New Zealanders win Governor’s Cup
The Royal Zealand Yacht Squadron defended its title this weekend, winning the 44th annual Governor’s Cup race at the Balboa Yacht Club in Newport Beach.
The Kiwis bested a field of 13 teams in the annual junior racing regatta. William Tiller, Harry Thurston and Shaun Mason won the final two races for the title on behalf of Royal New Zealand. A round-robin format decided the winners.
The New Zealand team was followed by the Newport Harbor Yacht Club, which finished second with a team made up of Chris Segerblom, Connor Bathen and Kieran Chung from Newport Harbor Yacht Club.
The final races were described in a Sail-World.com news release as “very close and exciting.”
“In the first race of the finals, RNZYS’s Tiller prevailed over NHYC Segerblom,” according to the release. “Tiller’s team is one of only two who had beaten the Segerblom team during the whole regatta. The Royal Port Nicholson team also won a race against them in the round robin.
“In the final race, Segerblom rounded the first mark eight seconds ahead but had spinnaker problems, so Tiller had a chance to catch up. He went left to find breeze and at the next cross was ahead. Tiller rounded the next mark 10 seconds ahead and was able to win.”
The New Zealand team will not be eligible to compete in the 2011 contest, but the Segerblom team will be.
2010 Governor’s Cup Final Standings
1: Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, Tiller2: Newport Harbor YC, Segerblom
3: Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club (New Zealand), Steven
4: Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, Griffin
5: San Diego Yacht Club, Snow
6: Mission Bay Yacht Club, Hoffmann
7: Howth Yacht Club (Ireland), Scott
8: Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron (Australia), Reece
9: Lake Beulah Yacht Club, Haeger
10: Newport Harbor Yacht Club, Mason
11: Royal Yachting Assn., Lees
12: Balboa Yacht Club, Davidson
13: Club Nautico Mar Del Plata, Rogala
Source: Sail-world.com