1851 America's Cup
The first America's Cup was raced as part of the 1851 World Fair which was held in England. The race was organised by the Royal Yacht Squadron with the course taking the boats around the Isle of Wight. Originally called the 100 Guineas Cup it was later renamed the America's cup after the New York Yacht Club placed an iron fist on the regatta, defending it against all comers for well over 100 years.
The Yacht America was the only overseas entry, taking on 18 boats which where the pride of the British fleet. Skippered by Dick Brown, America controversially took the race after confusion over the course allowed her to take the lead while collisions and groundings ruled the fastest British boats out of the race.
Launch the video review below or read on to learn more about how the 100 Guineas Cup became the America's Cup.
The 1851 America's Cup was the first every international sporting event and set the seen for future cups, with many a wealthy business man spending a life time and large sums of money to try and win the cup.
It has always fascinated me that a boat which was second in a race could start what turned out to be the longest winning streaks in international sport. The fact that America was second to Wildfire was made even more ironic when you understand the lengths that New York Yacht Club went to maintain their hold on the cup after their initial victory in the 1851 race.
The America's Cup is the greatest prize in the sport of sailin, if not in all of sport, we should be thankful for the 1851 World Fair which created the catalyst for the innovation that continues to push the boundaries of what is possible. I doubt any of the original competitors would have believed you if you said that one day the America's Cup would be raced in 60 foot single masted boats which could reach speed of 50 knots while sailing above the water with only 8 crew. While it is great to see the sport evolve to a point where sailing is exciting and acessible to more people, at the same time it is also worthwile to remember how it all began.
If you want to learn more about the history of the America's cup check out our Cup Chronicals Playlist to relive all the battles from days gone by
Thanks for stopping by to learn more about the greatest prize in sailing, if you like this sailing history video or want to learn more about the greast sport of sailing we have plenty more useful content on this site and on our Youtube channel. If you want to be alerted as we release more sailing content click here to subscribe to the bottom up boats "Crew" and get the bell on to receive notifications as we share more videos.
The Yacht America was the only overseas entry, taking on 18 boats which where the pride of the British fleet. Skippered by Dick Brown, America controversially took the race after confusion over the course allowed her to take the lead while collisions and groundings ruled the fastest British boats out of the race.
Launch the video review below or read on to learn more about how the 100 Guineas Cup became the America's Cup.
The 1851 America's Cup was the first every international sporting event and set the seen for future cups, with many a wealthy business man spending a life time and large sums of money to try and win the cup.
It has always fascinated me that a boat which was second in a race could start what turned out to be the longest winning streaks in international sport. The fact that America was second to Wildfire was made even more ironic when you understand the lengths that New York Yacht Club went to maintain their hold on the cup after their initial victory in the 1851 race.
The America's Cup is the greatest prize in the sport of sailin, if not in all of sport, we should be thankful for the 1851 World Fair which created the catalyst for the innovation that continues to push the boundaries of what is possible. I doubt any of the original competitors would have believed you if you said that one day the America's Cup would be raced in 60 foot single masted boats which could reach speed of 50 knots while sailing above the water with only 8 crew. While it is great to see the sport evolve to a point where sailing is exciting and acessible to more people, at the same time it is also worthwile to remember how it all began.
If you want to learn more about the history of the America's cup check out our Cup Chronicals Playlist to relive all the battles from days gone by
Thanks for stopping by to learn more about the greatest prize in sailing, if you like this sailing history video or want to learn more about the greast sport of sailing we have plenty more useful content on this site and on our Youtube channel. If you want to be alerted as we release more sailing content click here to subscribe to the bottom up boats "Crew" and get the bell on to receive notifications as we share more videos.
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