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The America's Cup trophy was donated to the New York Yacht Club on this day in 1857

Word of the Day – Monday, July 8th

 


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EWER (YOO-uhr)

A decorative pitcher
Common clues: Water pitcher; Washstand pitcher; Still-life subject; Graceful pitcher; Pitcher that can't throw; Pitcher with a big mouth; Water bearer?
Crossword puzzle frequency: 7 times a year
Frequency in English language: 55923 / 86800
Video:
America's Cup Trophy Ceremony


After winning the America's Cup, Bart Conners, euphoric after days at sea, began to pour champagne into the 27" tall trophy, inadvertently soaking several race committee members standing nearby. One of the officials directed Conners to look inside the trophy - which, upon closer examination, proved to be bottomless!




The Cup itself is an ornate silver-plated Britannia metal bottomless ewer, crafted in 1848 by Garrard & Co. The trophy is inscribed with names of the yachts that competed in the regatta’s matches. Bases matching the silver cup were added in 1958 and 2003 to accommodate more names. The cup is one of three or six that were made as off-the-shelf trophies. Sir Henry Paget, the Marquess of Anglesey bought one and donated it for the Royal Yacht Squadron’s 1851 Annual Regatta around the Isle of Wight. It was originally known by the Squadron as the “Royal Yacht Squadron Cup” or the “RYS Cup for One Hundred Sovereigns”. The Cup subsequently became known as the “One Hundred Guinea(s) Cup”, by the American syndicate that won it. As time went by, the Cup was also referred to as the “Queen’s Cup”, the “America Cup”, and the “America’s Cup”. Today, the trophy is officially known as the America’s Cup and affectionately called the “Auld Mug” by the sailing community.


The regatta’s origins date back to August 22, 1851 when the 30.86 m schooner-yacht America, owned by a syndicate that represented the New York Yacht Club, raced 15 yachts representing the Royal Yacht Squadron around the Isle of Wight. America won by 20 minutes. Apocryphally, Queen Victoria asked who was second; the answer famously was: “There is no second, your Majesty.”


The surviving members of the syndicate which owned the America donated the Cup through a Deed of Gift (written in 1852) to the New York Yacht Club on July 8, 1857. The trophy would be held in trust as a “challenge” trophy to promote friendly competition among nations.


Stung by this blow to contemporary perceptions of invincible British sea power, a succession of British syndicates attempted to win back the cup, but the New York Yacht Club remained unbeaten for 25 challenges over 113 years, the longest winning streak in the history of sport. Matches were held in the vicinity of New York City from 1870 and 1920, which includes the “Herreshoff Period” between 1893 and 1920, when cup defenders were designed by Nathanael Herreshoff. From 1930 to 1983, the races were sailed off Newport, Rhode Island for the rest of the NYYC’s reign.


One of the most famous and determined challengers was Scottish tea baron Sir Thomas Lipton. Between 1899 and 1930 he mounted five challenges, all in yachts named Shamrock, two of which were designed by William Fife. One of Lipton’s motivations for making so many challenges was the publicity that racing generated for his Lipton Tea company, though his original entry was at the personal request of the Prince of Wales in hopes of repairing trans-Atlantic ill-will generated by the contentious earlier challenger, Lord Dunraven. Lipton was preparing for his sixth challenge when he died in 1931. The yachts used during the Lipton era were very large sailing sloops; for example, Shamrock V, which is still sailing today, measures 120 feet (36 m) long.



This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "America's Cup"