The spirit of competition

June Casagrande

In a warm afternoon breeze Wednesday, the coaches for the New

Zealand and Australia Governor’s Cup Regatta teams leaned on the

railing overlooking the water at the Balboa Yacht Club. This day

would tell them a lot about how they would fare in the upcoming race

-- a world-class, international sailing competition now in its 36th

year.

“It’s especially important to get a feel for the local

conditions,” said David Lukins, coach of the team from the Royal

Prince Alfred Yacht Club in Sydney, Australia.

“And you get to see what speed the boat can do,” added Kevin Peet,

coach of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron from Auckland.

The 12 teams all use Santana 20s, which are manufactured by W.D.

Schock in Corona, and are donated by local owners for the race. The

boats, which have been the staple of the Governor’s Cup from the very

beginning, give some sailors an experience advantage: teams local to

Southern California, including the Balboa Yacht Club team and the

King Harbor Yacht Club team from Redondo Beach, all have experience

with sailing these boats.

Though it’s the coach’s first trip to the Governor’s Cup race, his

yacht club has had a team in the race every year since the mid-1990s.

It’s no small honor. Governor’s Cup participation is by invitation

only, and even that’s no guarantee of getting in. Only the 12 best

teams to accept the invitation get to participate.

The Governor’s Cup was started in 1967 by a proclamation of

then-Gov. Ronald Reagan. The event pits teams of young sailors -- all

of them must be younger than 20 -- representing yacht clubs from

around the world. Every year, it’s at the Balboa Yacht Club.

* June Casagrande covers Newport Beach and John Wayne Airport.

She may be reached at (949) 574-4232 or by e-mail at

june.casagrande@latimes.com.