Australia’s Cole Tapper rallies in dramatic Governor’s Cup final
The winds of change brought an adjustment in coaching approach as much as any shift in strategy.
On the brink of elimination in the 57th annual Governor’s Cup international youth match racing championship, the finalists from the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia received a stern talking to.
Cole Tapper went on to skipper the boat to three straight victories, leading to an improbable 3-2 win in the best-of-five final of the regatta on Saturday in Newport Beach.
“I think it probably was what the coach [Jordan Reece] said,” Tapper recalled of what turned the tide in the series. “We finished the first race, and he goes, ‘Oh, you guys, you’re doing great. You’re OK. That’s fine. You’ll come back.’
“We’re like, ‘Yeah, OK.’ We lose the second one, and he goes, ‘What the hell are you guys doing?’ … He finally told us the truth a little bit.”
Tapper and his crew of Jack Frewin and Hamish Vass prevailed over Jeffrey Petersen, who was competing for the final time for host Balboa Yacht Club. Petersen will age out of the regatta, as competitors must be under the age of 23.
The backdoor sweep prevented the record book from being rewritten, as Petersen was bidding to become the first skipper to win the Governor’s Cup three times. There have been 13 two-time champions. Petersen raised the trophy in 2021 and 2023.
“The first two races of the series, there was a bit more breeze, and we felt really confident in a breeze,” said Petersen, who sailed with Daniel Pegg and Enzo Menditto. “As soon as it swung right and died a little bit, they just seemed to find another gear that we were searching, we were working our tails off to try to find. You’ve got to give it to Cole and his team.”
Throughout the week, Petersen and Tapper proved to be the favorites to make the final, with each boat going 20-2 in the double round robin. They successfully navigated their semifinals without dropping a race.
A drama-filled Saturday also saw the petit final go the distance, with Justin Callahan (Biscayne Bay Yacht Club) besting Josh Hyde (Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron) 2-1 in the best-of-three series for third place.
Race commentator Andy Rose noted Callahan’s downwind speed in the petit final, and Callahan credited his crew of Trevor Davis, Spencer Kreigstein and Michaela O’Brien for doing the work in front of him.
“The theme for us the whole regatta was keep working the boat harder,” said Callahan, a 20-year-old from Miami. “We can always roll harder, we can always press harder, and we can work the sails a lot better.”
Newport Harbor Yacht Club’s Morgan Pinckney, 19, placed sixth in his fourth start at the regatta.
Siena Nichols, 15, also representing Balboa Yacht Club, became the youngest skipper in Governor’s Cup history. She went 6-16 in the double round robin.
The Governor’s Cup featured five countries and four continents this year. The United States had five boats, Australia three, New Zealand two, and Brazil and Ireland each had one.
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