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San Diego YC in charge at Governor’s Cup

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NEWPORT BEACH — The oldest active trophy in international sports was at the same yacht club that plays host to the oldest youth regatta in the U.S.

The America’s Cup met the Governor’s Cup at the Balboa Yacht Club on Friday.

Many of the sailors who have competed in the Governor’s Cup have gone on to compete in the America’s Cup and a couple of them have won it. Someone joked that if you don’t win the Governor’s Cup as a youngster, you have a good shot later in life in winning one of the most prestigious trophies in the world.

Skipper Nevin Snow didn’t hear the joke that the winner of past Governor’s Cup races has been cursed when it comes to claiming the America’s Cup. He was sailing with his San Diego Yacht Club crew.

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Snow is trying to become the 10th two-time winner in the history of the 46th annual Governor’s Cup. He is getting close to his goal as Snow has San Diego Yacht Club in position to contend for a second straight Governor’s Cup title.

He and his crew claimed three of five quarterfinal races in round-robin action on Friday. San Diego Yacht Club remains the leader of the 21-and-under event.

The quarterfinals will continue on Saturday for the top eight teams. Each team has two races left before the semifinals get underway on the same day.

The last two quarterfinal races will be huge because they determine the four teams moving on to the semifinals. Outside of the top team, San Diego Yacht Club, which has a 12-4 overall record, five teams have identical 10-6 records.

The five teams knotted in second place are host Balboa Yacht Club, Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron of Australia, Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, Cruising Yacht Club of Australia and Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club of New Zealand.

The biggest surprise on the third day was the showing by a favorite, Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron. The crew dropped its first three quarterfinal races before taking its final two.

The start to the quarterfinals turned out to be a struggle for Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron, which is coming off a recent runner-up finish at the Chicago Match Cup, a stop in the Alpari World Match Racing Tour.

The skipper for Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron is Jordan Reece. He’s No. 16 on the International Sailing Federation World Open Match Race Rankings of all the skippers in the 12-crew competition.

The skipper with the second-best ranking is Snow at No. 31.

A year ago, Snow was the second youngest sailor at the Governor’s Cup. At 18, he is now a veteran and he and his crew members, Jake LaDow and Jake Reynolds, are in control of the waters near the Balboa Pier once again.

The day began with San Diego Yacht Club facing the lowest of the eight teams, Mission Bay Yacht Club of San Diego. The second victory came against Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club, before losing to Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron.

San Diego Yacht Club bounced back against Balboa Bay Yacht Club, which has Ryan Davidson as its skipper. Snow was happy with his team’s performance.

When Snow and his crew docked their boat, they had a chance to check out the America’s Cup. The sterling trophy, created in 1848, stood out.

“It’s pretty amazing that I could be the next guy to get a chance to compete for [the America’s Cup],” said Snow, adding that he has his eyes set on steering his team to Sunday’s finale and getting his hands on his second straight Governor’s Cup. “We want to show everyone that last year wasn’t a fluke.”

david.carrillo@latimes.com

Twitter: @DCPenaloza

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