America's Cup

Lore & Background

The cup itself was manufactured in 1848 and first called the 'RYS £100 Cup'. It was first raced for on 22 August 1851 around the Isle of Wight off Southampton and Portsmouth in Hampshire, England, in a fleet race between the New York Yacht Club's America and 15 yachts of the Royal Yacht Squadron. The race was witnessed by Queen Victoria and the future Edward VII and won by America. This is considered to be the first America's Cup race. On 8 July 1857, the surviving members of the America syndicate donated the cup to the New York Yacht Club via the Deed of Gift of the America's Cup filed with the New York Supreme Court. The deed states that the cup 'is donated upon the condition that it shall be preserved as a perpetual challenge Cup for friendly competition between foreign countries'.

Reader's Guide

The America's Cup is the oldest competition in international sport and the fourth oldest continuous sporting trophy of any kind. Its history and prestige attract the world's top sailors, yacht designers, wealthy entrepreneurs, and sponsors. It is a test of sailing skill, boat and sail design, and fundraising and management skills. Competing for the cup is expensive, with modern teams spending more than US$100 million each; the 2013 winner was estimated to have spent US$300 million. The trophy was held by the New York Yacht Club from 1857 until 1983, when the Royal Perth Yacht Club, represented by the yacht Australia II, defeated them. This ended the longest winning streak in international sports. The cup has been raced in various yacht classes, including J-Class, 12-metre class, International America's Cup Class, multihulls, and the current AC75 class. The most recent 2024 America's Cup was held in October 2024 between the challengers, Royal Yacht Squadron's INEOS Britannia, and the defending champions, Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, who won 7–2.

Did You Know?

• The America's Cup trophy is an ornate sterling silver bottomless ewer crafted in 1848 by Garrard & Co.
• From the first defence in 1870 until 1967, there was always only one challenger; multiple challengers first appeared in 1970.
• The cup was originally known as the 'R.Y.S. £100 Cup' and was subsequently mistakenly engraved as the '100 Guinea Cup'.
• The New York Yacht Club's 132-year reign was the longest winning streak in any sport.

Origins and the Deed of Gift

The story begins in 1848, when Garrard & Co. crafted an ornate sterling silver bottomless ewer. Henry William Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey, purchased one and set it aside as the prize for the Royal Yacht Squadron's 1851 Annual Regatta around the Isle of Wight. On 22 August 1851, the New York Yacht Club's schooner America outpaced fifteen RYS yachts in a fleet race off Southampton and Portsmouth, with Queen Victoria and the future Edward VII watching from the shore. Six years later, the surviving members of the America syndicate formally transferred the trophy to the NYYC through a Deed of Gift filed with the New York Supreme Court. That legal instrument renamed the prize the "America's Cup" and declared it a permanent challenge trophy open to international rivalry. The deed stipulates that ownership rests with the yacht club that most recently won a match, not with the owners of any particular vessel. It further details how a foreign club may issue a valid challenge and what procedure follows if the two clubs cannot agree on race conduct. This single document has served as the governing framework for the competition ever since.

The 132-Year American Hegemony and Its Shattering

From the first formal defense in 1870 through the twentieth in 1967, the New York Yacht Club never lost. Across 24 consecutive defenses, the NYYC held the Auld Mug for 132 years, a span that remains the longest winning streak in the history of any sport. During that era the format was strictly bilateral: a single challenger faced the defender, and the NYYC prevailed every time. Early hardware consisted of 65-to-90-foot waterline yachts owned by wealthy sportsmen, reaching their apotheosis in the J-Class regattas of the 1930s. After World War II and nearly two decades without a challenge, the NYYC amended the Deed of Gift to permit smaller, less costly 12-metre class yachts, a standard that endured from 1958 to 1987. Then, in 1983, the Royal Perth Yacht Club's Australia II beat the NYYC in Newport, Rhode Island, to claim the 25th America's Cup. It marked the first time in over 132 years that a non-American team lifted the trophy, ending what had been the longest unbroken winning streak in international sport.

A Century and a Half of Evolving Hardware

The boats competing for the Auld Mug have changed beyond recognition across more than 170 years. The earliest matches pitted 65-to-90-foot waterline yachts against one another, owned by wealthy sportsmen, and reached their peak in the J-Class regattas of the 1930s. After World War II, the NYYC revised the Deed of Gift to allow 12-metre class yachts, which served as the standard from 1958 until 1987. The International America's Cup Class replaced that rule in 1990 and remained in use through 2007. A protracted legal battle preceded the 2010 edition, sailed in 90-foot waterline multihull yachts in Valencia, Spain. The victorious Golden Gate Yacht Club then chose to race the 2013 America's Cup in AC72 foiling, wing-sail catamarans and successfully defended the cup. The 2017 match in Bermuda employed 50-foot foiling catamarans, again following disputes over rule changes. Since 2021, the AC75 class has provided continuity, and current protocol intends to retain it for the 38th America's Cup and potentially the 39th edition in 2029.

New Zealand's Modern Dominance and the Financial Scale

The most recent chapter of America's Cup history belongs to Emirates Team New Zealand. After winning the 35th America's Cup in Bermuda in 2017, the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron reclaimed stewardship of the trophy from an American club for the first time since 1983. They then successfully defended the cup in Auckland in 2021 and again in October 2024 in Barcelona, where they outscored Royal Yacht Squadron's INEOS Britannia 7 to 2. These three consecutive victories have brought a new stability to the competition, as all three regattas were contested in the AC75 class introduced for the 36th America's Cup. The modern financial stakes are staggering: the 2013 winner was estimated to have spent around US$300 million, and contemporary teams routinely invest more than US$100 million each. The America's Cup continues to draw the world's top sailors, yacht designers, wealthy entrepreneurs, and sponsors, testing not only sailing skill and boat design but also fundraising and management expertise on a global stage.

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