By Scott Sinks
Last week, my crew comprised of Johannes McElvain and Andy Reiter and I traveled to Balboa Yacht Club to race in the 49th annual Governor's Cup regatta. The regatta attracted twelve of the top youth match racers from a round the world to compete for the prestigious Governor's Cup trophy. The regatta was comprised of a practice day and opening ceremony followed by five long days of racing sailed off of the Newport pier. It was our fist match race regatta as a team, and each of our first international match racing regatta.
The format was set up as a single round robin, having the top eight teams moving onto the next round. We sailed well and minimized our mistakes during the first two days to secure us a spot in the final eight, just one win out of first place.
Unfortunately, in the final eight round robin we made a lot of stupid mistakes and ended up 0-7 in the round of eight, putting us in eighth place. The final day we fought for 7/8 places with Newport Harbor Yacht Club. We were able to find our speed and make good decisions and ended up defeating Newport Harbor Yacht Club 3-0 to secure 7th place overall.
The Governor’s Cup regatta was unlike any other regatta I have ever sailed. Between the tough competitors, the unique and fun boats, and the organization of the event as a whole, this was definitely the most fun regatta I have sailed. It was an honor to represent San Diego Yacht Club this year, and I look forward to coming back next year again. Thank you so much SDYC for giving me this opportunity.
