Gov’s Cup begins

NEWPORT BEACH ? Australia native Thomas Spithill, 18, who started his sailing career when he was just 3 years old, is on the team to beat this year at the 40th annual Governor’s Cup.

The youth sailing race starts today at the Balboa Yacht Club. This year, 12 three-person teams of sailors between the ages of 12 and 19 will compete in round-robin fashion ? each boat competes one-on-one against every other boat, and the top teams compete in semi-final and final matches.

In addition to the United States, there will be teams from Australia, New Zealand and Great Britain.

As the competitors prepared their boats and took them for a test run Monday afternoon, Spithill wore the red cap of the previous year’s winner. This is his fourth time in the race, and he’s been on the winning team the past two years.

What has kept Spithill coming back, he said, is “the atmosphere and the amount of effort the club puts in. It’s good to go against the American teams.”

He may have a slight advantage, he said, because he’s more familiar with “match racing” than the American teams, which include two from Newport Beach.

In fact, the Governor’s Cup is the world’s largest youth match racing series, race chairman Bob Strang said. Match racing means two boats race each other at a time, rather than all boats racing each other at once. Strang said this is the only such youth race in the United States.

It doesn’t always draw a lot of spectators, but the race is well regarded in local boating circles.

“Growing up in Newport, the Governor’s Cup is a big thing for junior sailing,” said Andrew Mason, 16, a member of the Newport Harbor Yacht Club team. “The Governor’s Cup always seemed prestigious.”

Mason’s team, among the youngest competitors this year, has its own advantage, Mason said.

“Luckily, we’re already familiar with the boat. That helps us out a lot compared to some of the teams that aren’t from around here,” he said.

The boats, called Governor’s Cup 21s, are 21-foot keel boats specially designed for this regatta and for Newport’s sailing conditions, Strang said.

Those conditions may hold the biggest challenge for the sailors. Winds up the coast near Palos Verdes and Point Fermin can reach 10 to 18 knots, but they’re only between 4 and 10 knots in the ocean off Newport Beach, principal race officer Mike Wathen said.

That could be an advantage for kids who grew up sailing here.

“There’s almost guaranteed to be some windless days, so not a lot of the teams out here are used to that,” said Casey Schilling, 19, of Irvine. This will be the last Governor’s Cup for Schilling, who is on the Balboa Yacht Club team.

The rivalry between the teams is friendly, but it’s always a tough competition because of the match racing style, Schilling said.

In fleet racing, “you have 30 boats, so when you make a mistake, you go from second to fifth place,” he said.

“In match racing, you win or you lose ? it doesn’t matter if it’s [by] five minutes or 10 seconds.”dpt-18-govcup-cw-CPhotoInfo8N1T1L9K20060718j2ksa2ncCredit: CHRISTOPHER WAGNER / DAILY PILOT Caption: (LA)A boat sets sail in the harbor near the Balboa Yacht Club in Newport Beach on Monday.