58th Governor's Cup International Youth Match Racing Championship Day 4
by Susan Kenney 3 Aug 16:07 NZST
29 July - 3 August 2025
Skipper Justin Callahan (USA) with crew Oliver Lloyd and Harrison Strom - 58th Governor's Cup International Youth Match Racing Championship Day 4 © Tom Walker
Justin Callahan (USA) who finished the Round-Robin phase at the top of the leaderboard, chose 4th place Morgan Pinckney (USA) as his Semi-finals opponent, and then lost the first Semis match to Pinckney. He came back to win the second match, tying the series on 1-1.
That left Josh Hyde (NZL), 2nd place in the Round-Robins, vs. 3rd place Cole Tapper (AUS) in the other Semi. Tapper is the defending GovCup champ, having beaten BYC's Jeffrey Petersen (USA) win last year's final 3-2.
Pinckney's qualification for the fourth spot in the Semis was in doubt until the last race of the Round-Robin phase. This morning, with three flights to go in the double round-robin, Pinckney looked like a sure bet to make the Semi-finals, but then promptly lost his first two matches. Meanwhile first-time GovCup participant Theo Westerlind (SWE), who started the series in a weak position but improved every day, won all three of his matches today. This meant that Pinckney had to win his last race against Callahan to remain in the Semifinals. Pinckney, one of the top young sailors in America, proved equal to the task, beating Callahan in a barnburner of a match to squeak into the Semis.
Callahan, before deciding on Pinckney as his Semis opponent, made an unusual request of the umpires for a few extra minutes to make the call, as 4th place Pinckney had just beaten him in that final Round-Robin match. For background, Pinckney has been a star on Yale's University's Sailing Team, a top rival of the Harvard University team, where Callahan has been the leading light.
GovCup Steering Committee Chair Andy Rose, and a two-time GovCup winner, said, "In recent memory we have not gone into the last day of GovCup with both Semis tied 1-1. With few exceptions, the racing has been incredible, close across all the matches, and showing how far some of these teams have developed this week during the double Round-Robin.
The teams who missed the Semi-finals are competing in sail-offs for their respective places 5th through12th, in "first to win" two races, mini-series. This racing will continue Sunday as well.
The Governor's Cup, first raced in 1967, 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", with co-presenting sponsorship from the Croul Family.
Racing resumes Sunday at 1130, following the "Pre-Race Morning Show" livestreamed by GovCup TV at 0900 on Balboa Yacht Club's YouTube channel and the BYC GovCup Facebook page. The Morning Shows feature the daily Competitors' Briefing with race officials and highlight all twelve teams.
GovCup TV will also live-stream Sunday's Finals beginning at 1130 PDT / 1830 UTC. The press conference will follow at 1700 PDT, which will also include the Awards Ceremony.
Find out more at www.govcupracing.com.