Harry Thurston, Shaun Mason & William Tiller Photo: Mary Longpre

A celebratory hug! Photo: Mary Longpre

The winning team after the finals! Photo: Mary Longpre

With the Governor's Cup trophy Photo: Mary Longpre

RNZYS wins Governor's Cup for second year in a row!

44th US International Junior Match Racing Championship, July 2010, Balboa Yacht Club, California
The RNZYS team of skipper William Tiller, main Harry Thurston & bow Shaun Mason (Full Metal Jacket Racing www.fmjracing.com) have successfully defended their Governor's Cup title, beating Newport Harbor Yacht Club in the finals!  This trio are now graduates of the Lion Foundation Youth Training Programme but were invited as defending champions and obviously still fit within the event's age criteria.  This is the 6th time the RNZYS Lion Foundation Youth Training Programme has won this event (see report below).

Report from William Tiller - Greetings from Full Metal Jacket Racing Full Metal Jacket racing repeat their 2009 victory in the Governor’s Cup by winning 2010 event with a 2-0 victory over Chris Segerblom in the finals.
The finals day dawned with little signs of wind, but after a short delay and an extra long tow up the coast the race committee eventually found some breeze to get the racing underway in 2 - 5kts. In our first race of the day Matty came out firing in the pre-start of this must win race for him as we already held a 1-0 lead in the first to two semi-finals. He held a slim advantage off the line and sailed a good beat to have two boat length lead at the top mark. After an awesome hoist and set from the boys we were able to set up perfectly to slide past him on the downwind leg and from here we defended well to secure our finals birth.
In the first start of the finals we got a nice gauge to windward start and were able to work some right pressures to take Chris all the way to port lay. From this position we gained a solid lead and held it all the way around the course to gain our first win. In the next race we had a similar start however the pressure in the right faded and we were forced to tack away. Chris worked a couple nice shifts and held a 4 boat length lead going into the first run. We made small gains on the run and Harry executed a perfect kite drop right on the bottom mark allowing us to carry great speed. On the beat we started a tacking duel and were on the right side of a few shifts enabling us to sneak by Chris and stretch out a small lead. It was very tight on the final run and he threw everything at us but Harry and Shaun did a fantastic job keeping the kite set in the light and patchy breezes helping us to stretch our lead further and take the title for a second year in a row.
We would like to say thanks to our principal sponsor Chris Meads from Full Metal Jacket, SLAM, Aon New Zealand and The Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron. Stay tuned, FMJ Racing

RNZYS has competed at the Governor's Cup since 1988....

The RNZYS Lion Foundation Youth Training Programme was first invited and attended the Governor's Cup in August 1988 with skipper John Bilger and crew Carla Bennett & Ian Vickers, the team finished 4th overall.
The following two years the regatta was won by the RNZYS Youth Programme team which established the Programme as a breeding ground for training match racing champions.  The 1989 event was won by Mark Christensen, Morgan Trubovich & Clinton Newbury, the win was deemed 'historic' as the team only had two losses throughout the entire series.  And the 1990 event by Kelvin Harrap, Gavin Brady & Stu Clarke.
The RNZYS has since won the regatta in 1995 with Andrew Estcourt, Kylie Hogg & Cameron Appleton, and 2001 with Simon Minoprio, Ryan Houston & David Ferris.

And now in 2009 & 2010 William Tiller, Harry Thurston and Shaun Mason have sucessfully defended their title.
More information view the event website for full results, press releases and photos www.balboayachtclub.com  OR www.govcupracing.com

History of the Governor's Cup Regatta
The Governor's Cup Regatta was established at Balboa Yacht Club, California, by Chet and Glee Purcell in 1967 after receiving the Deed of Gift form the then Governor of California, President Ronald Reagan.  With the Governor's permission a perpetual trophy was established and the first race series was held in August 1967.

Receiving their prizes. Photo: Mary Longpre

The winning team after the finals! Photo: Mary Longpre