The America's Cup, informally known as the Auld Mug, is a trophy awarded in the sport of sailing. It is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one from the yacht club that currently holds the trophy and the other from the yacht club that is challenging for the cup. There is no fixed schedule, with matches held several years apart on dates agreed between the defender and the challenger. The most recent America's Cup match took place in March 2021.
The New York Yacht Club (NYYC) is a private social club and yacht club based in New York City and Newport, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1844 by nine prominent sportsmen. The members have contributed to the sport of yachting and yacht design. As of 2001, the organization was reported to have about 3,000 members. Membership in the club is by invitation only. Its officers include a commodore, vice-commodore, rear-commodore, secretary and treasurer.
Nathanael Greene Herreshoff was an American naval architect, mechanical engineer, and yacht design innovator. He produced a succession of undefeated America's Cup defenders between 1893 and 1920.
A J-Class yacht is a single-masted racing yacht built to the specifications of Nathanael Herreshoff's Universal Rule. The J-Class are considered the peak racers of the era when the Universal Rule determined eligibility in the America's Cup.
The Universal Rule determined a yacht's eligibility to race in the America's Cup from 1914 to 1937 and for this the J-class was chosen. Boats built according to the rule reached their peak in the large J-class yachts. This Rating Rule is intended to calculate a rating for yachts, which can then be used to calculate its Time Correction Factor (T.C.F.) in order to have disparate yachts racing against each other. The first boat said to be built under the universal rule was Herreshoff's Doris built in 1905.
Reliance was the 1903 America's Cup defender designed by Nat Herreshoff.
Vigilant was the victorious United States defender of the eighth America's Cup in 1893 against British challenger Valkyrie II. Vigilant was designed by Nathanael Greene Herreshoff and built in 1893 by the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company of Bristol, Rhode Island. She was Herreshoff's first victorious America's Cup defender design.
Shamrock was a racing yacht built in 1898 that was the unsuccessful Irish challenger for the 1899 America's Cup against the United States defender, Columbia.
The 1983 America's Cup was a 12-metre class yacht race which pitted the defending New York Yacht Club's Liberty against the Royal Perth Yacht Club's challenger, Australia II. The September 1983 match race was won by Australia II in the first successful challenge of the New York Yacht Club's 132-year defense of the Cup. The Australian syndicate's boat, skippered by John Bertrand, fought back from a 3-1 deficit to best the Dennis Conner-helmed defender, ending both the longest winning streak in sporting history and U.S. domination of the racing series.
Valkyrie III, officially named Valkyrie, was the unsuccessful British challenger of the ninth America's Cup race in 1895 against American defender Defender.
Columbia was an American racing yacht built in 1899 for the America's Cup races. She was the defender of the tenth America's Cup race that same year against British challenger Shamrock as well as the defender of the eleventh America's Cup race in 1901 against British challenger Shamrock II. She was the first vessel to win the trophy twice in a row
Valkyrie II, officially named Valkyrie, was a British racing yacht that was the unsuccessful challenger of the 1893 America's Cup race against American defender Vigilant.
His Majesty's Yacht Britannia was a gaff-rigged cutter built in 1893 for RYS Commodore Albert Edward, Prince of Wales. She served both himself and his son King George V with a long racing career.
The Canada’s Cup is a silver trophy, deeded in perpetuity to be awarded to the winner of a series of match races between a yacht representing a Canadian yacht club and one representing an American club, both to be located on the Great Lakes.
Charles Barr, was an accomplished sailing skipper who three times captained winning America's Cup yachts.
Endeavour is a J-class yacht built for the 1934 America's Cup by Camper and Nicholson in Gosport, England. She was built for Thomas Sopwith who used his aviation design expertise to ensure the yacht was the most advanced of its day with a steel hull and mast. She was 130-foot (40 m) and launched in 1934 and won many races in her first season including against the J's Velsheda and Shamrock V. She failed in her America's Cup challenge against the American defender Rainbow but came closer to lifting the cup than any other until Australia II succeeded in 1983.
Resolute was a yacht designed and built by Nathanael Greene Herreshoff for a syndicate of New York Yacht Club members headed by Henry Walters to contend the 1914 America's Cup.
The 1920 America's Cup was the 13th challenge for the Cup and the first since 1903. It took place in New York Harbor and consisted of a best-of-five series of races between the defender Resolute, entered by a syndicate of New York Yacht Club members headed by Henry Walters, and Shamrock IV, the fourth in Sir Thomas Lipton's line of Cup challengers. Charles Francis Adams III was the skipper of Resolute in this race.
The 1901 America's Cup was the 11th challenge for the Cup. It took place in the New York City harbor and consisted of a best of five series of races between the defender Columbia, entered by the New York Yacht Club for the second time, and Sir Thomas Lipton's Shamrock II, representing the Royal Ulster Yacht Club. Columbia won all three races, the last being won with handicap, defending the cup.
The 1895 America's Cup occurred just two years after the 1893 America's Cup pitting the New York Yacht Club against the Royal Yacht Squadron. The 1895 race was between the Herreshoff designed sloop Defender owned by Charles Oliver Iselin, William Kissam Vanderbilt, and Edwin Dennison Morgan from the New York Yacht Club, and the Watson designed Valkyrie III owned by Lord Dunraven of the Royal Yacht Squadron.
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