The "Americas Cup"

The Americas Cup

The race which took place on 22 August 1851 had a very different outcome from that anticipated.

Of the 15 competing vessels, the only one that was not British was a black schooner flying the flag of the United States, which won the race and took home the prestigious trophy. The winning vessel was the ‘America’ and the Cup was named after it, not after the continent or the country that it represented. The owners of the ‘America’ donated the trophy to the New York Yacht Club in 1857, on condition that the Cup should be “perpetually a Challenge Cup for friendly competition between countries”.

(from: http://www.jclasssolentregatta.com/history.html)