50th Governor’s Cup set to sail in Newport
Boats compete on opening day of the 2015 Governor’s Cup off Newport Beach. This year’s races for young sailors run July 19-23. Other events are scheduled for Saturday.
It’s been five decades since Argyle Campbell competed in Balboa Yacht Club’s first Governor’s Cup International Youth Match Racing Championship in Newport Beach, but the love of racing has never left him.
At 17 and 18 years old, Campbell, a Newport Beach native, won the first two Governor’s Cup regattas in 1967 and ’68 and went on to win two Congressional Cups in the World Match Racing Tour in 1970 and 1972.
He has traveled around the globe to race, nabbing a Melges 24 North American championship, a World Corinthian championship and an Etchells Midwinter Series championship.
On Saturday, the now-67-year-old will enter familiar waters near the Balboa Pier as he competes against 11 other Governor’s Cup champions in the inaugural alumni regatta, which organizers say reflects the cup’s illustrious 50-year history, during which it blossomed from a local event that drew young competitors from along the California coast into an international sailing regatta.
The invitation-only Governor’s Cup — the oldest youth match racing regatta in the world — was established by Chet and Glee Purcell, who had a vision in 1967 that a national match racing competition should be created for younger sailors, similar in format to the internationally recognized Congressional Cup regatta.
As the years progressed, the Governor’s Cup grew in popularity, with its first international team participating in 1989. Since then, teams from the United Kingdom, Brazil, New Zealand, Finland, Australia and Spain have participated.
Campbell has never been a leisurely sailor. He’s in it for the adrenaline that comes with intense, competitive racing.
“For me, winning races was gratifying and sort of thrilling,” he said. “It still is, actually.”
But the competition coming up Saturday makes him a bit uneasy.
“I’m a little bit nervous,” Campbell said. “Most of the alumni that are going to come back are very active professional sailors. I don’t want to be embarrassed.”
The alumni regatta will feature three fleet races and likely a match race between the top two fleet race finishers, according to organizers.
The alumni race will kick off eight days of events culminating in an awards ceremony July 23.
On Saturday evening, a 50-minute documentary about the history of the cup will premiere at the Lido Theater. The film, by Gary Jobson, an Emmy-winning producer and America’s Cup winner, will feature vintage photos, videos and interviews with prominent alumni.
The main event — five days of Governor’s Cup youth races — will begin at noon July 19 between the Newport and Balboa piers. The 12 teams, made up of some of the most prominent young sailors from across the globe (maximum age 23), will compete on newly built 22-foot fiberglass racing sloops.
“It should be quite an event,” Tom Purcell, son of the regatta founders and co-chairman of the 50th Governor’s Cup, said in a statement. “We are very excited to have these amazing alumni skippers join us for the celebration. It will mean a lot to this year’s competitors and means a lot to the Balboa Yacht Club.”
Highlights of the 50th Governor’s Cup in Newport Beach:
Saturday: Alumni regatta will begin near the Balboa Pier at 1 p.m. At 5:30, “50 Years of the Governor’s Cup,” a documentary film by Gary Jobson, will premiere at the Lido Theater, 3459 Via Lido.
July 19-23: Governor’s Cup racing begins at noon each day near the Balboa Pier.
July 23: Awards ceremony at about 3 p.m. at the Balboa Yacht Club, following the final race.
For more information, visit govcupracing.com.
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Hannah Fry, hannah.fry@latimes.com
Twitter: @HannahFryTCN
