Elite fleet announced for 54th Governor’s Cup regatta

Balboa Yacht Club announced on Monday the selected skippers for the 54th annual Governor’s Cup International Youth Match Racing Championship.

The Newport Beach-based regatta, which is scheduled July 20-25, will boast a wealth of experienced competitors.

Three of the four semifinalists from last year‘s event are slated to return, led by defending champion Nick Egnot-Johnson.

Egnot-Johnson, ranked No. 2 in World Sailing’s open match racing rankings, is one of two participating New Zealanders inside the top 10. The other is eighth-ranked Jordan Stevenson.

Leonard Takahashi, a three-time runner-up in the Governor’s Cup, was not expected to enter his name for invitation this year.

Takahashi had focused on sailing 470 dinghies since his latest near-miss in the Governor’s Cup, and he was set to represent Japan in the 2020 Olympic Games. The Tokyo Olympics have been postponed until 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic, freeing up Takahashi to seek the elusive Governor’s Cup championship once more.

“Don’t count Leonard out,” regatta chair Christine Robertson Gribben said. “I doubt he’s forgotten how to match race.”

Jack Parkin is the last returning semifinalist. A junior on the Stanford sailing team, Parkin is back home in Connecticut after the spring season of collegiate sports was canceled.

In the best-of-five semifinals in the last Governor’s Cup, Parkin went the distance before falling to Egnot-Johnson at the end.

Parkin was not overly optimistic that the regatta would take place, but he remarked that if it does happen, the lineup is something to be excited about.

“I think you’ll probably find it hard to get a competition with as good of competitors, even though there isn’t a huge age gap here,” Parkin said. “A lot of these guys are really good. It’s just that they’re young, as well.”

Competitors in the Governor’s Cup must not reach their 23rd birthday before the end of the regatta, or before July 26. Robertson Gribben said that youth regattas typically receive the level of Grade 3, but she said that an attempt would likely be made retroactively to earn a designation of Grade 1 from World Sailing.

All 11 skippers selected thus far to compete in the Governor’s Cup are inside the top 100 of the open match racing rankings.

The fleet includes three Australians in No. 13 Thomas Grimes, No. 18 James Hodgson and No. 34 Finn Tapper.

There are also three Americans. Parkin, ranked No. 26, is joined by No. 44 David Wood and No. 71 Ansgar Jordan.

Wood, 19, is in his freshman year at Roger Williams University in Rhode Island. He was invited to sail in his fourth Governor’s Cup as the representative of the host Balboa Yacht Club.

In his three previous appearances at the regatta, Wood’s best showing has been a seventh-place finish in his first start. He hopes to break into the semifinals this year.

A recent graduate of Corona del Mar High, Wood intends to continue sailing in the Governor’s Cup for as long as they will have him.

“I’ve definitely made the decision that as long as I’ll be allowed to attend the [Governor’s] Cup, I will be attending the event,” Wood said. “It’s just too prestigious of an event not to attend. You see the lineup that is presented at the [Governor’s] Cup every year, and it continues to get better and better.

“I think that ultimately, as long as we have the opportunity to sail in it, we’re going to sail in it, and I think every year is just another year to try to climb up the leaderboards.”

Wood plans to maintain the same crew as last year, keeping Max Mayol on as main trimmer and Daniel Pegg as bowman.

Great Britain will be represented by No. 39 Ted Blowers and No. 88 Robbie King, both newcomers to the regatta.

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