Remembering the America’s Cup

When my wife and I recently visited Newport, Rhode Island recently, I was reminded of how it once was the center of the sailing universe. Newport was home to the America’s Cup which was the Super Bowl of yacht racing from 1930-1983. The America’s Cup competition was held every three years and the American team won the title until the American team was upset by Australia II in the final.

The America's Cup is a sailing competition and 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 (known as the defender) and the other from the yacht club that is challenging for the cup (the challenger). The winner is awarded the America's Cup trophy, informally known as the Auld Mug. Matches are held several years apart on dates agreed between the defender and the challenger. There is no fixed schedule, but the races have generally been held every three to four years.

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.

The trophy was held by the NYYC from 1857 until 1983. The NYYC successfully defended the trophy 24 times in a row before being defeated by the Royal Perth Yacht Club, represented by the yacht Australia II. Including the original 1851 victory, the NYYC's 132-year reign was the longest (in terms of time) winning streak in any sport.

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.

The next America's Cup will be held in Naples, Italy, in the spring and summer of 2027. The 38th America's Cup will be hosted by the defending champions, Emirates Team New Zealand, and will feature the Challenger of Record, the Royal Yacht Squadron from Great Britain.

The US-based America’s Cup team, American Magic has announced it will not compete in the 38th edition of the America’s Cup, stating that the event’s current Protocol and new Partnership Agreement ‘do not provide the necessary framework for a financially sustainable and highly competitive campaign’. The team, which has represented the New York Yacht Club in the previous two Cup cycles, made the decision following, what they call ‘an extensive review of the governing documents’.

For more information: https://www.americascup.com