July 14, 2009 (Press Release from Nancy Mellon, Publicity Chair, 2009 Governor’s Cup)

43rd US International Junior Match Racing Championship
July 14 - 19, 2009

2009 Gov Cup Competitors

The Gov Cup teams arrived on July 14 from nearby and as far away as Australia, New Zealand and Britain. After the traveling teams settled in with BYC families nearby, the racers registered, were photographed for the program, drew their spinnakers and.boats for the next day. They were then able to gather all of their gear, rig their boats and go out to practice. Some chose to race against another boat or boats while others went off on their own. They were able to take the boats out on the ocean, since the weather was mild. Coaches were able to go out on the boats with the racers.

There are some familiar faces among the racers. The team from San Francisco Yacht Club includes Nick Dugdale who was part of the 2008 team from St. Francis Yacht Club. In addition, Alex Butti is returning with additional experience and practice to compete again for SFYC. He was here in 2007. On the bow for their team will be Graham Shelton, who has been racing Cal 20’s, CFJ’s and 420’s. Coach Molly Carapiet will enjoy watching them race.

Mission Bay Yacht Club will be represented by Scott and Evan Hoffman who raced in 2008 for MBYC. Matt Morris will be their Bowman.

Southern Yacht Club’s experienced team includes Thomas Meric, III, who competed the last two years on their team. In addition, Michael Levert who raced in the 2006 Gov Cup returned as well. Their teammate, James Potthurst, has been racing in Flying Scots.

The All-Girl team from RNZYS, Auckland includes Susannah Pyatt, Danielle Bowater and Taylor Holland. Members of their team have been racing in Australia, Italy, Holland, Ecuador, Mexico, and Spain. In 2008, they raced in Long Beach in the Mayors Cup in a Catalina 37, placing third. Also competing from Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron are William Tiller, Harry Thurston and Shaun Mason, all experienced match racers. Traveling with both teams is their coach, Guy Pilkington.

Also from down under is the team from Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, including Jay Griffin, Will Parker and Keiran Searle. Their team came in second in 2008 although all of the team is new this year.

From the Royal Yachting Association in Southampton, UK, the team includes Sam Goodchild, Rory Spriggs and Nick Wilkinson who won the 2008 British Schools Nationals and the British Youth Nationals in J80’s. Their coach, David Bickerton, is with them.

From Bermuda’s Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club comes a team with a lot of experience with J 24 sailing. They have raced in Brazil, Mexico, Italy, Nova Scotia, Uruguay as well as Miami, Boston, Chicago, and Newport, R.I. They include Catalina Sposato, one of the five women racing in the competition this year, who will race with Lance Fraser and James Anfossi.

From closer to home, the King Harbor Team hopes to win the Gov Cup this year as they did in 1999, 2000, and 2006. Wesley Byrne was part of the KHYC team in 2007 when they finished in second place, losing to NHYC. He will team with Dillon Lancaster, They have been training for years with Brian Angel, a well-known match racer.

Long Beach Yacht Club returns to the competition with an experienced team that includes Ian Paice who also competed in the 2007 Gov Cup for LBYC. In addition, he has raced in the Lipton Cup, the Ficker Cup, and the Knickerbock Cup in Long Island.

Newport Harbor Yacht Club has been the Gov Cup winner for the past two years. Their new team includes Andrew Mason who raced in the 2006 Gov Cup for NHYC. Joining him are Peter Kenney and Brooks Clark.

The Balboa Yacht Club team is led by Caitlyn Ybarra, the fifth woman in the competition, who will be Helmsman. Walker Banks and Brandon Wood are also on the team, winning a six month long competition for the coveted spots on the home team.

The teams can be recognized from the Newport Pier as they race by the color of the stripe on their spinnaker sail. Each day they will be racing in a different boat with a number to match the boat but they will always have the same spinnaker. Mary Longpre of Longpre Photos will be out on the water during the racing taking photos. She will post her photos on the govcupracing.com web site. She can be reached at shesailor1@aol.com as well as www.Longprephotos.smugmug.com. BalboaYachtClub.com will also have Gov Cup information.

Yacht Club Spinaker Stripe Color
Balboa Yacht Club Aqua
Cruising Yacht Club of Australia Red/yellow
King Harbor Yacht Club Blue
Long Beach Yacht Club Yellow/green
Mission Bay Yacht Club Red/blue
Newport Harbor Yacht Club Green
Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club Pink
Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron Black
Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron(girls) Red
Royal Yachting Association Light yellow
San Francisco Yacht Club Grey
Southern Yacht Club Light grey

The event is sponsored by The Yacht Barn, current builder of the Gov Cup 21 boats, CR&R, Inc. and the Newport Balboa Sailing & Seamanship Association (NBSSA), owner and manager of the Gov Cup 21 Fleet used in this event. Tommy Bahama’s Island Grille and Tommy Bahama Rum will sponsor the Friday evening reception while Hornblower Cruises will provide a harbor cruise on Saturday evening for competitors. Additional support will come from Ayres Hotel and Suites, Crevier BMW, Island Marine Fuel, Kaenon Polarized sunglasses, L. Gaylord Sportswear, Ruby’s Diner, Taco Bell, Volcom and West Marine."