42ND ANNUAL GOVERNOR’S CUP:

NEWPORT BEACH — Will Ryan tried different throws, spinning one Frisbee after another through the air while running barefoot on the black asphalt parking lot at the Balboa Yacht Club.

Ted Hackney laughed and threw some Frisbees too, and Sean O’Rourke messed around like a kid, as well.

As the sun set Saturday, the crew from the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia found a way to unwind. Today, they’ll try to spin the Governor’s Cup favorite on its head.

Newport Harbor Yacht Club closed out round-robin action Saturday with a win to remain undefeated, 11-0, and on course to capture its second straight Governor’s Cup, the international junior match racing championships in its 42nd year. But CYCA appears to be the team that is capable of beating NHYC.

CYCA has only one loss, 10-1, heading in today’s semifinals. Ryan, Hackney and O’Rourke couldn’t surpass the NHYC team of Michael Menninger, Cole Hatton and Chris Barnard on Thursday.

“It was pretty close for the most of it,” said Ryan, the skipper who led CYCA to a third-place finish at last year’s Cup. “But it got away from us in the second half.”

Because NHYC is the top-seeded team in the semifinals, it can choose its opponent for its semifinal. Menninger said they won’t choose CYCA, but will decide today between Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, the third seed, and Royal Yacht Assn. of the U.K.

“If everything goes according to plan, hopefully we’ll see [CYCA] in the final,” said Menninger, who guided NHYC to a win over Australia’s other team at the Governor’s Cup, Royal Freshwater Yacht Club. “We just wanted to finish out strong. We didn’t want to lose out step or lose our stride. We wanted to stay undefeated through the whole event.”

The two top clubs didn’t need to race Saturday because they had already clinched their spots in the semifinals. But they wanted to work on technique. And, afterward they worked on having fun.

The Australians seemed to be having a ball with their Frisbees. But they’ve done other activities as well before settling to their beds at the home of one of the Balboa Yacht Club members. They’ve toyed with a beer-can regatta against the other teams in the Governor’s Cup, danced the night away, learning the cha cha cha and found time to make their way to Fashion Island.

“A bit of retail therapy,” Ryan described his time to shop. “We’ve just been relaxing [when not racing] and have enjoyed being in the company of friends we’ve met in the last few years.”

They’ve tried to enjoy the food, too. They had to stop throwing Frisbees to make way for a big meal truck from Taco Bell, catering the after-race party.

“No, I haven’t [had Taco Bell],?” Ryan laughed nervously. “It’s not something we get in Australia.”

Activities aside, Ryan made a point that the CYCA came to compete in its “first serious regatta,” that its been in together.

Ryan, the 2007 Australian Youth Match Racing champion, would like nothing more to end this event with the Governor’s Cup trophy.

STEVE VIRGEN may be reached at (714) 966-4616 or by e-mail at [email protected].