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Four teams – ORACLE TEAM USA, Artemis Racing, Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa Challenge – have their bows aimed at the ultimate prize: the America’s Cup, the trophy first awarded in 1851.
The America’s Cup is the oldest trophy in international sport and the hardest to win. Only four countries – the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Switzerland – have experienced the euphoria of winning the “Auld Mug,” and only seven cities have hosted the competition before San Francisco.
The 34th edition of the America’s Cup marks a transformation for the oldest trophy in international sport as new boats, cutting-edge technology, and a close-to-shore venue mean that this summer’s America’s Cup will be unlike anything that’s preceded it. The 2013 America’s Cup is features notable firsts:
- First time racing is inshore not offshore
- First time all teams are racing wing sail catamarans
- First time the AC72 “50 mph flying boats” foil above the water
- First time there is a new pathway series for youth sailors, the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup
- First time the America’s Cup has been held in the United States since 1995
The History
First contested in 1851, the America’s Cup is the oldest trophy in international sport, pre-dating the modern Olympics by 45 years, and is yachting’s biggest prize.
The trophy’s roots date back to when a syndicate of businessmen from New York sailed the schooner America across the Atlantic Ocean to represent the United States at the World’s Fair in England. The schooner won a race around the Isle of Wight and, with it, a trophy called the £100 Cup. (It was subsequently inscribed, incorrectly, as the 100 Guineas Cup.)
After winning the trophy, the United States embarked on what would become the longest winning streak in the history of sport, a 132-year stretch of domination that saw boats representing the country successfully defend the trophy 24 times from 1870 through 1980—until 1983, when Australia II became the first successful challenger.
Throughout its history, the America’s Cup has bedazzled a worldwide roster of business and industry tycoons such as fashion magnate Patrizio Bertelli, brewing and real estate mogul Alan Bond, tea merchant Sir Thomas Lipton, aviation pioneer Sir T.O.M. Sopwith, the Aga Khan, media mogul Ted Turner, and Harold S. Vanderbilt, an American railroad executive who won the America’s Cup three times and also helped author the original racing rules of sailing. It’s also attracted larger-than-life sailing figures such as Tom Blackaller, Peter Blake, Paul Cayard, Dennis Conner, Russell Coutts, and Grant Dalton.
The America’s Cup is the oldest trophy in international sport and the hardest to win. Only four countries – the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Switzerland – have experienced the euphoria of winning the “Auld Mug,” and only seven cities have hosted the competition before San Francisco.
The 34th edition of the America’s Cup marks a transformation for the oldest trophy in international sport as new boats, cutting-edge technology, and a close-to-shore venue mean that this summer’s America’s Cup will be unlike anything that’s preceded it. The 2013 America’s Cup is features notable firsts:
- First time racing is inshore not offshore
- First time all teams are racing wing sail catamarans
- First time the AC72 “50 mph flying boats” foil above the water
- First time there is a new pathway series for youth sailors, the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup
- First time the America’s Cup has been held in the United States since 1995
The History
First contested in 1851, the America’s Cup is the oldest trophy in international sport, pre-dating the modern Olympics by 45 years, and is yachting’s biggest prize.
The trophy’s roots date back to when a syndicate of businessmen from New York sailed the schooner America across the Atlantic Ocean to represent the United States at the World’s Fair in England. The schooner won a race around the Isle of Wight and, with it, a trophy called the £100 Cup. (It was subsequently inscribed, incorrectly, as the 100 Guineas Cup.)
After winning the trophy, the United States embarked on what would become the longest winning streak in the history of sport, a 132-year stretch of domination that saw boats representing the country successfully defend the trophy 24 times from 1870 through 1980—until 1983, when Australia II became the first successful challenger.
Throughout its history, the America’s Cup has bedazzled a worldwide roster of business and industry tycoons such as fashion magnate Patrizio Bertelli, brewing and real estate mogul Alan Bond, tea merchant Sir Thomas Lipton, aviation pioneer Sir T.O.M. Sopwith, the Aga Khan, media mogul Ted Turner, and Harold S. Vanderbilt, an American railroad executive who won the America’s Cup three times and also helped author the original racing rules of sailing. It’s also attracted larger-than-life sailing figures such as Tom Blackaller, Peter Blake, Paul Cayard, Dennis Conner, Russell Coutts, and Grant Dalton.
