I n 1851, America, skippered by Commodore John Cox Stevens, a charter member of the fledgling New York Yacht Club, crossed the Royal
Yacht squadron finish line to claim the 100 Guinea Cup.
The 101 foot George Steers design schooner, America, had beaten 15
British yachts by an emphatic 8 minutes, in a 53 nautical mile race around the Isle of Wight.
Once they returned to New York, the ownership syndicate of America donated the Trophy to the New York Yacht Club under a Deed of Gift, which stated that the trophy was to be "a perpetual challenge cup for friendly competition between nations." Thus the America’s Cup was born, named after the winning yacht.
There were two Canadian challenges and five British that fell short, and then in 1899 Sir Thomas Lipton challenged with Shamrock, this was the first of his 5 challenges, the last being in 1930 in Shamrock V the first
America’s Cup held in the famous J Class. The closest Lipton got to winning the cup was in 1920 his fifth challenge when Shamrock IV lost
3-2 to Henry Walters Resolute.
The next two challenges came from Sir Thomas Sopwith, with Endeavour
I and II in 1934 and 1937. Now the most iconic ex America’s Cup class, the J-class only competed in three Cups, as the outset of World
War 2 stopped the cup for 21 years.
When America’s Cup racing began again in 1958, it signalled the beginning of the 12-Meter era. The Americans would successfully defend eight more times over the next 25-year period. Sadly, in 1939, all but three of the original ten J's were used as scrap metal for the war effort.
The three surviving J-Class yachts have been restored and still sail in regattas around the world.

In 1970, there was more than one yacht club who challenged for the America’s Cup, and so for the first time they had a challenger series, now called the Louis Vuitton Cup, to decide who was to face the defender, the
New York Yacht Club.
In 1983, history was made in the waters off Newport, when an Australian team, in Australia II skippered by
John Bertrand, won. They beat Liberty, skippered by Dennis Connor, known as Mr Americas Cup, and ended the longest winning streak in sport of 132 years. Connor got his revenge four years later, in Freemantle,
Western Australia, when he skippered Stars and Stripes 87, winning the Challenger series, and then the
America’s Cup 4 races to Nil, beating Kevin Parry’s Kookaburra III. This was the last Cup to be held 12-
Meters.
In 1988, Sir Michael Fay challenged the San Diego Yacht Club through the Deed of Gift, exploiting a loophole, demanding an immediate challenge. The New Zealanders arrived with a 120 foot yacht KZ-1. She had wings and a long bowsprit. Connors introduced catamarans and wing sails to the Cup, and won 2-0. Mr
America’s Cup may have seen the future. After this a new Class rule came in and the IACC yachts where introduced. In 1992, Bill Koch won the first Cup of this era, in America 3, beating the first Italian team to win the Challenger Series, Raul Gardini’s Il Moro di Venezia. This was a sign of things to come, and in San Diego in 1995, Team New Zealand won their first America’s Cup, and Russell Coutts announced himself on the
America’s Cup stage.
In 2000, they successfully defended the Cup in Auckland. But Coutts left and joined the Swiss Alinghi team, and in 2003, they beat Team NZ 5 races to Nil, to bring the Cup to Europe for the first time since 1851.
In 2007 Alinghi successfully defended the Cup. Valencia had been chosen as the venue, due to rules not allowing the regatta to happen on Lake Geneva. In 2010 Larry Ellison’s BMW Oracle Racing challenged under the Deed of Gift, and after much time spent in court, the regatta took place in Valencia. Two monster
Multihulls battled it out, and the winged trimaran beat Alinghi’s catamaran, 2 races to Nil.
Now the Cup has moved on, the AC72 have been built, and we look forward to seeing these impressive cats
“flying” around San Francisco Bay!

When Oracle Team USA won the America’s Cup (AC) and returned back to the U.S, Russell Coutts, the CEO of Oracle Team USA, went to the sailing world, and asked what people wanted and this led to the America’s Cup being revolutionised!. The AC72 was introduced to the America’s Cup World Series
(ACWS) and a whole new way of racing began. AC45s followed, a one design Catamaran, with a fixed wing, and a crew of five. These are today's tour boats, supporting a new partner initiative with Red Bull’s Youth America’s Cup. The race course parameters have changed, previously a racing boat could sail anywhere on the water to get around the course. Today, with modern technology and GPS, there are course boundaries. This means the spectators get closer to the action on the water and from the shoreline. The America’s Cup Race Management team was established to manage and grow the ACWS,
Louis Vuitton Cup and the America’s Cup for future generations. With media interest growing to showcase the AC races on television, speed trials have helped gain the best vantage points, which has led to some of the most spectacular yachting images captured on film.
An example of speeds now reached was highlighted at the start of the tour in Cascais
Portugal, where Emirates Team New Zealand (ETNZ) set a new spectacle when they reached a 42.35 knot average, which is sporadic to reach such an astounding speed.
The AC Tour continued on to Plymouth UK, San Diego USA, Naples Italy, Venice Italy, and finished in Newport USA. Over the tour more teams joined at the end of the
Newport ACWS regatta, Oracle Team USA Spithill won the World Series, followed by
Emirates Team New Zealand, and Artemis Racing. The 2012-2013 ACWS started in
San Francisco this past August, the crowds packed onto the Marina Green to watch the 11 yachts combat good wind and strong tides. Oracle Team USA won the Match
Racing event, and Oracle Team Spithill won the fleet racing. San Francisco in 2013 for the America’s Cup is going to be an amazing event.
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The AC72 is a massive step up from the AC45. There is more room for development in the AC72, and in early testing for ETNZ, it is reported they have reached 40 knots in 20 knots of wind. With further development and if rumours prove true in foil technology being used, the 34 th America’s Cup will offer incredible racing.

Although the America’s Cup has been sailed 28 times in the USA, San Francisco is only the fourth city to host the Regatta, and what a city it is. Founded in 1776 by Spanish colonists, the gold rush of 1849 increased the population from 1,000 to 25,000, making it the largest West Coast city at the time. Three-Quarters of the city was destroyed in the
1906 earthquake, and quickly rebuild. Some of the pre 1906 buildings can still be found in the eclectic city. Known for its cool summers, strong wind, steep rolling hills and fog, it is a great city to host the America’s Cup.
San Francisco bay is a massive amphitheatre for sailing. From the tight entrance under the golden gate bridge, the wind funnels into the bay. Then going further into the bay, the city is to the south and to the north the coastal towns of Sausalito, Belvedere and Tiburon.
Then in the middle of the bay, the iconic Alcatraz, which will mark the most north western point of the America’s Cup race course.
Once in the city, there are amazing restaurants, the famous Chinatown, the historic waterfront, the cable car service and many more things to do. The bay area has some incredible golf courses, like the Olympic, the course used for the 2012 US Open. And just north there are the famous Napa Valley and Muir woods.
With the American football season starting around the same time as the America’s cup, the iconic 49ers or the Oakland Raiders can be seen. And over the whole summer, the
San Francisco Giants and the Oakland A’s are good baseball teams to go and see on no race days.
The City and Bay Area have something for everyone, and the city is going to be a host city like no other. With the close access and unique sailing area, it is an event that should not be missed by any sailing enthusiast, and for people new to the America’s Cup and sailing this is something that has to be seen to be believed.