58th Governor's Cup International Youth Match Racing Championship Day 2
by Susan Kenney 31 Jul 21:39 PDT
29 July - 3 August 2025
Skipper Morgan Pinckney with crew Cam Spriggs, Kelly Holthus and Alice Schmidt - 58th Governor's Cup International Youth Match Racing Championship © Bruce Crary
Keen observers of the 58th Governors Cup International Youth Match Racing Championship predicted that the three returning semifinalists from 2024 — defending GovCup champ and 2024 Youth Worlds champion Cole Tapper (AUS), Josh Hyde (NZL), and Justin Callahan (USA) - along with Morgan Pinckney (USA) of the local Newport Harbor Yacht Club, would be favorites in the 2025 Governor's Cup.
After Day 2, those predictions have largely held true. However, the leaderboard looks a bit different than expected, with Tapper suffering losses to all three of his closest rivals in today's racing.
Callahan remains undefeated, standing alone at the top with a 12-0 record. He is followed by Hyde at 10-2, while Tapper and Pinckney are tied for third with 9-3 records.
First-time GovCup skipper Theo Westerlind (SWE) had an impressive day, improving to seven wins and staying in contention for the Semifinals. The eventual top four teams from the double round-robin will advance to the Semis that start on Saturday, with the winners advancing to the Finals on Sunday.
Today's racing was delayed for an hour while the Race Committee waited for the heavy marine layer to burn off and the wind to fill in. Despite the delay, BYC's Principal Race Officer Dr. Don Becker was able to complete six flights, including the first flight of the second round-robin, in winds ranging from 5 to 8 knots.
BYC's Governor's Cup was established in 1967 and is the oldest and most prestigious youth match racing championship in the world. The 2025 edition is presented by Terry Causey and his foundation "Call of the Sea" and co-presented by the Croul Family.
Racing continues on Friday at 1100, preceded by the "Pre-Race Morning Show" live streamed by GovCup TV at 0900 on BYC's YouTube channel and BYCGovCup Facebook page. The Morning Shows (also Saturday and Sunday at 0900) include the daily Competitors' Briefing with race officials and featuring all twelve teams.
GovCup TV will also live-stream the Semis and Finals racing on Saturday and Sunday starting at 1130 PDT / 1830 UTC, the Semis Press Conference Saturday evening at 1900 PDT, and the Finals Presser and Awards Ceremony Sunday at 1700 PDT.
Find out more at www.govcupracing.com.