1851 America's Cup

The 100 Guineas Cup[3] or Hundred Guinea Cup[1] (£100 Cup)[4] regatta of 1851 was the first competition for the America's Cup trophy.[1] The trophy was valued at 100 pounds-sterling which led to its various names, all variations on 100 Pound Cup.[NB 1][5][2] The race was won by the yacht America, leading to the trophy being renamed "America's Cup".[1] The official event known as "The America's Cup" was founded in 1857, when the deed of gift established the racing regattas.[1] The 1851 competition was a fleet race, whereas modern America's Cups finals are match races.

0th America's Cup
Defender  United Kingdom
Defender club:Royal Yacht Squadron[1]
Yacht:8 cutters, 9 schooners
Challenger  United States
Challenger club:New York Yacht Club[2]
Yacht:America[1]
Competition
Location:Isle of Wight, UK [1]
Dates:22 August 1851[1]
Winner:New York Yacht Club[2]
Score:1:0

History

The race originated with an invitation for the Great Exhibition of 1851 by the Earl of Winton, then Commodore of the Royal Yacht Squadron (RYS), inviting the recently formed New York Yacht Club (NYYC) to enjoy the facilities of the clubhouse of the RYS. John Cox Stevens, Commodore of the NYYC responded positively, and anticipated racing. Due to the RYS rules of the time, other races in the 1851 RYS Regatta were restricted to RYS members and their self-owned yachts, so the R. Y. S. £100 Cup was established, open to anyone to enter. At a RYS meeting on 9 May 1851, the race was scheduled for 22 August 1851. This race was to be the first of a series of challenge races for successive £100 Cups. At the time, it was normal practise for the winners to own the cups that were won, and not to return them for the next race to be won by others.[5][6]

Trophy

The trophy is a bottomless ewer made out of 134 oz (3.8 kg) of silver, and is 27 in (69 cm) tall. The ewer was a stock item obtained from jeweler Robert Garrard in 1848.[5][6] After the race, it was engraved with the names of the yachts that raced against America, except the runner-up Aurora.[5]

Race

The regatta, held on 22 August 1851,[1] raced clockwise around the Isle of Wight in a fleet race.[3] The course was called "The Queen's Course".[5] The course was near Cowes Castle on the Isle of Wight, where the Royal Yacht Squadron headquarters are located.[6] The race took place as part of the 1851 Royal Yacht Squadron Regatta.[7] The signal gun for sailing was fired at 10am, and the winner saluted by a gun from the flag-ship at 8:34pm (8:37pm railway time).

18 yachts were entered for the race, but only 15 yachts started the race. The yacht Fernande did not make the start, while Strella and Titania both got to the starting line, though did not start the race. Those yachts that raced were America, Alarm, Arrow, Aurora, Bacchante, Beatrice, Brilliant, Constance, Eclipse, Freak, Gipsy Queen, Ione, Mona, Volante, and Wyvern.[5]

Standing Yacht Class Tons Owner Designer/Builder Yacht club Time Notes
Winner America Schooner 170 John Cox Stevens, Edwin Stevens, James A. Hamilton, George L. Schuyler, Hamilton Wilkes, John K. Beekman Finlay George Steers / William H. Brown New York Yacht Club 10h34'
2nd Aurora Cutter 47 Thomas Le Marchant Michael Ratsey / Cowes 10h58'
3rd Bacchante Cutter 80 Benjamin Heywood Jones Thomas and James Manlaws Wanhill / Poole 11h30'
4th Eclipse Cutter 50 Henry Samuel Fearon Wanhill Royal Western Yacht Club & Royal St George Yacht Club 11h45'
5th Brilliant 3-mast-schooner 392 George Holland Ackers John Rubie / Southampton 13h20'
DSQ/DNF Alarm Cutter 193 Joseph Weld Thomas Inman / Lymington
DSQ/DNF Arrow Cutter 84 Thomas Chamberlayne Thomas Inman
DSQ/DNF Beatrice Schooner 161 Walter P. Carew Camper
DSQ/DNF Constance Schooner 218 Marquis of Conyngham Joseph White / East Cowes
DSQ/DNF Freak Cutter 60 William Curling Wanhill
DSQ/DNF Gipsy Queen Schooner 160 Henry Bold Hoghton White
DSQ/DNF Ione Schooner 75 Almon Hill White
DSQ/DNF Mona Cutter 82 Alfred Paget Richard Pinney / Poole
DSQ/DNF Volante Cutter 48 J.L. Craigie Harvey / Ipswich Royal Thames Yacht Club & Royal London Yacht Club
DSQ/DNF Wyvern Schooner 205 Duke of Marlborough Camper
DSQ/DNS Fernande Schooner 127 Francis Mountjoy Martyn William Camper / Gosport
DNS Strella Cutter 65 Richard Frankland George & James Inman / Lymington
DNS Titania Schooner 100 R. Stephenson Robinson and Russell / Millwall

  • DSQ/DNF – competitor did not finish under the time limit
  • DSQ/DNS – competitor did not make it to the starting line
  • DNS – did not start – competitor did not make it off the starting line
  • DNF – did not finish
  • DSQ – disqualified

[5]

  • The trophy
  • A flyer from the RYS for, among other things, the race. In it, the race is referred to as the "R.Y.S. £100 Cup".
  • America, the winner, crossing the finish line
  • Alarm, largest yacht in the regatta

Footnotes
  1. Guinea, Sovereign, Quid, Pound, and Pound-Sterling are frequently used interchangeably, though there are slight differences in value.
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References
  1. "America's Cup (Hundred Guinea Cup)". Britannica. 28 June 2016.
  2. "America's Cup yachts: Then and now". CBS News. p. 1/16 (1851).
  3. ISAF (2002). "History of The Auld Mug – Introducing the America's Cup". Boat Dusseldorf.
  4. Yves Gary (18 October 2015). "Pictures of the £100 CUP (1851)". America's Scoop: America's Cup 1851–1937.
  5. "The Yacht America". Royal Yacht Squadron. 2001. Archived from the original on 2017-02-06. Retrieved 2016-09-29.
  6. "Royal Yacht Squadron Racing". Land Rover Bar. America's Cup. Archived from the original on 2016-08-09. Retrieved 2016-09-29.
  7. Royal Yacht Squadron Regatta, 1851 (poster), Royal Yacht Squadron, 1851
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