday.
On Friday and Saturday, live TV coverage begins at 11:30a PDT (18:30 UTC) on the GovCup Facebook page and the Balboa Yacht Club YouTube channel.
GovCup TV also produces live pre-race "Morning Shows" daily at 9:00a PDT, and will air the semis press conference after Friday's racing at 7:00p, and the finals press conference and awards ceremony on Saturday at 5:00p.
Find out more at www.govcupracing.com