Teams ready to start renowned annual regatta

Bryce Alderton

The teams are here and are ready to get on the water for one of the

most prestigious junior sailing events that begins today in the

waters off of Newport Harbor.

The 38th annual Governor’s Cup, hosted by the Balboa Yacht Club,

will include 12 teams, eight from the United States and four

international squads, two from Australia and one each from Spain and

New Zealand, competing against one another in the premier

international junior match-race championship that runs through

Saturday.

Teams began studying the course and practicing on Monday with an

average wind of 10 knots.

Racing is scheduled to begin at 12:30 p.m. today through Friday

while starting at 11:30 a.m. Saturday.

Casey Schilling, Christian Emsiek and Wade Buxton will represent

Balboa Yacht Club in the competition while Philip Patrick Stemler,

Matthew Hogan and Whitney Loufek comprise the team from Newport

Harbor Yacht Club.

Each team, including defending champion Cruising Yacht Club of

Australia, features two crew members and one skipper -- all sailors

must be younger than 20 -- racing in one of the high-performance,

21-foot sloops, which were assigned to teams on Monday.

The winning team will qualify for the Cowes Youth Week in the

United Kingdom along with the Prince of Whales (U.S. match racing

championship). The top two American teams gain entry into the

international youth match race series in New Zealand.

Teams will face one another in a round-robin format today and

Thursday to determine the top four teams, which will compete against

one another the final two days.

One change involved a team from the San Francisco Yacht Club

replacing a squad from Annapolis Yacht Club.

The late Chet and Glee Purcell, parents of staff commodore Tom

Purcell, founded the invitation-only regatta in 1967. The couple approached then-California Governor Ronald Reagan with the proposal

and he granted the Deed of Gift for the Governor’s Cup.

The event has served as a gateway for future collegiate

All-Americans, national champions, Olympic medalists along with

Congressional and America’s Cup participants. Past Governor’s Cup

participants include Paul Cayard, Terry Hutchinson, Morgan Larson,

Argyle Campbell and Mike Pinckney.