America

BOAT TYPE: Vintage Yacht YEAR
LAUNCHED: 1851
COUNTRY OF CONSTRUCTION: United States
BUILDER: William Brown ARCHITECT: James Rich Steers and George Steers, of George Steers & Co.

HISTORY: John Cox Stevens, a founding member and commodore of the New York Yacht Club, and five members of the club formed a syndicate whose aim was to build a yacht to sail to England. The purpose of this visit was twofold: to demonstrate the skills of American shipbuilding and to earn money by participating in regattas. Thus was built the America and its destiny. On
August 22, 1861, at Cowes in England, under the command of Dick Brown, a pilot from New York, the America defeated the flagship of British yachts and won the One Hundred Guinea Cup of the Royal Yacht Squadron (One Hundred Guineas Cup), exceptionally open to foreign countries that year. The America thus became the first yacht to win an international sailing trophy. It was on a course set around the Isle of Wight that she won the race by eighteen minutes. Legend has it that while watching the race, Queen Victoria asked who was second, and received the famous answer: “There is no second, Your Majesty.”
In 1857, under the leadership of the members of the Syndicate that created the schooner and under the aegis of the New York Yacht Club (NYYC), the trophy was renamed the America’s Cup, in honor of the winning yacht. The first rules of the challenge to obtain the cup were then defined. The America’s Cup was presented as a challenge open to all Yacht Clubs of all foreign countries, in the spirit of the regatta raced in England. However, the first edition of the America’s Cup was not contested until after the Civil War, in August 1870.
The America had a long history before being decommissioned in 1946. All that remains is the sculpted eagle that was on the stern, which is preserved at the New York Yacht Club. The America’s Cup remains today the most prestigious regatta in the world, haunting the dreams of all sailors for decades. To win it, the most seasoned sailors, the wealthiest captains of industry, and the most talented architects have combined their knowledge, their passion and their follies, on both sides of the Atlantic. From this passion were born the legendary yachts of the J Class.

AND TODAY? The America was decommissioned in 1946. All that remains is the carved eagle that was on the stern, which is preserved at the New York Yacht Club. A replica was created in 1995.

TOTAL CONSTRUCTION: Approximately 105 Artisanal Hours