A Brief History...

The America’s Cup first began in 1851 when Britain invited the United States to join in a race around England’s Isle of Wight against their fleet of the finest ships known to man. The New York Yacht Club produced ‘America’, whose modern design bested the English traditional sailboat. The ornate silver trophy won by the America was later donated to the New York Yacht Club on condition that it be forever placed in international competition. Today, the “America’s Cup” is the world’s oldest continually contested sporting trophy and represents the pinnacle of international sailing yacht competition.

The America’s Cup is a match race, one against one, sailing’s equivalent of a boxing match. First the challenger teams must battle each other to find out which team has earned the right to take on the Defender in the America’s Cup itself (who will always have a space).

It could also make a claim to be the most unfair competition in all sport, because the winner (the ‘Defender’) gets to choose the venue for the next edition, and in large part sets the rules of engagement. Part of the mystery and allure of the America's Cup is that it is not contested on a level playing field, literally or metaphorically. The deck is skewed heavily in favor of the Defender, who is guaranteed a place in the final match.

The America’s Cup upholds the spirit of competition, camaraderie, engineering, and design. On the other hand, it contains a history of controversy due to systemic inequity and nationalistic representations. The sport of sailing is a rather niche hobby that is historically and statistically dominated by affluent white men. Fortunately, more emphasis has been put into the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion for the sailing world. The aim for this examination of the America’s Cup is to foster a more comprehensive and accessible attitude towards the investment in the sport of sailing.

What is a Rating?

A rating rule, in yacht racing, rule used to classify sailing yachts of different designs to enable them to compete on relatively equal terms. The competition may be either among yachts in a particular rating class or on a handicap basis, with the highest-rated boat giving up time allowances to all lower-rated craft in a contest. Such rules are based on measurement formulas that take into account a yacht’s length, beam, displacement, sail area, and other design factors that affect its potential speed.

During the early part of the 19th century interest in yacht racing had achieved sufficient momentum to need an agreed handicapping system to allow different types of yacht to race on an equitable basis. The method of measuring merchant sailing ships carried over into the world of yacht racing so that a yacht also now had a measured tonnage which allowed size comparisons and hence performance comparisons to be made between yachts on the basis that a properly designed big yacht will sail faster than a properly designed small yacht.

Each yacht fell within a Class based upon its measured tonnage. In the early 19th century four ranges of tonnage and hence four Classes were defined. Based on experience gained from the results of numerous races each Class was allocated a distance allowance that the Class had to give away to the next lower Class. This was equivalent to a Class 1 having to sail more distance than a Class 4 yacht during a race.

In 1834 handicapping by distance was changed to handicapping by time.

As yacht racing in particular became more and more popular designers started to look for and found loopholes in the measurement rules to enable a design to get a better rating. Whilst this encouraged designers it discouraged owners from participating in handicap racing because designs were being outdated almost before the yacht was launched. In order to restore the equilibrium, formulas are used to

regulate boat measurements.

Terminology

rig: configuration of sails, masts, and stays

fore/bow: front of the boat

aft/stern: back of the boat

spar: pole

line: rope that is used to pull or release a sail

halyard: line that hoists and lowers the sails

class: particular type of boat based off of a predetermined set of classifications

keel: the bottom-most structural element on a boat used to keep the boat balanced and hydro-dynamically glide through the water

heel: the boat ‘tipping’ towards one side of the other, primarily caused by the force of wind on sails or crew weight

beam: width of a ship at its widest point

draft: how shallow your boat’s hull can go in the water, essentially minimum depth you can safely take your boat without hitting the bottom of the hull on the surface below the water

LOA: A bow’s length overall

LWL: length of a ship or boat at the level where it sits in the water (also known as waterline)

displacement: the volume of the water the vessel displaces

sail area: how much sail a boat carries relative to its weight

trim: the adjustment of tension on the sails, based off of the boats intended direction

knots: nautical wind speed measurement. 1 knot is 1.151 miles per hour

skin girth: measurement following the surface of the hull.

chain girth: hull measurement the skin on convex surfaces, but goes straight across the chord of concave surfaces, as a tight chain would.

freeboard: a vessel's freeboard is the distance from the waterline to the upper deck level

foil: the use of hydrofoils attached to the hull of fast boats, which provides additional lift at planing speeds – often enough to lift the hull completely clear of the water.

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AMERICA

Schooner - USA

1851

Considered by many as the first theory of naval architecture, the wave line theory argued that the energy expended in creating waves when the hull pushes its way through the water surface was the primary source of ship resistance. It also explained that this wave-making resistance could be reduced by hulls whose shapes complemented the wave profile and proposed that hulls with hollow and concave bows with their point of maximum beam located aft amidships were the solution.

There, boat builders with a more practical approach to design started to be replaced by a new generation of yacht designers with a much more theoretical approach to naval architecture. George Steers, the designer of America, was one of them.

The yacht, launched on May 3rd, 1851, was christened America, and compared to the British yachts of the time, her hull was shallower, featured a hollow bow, and carried its maximum beam farther aft. Eighteen yachts entered the race, 15 started, and only five finished under the time limit. America arrived first, followed by the British Aurora, who took about 8 minutes more to get to the finish line. The America’s Cup, the oldest trophy in modern international sport, was born.

Seawanhaka Rule

In 1889, the New York Yacht Club adopted the Seawanhaka Rating Rule.  to help standardize racing, and discourage just anyone from attempting to win the Cup. The new rules stated that challenges must only come from yacht clubs on the sea, and that all challengers must sail to the venue on their own hull. Sail area and waterline length were taken into consideration for handicapping, with penalties awarded to teams whose water lines exceeded 85 feet.

The Seawanhaka Yacht Club developed a rating rule in 1882 that placed the emphasis on length and sail area and ignored beam altogether. The result was inevitable; racing yachts became short on the waterline and gained stability by great beam.

VIGILANT

Centerboard Sloop - USA

1893

Universal Rule

Yacht designer Nathanael Herreshoff devised the rule in 1902 "Herreshoff Rule" and accepted by the New York Yacht Club as the rule-making body for 1903.Herreshoff had designed winning America's Cup yachts which fully exploited the Seawanhaka rule, which was based only on a yacht's upright waterline length and sail area, to create narrow boats with long overhangs. This prompted Herreshoff to propose a rule which took into account the displacement of the boat.

The Universal Rule (Universal Rule for Yachts) determined a yacht's eligibility to race in the America's Cup from 1914 to 1937 and for this the J-class was chosen. 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.

RANGER

J Class Monohull - USA

1937

Ranger was a J-class racing yacht that successfully defended the 1937 America's Cup, defeating the British challenger Endeavour II 4-0 at Newport, Rhode Island. It was the last time J-class yachts would race for the America's Cup.

Harold Stirling Vanderbilt funded construction of Ranger, and she was launched on May 11, 1937. She was designed by Starling Burgess and Olin Stephens, and constructed by Bath Iron Works. Stephens would credit Burgess with actually designing Ranger, but the radical departure from the heavy displacement sailing yachts was attributable to Stephens himself who had first used the design in Dorade, winner of the 1931 Trans-Atlantic Race.

Ranger was constructed according to the Universal Rule that constrained the various dimensions of racing yachts, such as sail area and length. Often referred to as the "super J",Ranger received a rating of 76, the maximum allowed while still adhering to the Universal Rule.The hull was all-steel welded by a shielded arc process with a weight-saving aluminum, arc-welded, mast counterbalanced with a 110-ton lead keel supported by an arc-welded steel keel plate.

Following the 1937 race, World War II began. The America’s Cup did not receive a challenge for almost 20 years.

12 Meter Rule

Prior to the creation of the International rule in 1907, countries raced yachts under their own national rules and international competition was always subject to various forms of subjective handicapping. The International rule, also known as the Meter rule, was created for the measuring and rating of yachts to allow different designs of yacht to race together under a handicap system.Following the second World War, the 12 Meter rule aimed to reduce the costs and ensure racing could continue in a post-war economy.

By the early 20th Century yacht racing had spread across Europe but each country had its own different rating rules but they all typically used similar principles. International competition was always subject to various forms of handicapping which was often subjective and certainly open to protest.

What was needed was a common rating or an agreed international rule, which would enable yachts from one country to race competitively in a different country. The leading yacht racing countries came together and laid down a system that calculated the rating of yachts, measurement rules, construction regulations (scantlings) and rules for racing.

The 12 Meter rule eventually became the backbone of yacht racing. The Rule created a formula that took into account most problematic areas that had previously caused dissent among the racing nations. It does not restrict size—many individual classes were created. It allowed designers a degree of latitude—yet controlled unsafe extremes. It laid down construction rules and governed the use of materials—yet understood that the Rule must develop.

AUSTRAILIA II

12 Metre - AUS

1983

1983 would prove to be a historic and game-changing year for the history of the America's Cup. Alan Bond, who had made three attempts already at bringing the cup to Australia, returned for a fourth attempt. Australia II (KA 6) is an Australian 12-meter-class America's Cup challenge racing yacht that was launched in 1982 and won the 1983 America's Cup for the Royal Perth Yacht Club.  Australia II overtook Liberty, despite initial problems, and went on to upend the longest winning streak in the history of sports – 132 years.

The design of Australia II’s  keel was kept secret, and in the end, the infamous winged design would prove effective. Ben Lexcen's Australia II design featured a reduced waterline length and a short chord winged keel which gave the boat a significant advantage in maneuverability and heeling movement (lower ballast center of gravity) but it was a significant disadvantage in choppy seas.The winged keel was a major design advance, and its legality was questioned by the New York Yacht Club. During the summer of 1983, as selection trials took place for the Cup defense that autumn, the New York Yacht Club challenged the legality of the keel design. The controversy was decided in Australia II's favor.

The first Cup defended outside of the United States was held in Fremantle Australia in 1987.

Controversy

In 1988, an unexpected challenge came from a New Zealand syndicate, which proved to bring about major design changes and controversy never before seen in the America's Cup. Conner, representing San Diego Yacht Club commissioned a catamaran to respond to the Kiwi challenge, realizing that multihulls were not expressly prohibited by the Deed of Gift.

Meanwhile, on May 5th, 1988, as expected, Michael Fay again asked for justice. He argued that the San Diego YC should defend the America’s Cup in September 1988 but with a 90-foot monohull. He noted the Deed of Gift required a match between “like and similar boats.”

The "bizarre" 1988 Challenge eventually sailed on September 7th and 9th off San Diego. It would be useless to hold forth on the ‘mismatch’ on the water. The Stripes & Stripes crew won easily. New Zealand's "Big Boat" design, while cutting edge, was inherently disadvantaged against Conner's catamaran and lost by a significant margin.

After the race, controversy over the legality of the design in the Deed of Gift, and whether or not the spirit of "friendly competition" had been violated was rampant. Challenger Michael Fay took San Diego Yacht Club to court over the matter and was awarded the trophy in the ruling. The decision, however, was overruled and the cup was returned to the Americans.

The courts would rule again on the 1988 match, firstly on March 28th, 1989 to award the Cup to the New Zealanders and then on appeal to confirm the Stars & Stripes victory.

IACC

One matter was certain, the dramatic turn of events during 1988 cup put an end to the 12-meter era and opened the way for the present International America’s Cup Class boats.

This type of racing yacht reigned from 1992 and 2007. These yachts, while not identical, were all designed to the same formula to offer designers the freedom to experiment whilst keeping the boats sufficiently comparable to race in real time. The boats were lighter, faster, and carried more sail area with a deeper draught keel. Greater effective sailing length increases speed potential due to wave-making, while greater displacement and beam increase wave drag. Consequently, the IACC Rule taxes length and credits displacement, with limits to keep them within bounds.

During the years of the IACC, the Cup changed hands regularly, with strong teams fielded by Italy, New Zealand and Australia

ALINGHI

Catamaran - SUI

2003

For the 2003 event, Team New Zealand as the holder of the America's Cup, removed the nationality rule that stipulated that all of the crew members must be nationals of the challenging syndicate. Alinghi, a Swiss Syndicate, took full advantage of this rule change and hired many of the world's top America's Cup sailors, particularly from New Zealand. New Zealanders saw the defection of key members of Team New Zealand to Alinghi as an act of disloyalty to their home country. Apart from New Zealand, the Alinghi team consisted of members from Germany, the United States, Canada, the Netherlands, France, Italy, Spain, the UK, and many other countries.

Alinghi had an LOA of about 82 feet and introduced a game-changing wrap to the hull. The boat contained 20-ft long ‘second skins’ attached to the hull bottoms from six feet aft of the keel to beyond the rudder. This effectively lengthened the waterline, giving the boats a higher speed. "You want to design a boat that's long, low at the transom, elegant and fast," said co-designer Clay Oliver, the lone American on the design team. Since the desired shape fell outside Cup class rules, he said, attaching the appendage to fill out the lines "was the solution."

Alinghi raced to a 5–0 victory against Team New Zealand on 2 March 2003, winning the America's Cup. Alinghi's stated vision was "to win the America's Cup, while earning respect and recognition as a world class sports team as well as sharing our passion". Team Alinghi went on to win in 2007 and 2010.

AC75 Rule

Following the 2017 America's Cup, winners Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron accepted a notice of challenge from Circolo della Vela Sicilia stipulating a monohull would be used in 2021. The return to monohulls with soft sails after three America's Cups on multihulls with wing sails is reminiscent of earlier America's Cup classes and seaworthy traditions, but the rule included hydrofoils to attract high performance crews and large TV audiences.

the AC75 must have a single hull, two foils mounted under the hull, a rudder, a mast, a mainsail, a jib, and no keel. Apart from the boxes of foils and the rudder, the AC75 must be self-draining so that there are never more than 3 liters of water left on board.

TE REHUTAI

Foiling Monohull - NZ

2021

Te Rehutai is the AC75 foiling monohull yacht that Emirates Team New Zealand used to successfully defend the America's Cup for the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron in March 2021. It beat the winner of the 2021 Prada Cup, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, representing Circolo della Vela Sicilia of Italy, 7–3 in a first to seven series raced from 10–17 March 2021. Both the Prada Cup and the America's Cup were held in Auckland, New Zealand, after Emirates Team New Zealand regained the Cup for the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron in 2017, beating Oracle Team USA, representing the Golden Gate Yacht Club, 7–1 in Bermuda. The third time the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron defended the Cup in Auckland, after its successful defense in 2000 and unsuccessful defense in 2003. Te Rehutai won five of its six races, beating both Britannia, sailed by Ineos Team UK for the Royal Yacht Squadron, and Luna Rossa, sailed by Luna Rossa Challenge for Circolo della Vela Sicilia, 2–0, but lost one of its two races to Patriot, sailed by American Magic for the New York Yacht Club.

Te Rehutai is Māori for "the sea-spray" The name's significance has been explained as, "where the essence of the ocean invigorates and energizes our strength and determination"