The America’s Cup has its roots in North Jersey since 1851
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The Olympic Games are over, but the oldest competition in international sport is just around the corner.
The America’s Cup sailing tournament, founded in 1851, returns on Thursday with a preliminary regatta off the coast of Barcelona, setting the stage for a one-on-one final in October.
One of the challengers comes from the region: the New York Yacht Club.
The club and founder of the America’s Cup is now based deep in the heart of Manhattan, organizes club regattas in Newport, Rhode Island, and trains its racing team in Pensacola, Florida. The club and founder of the America’s Cup was originally based on the Hudson River. Its first clubhouse was in North Jersey.
Built in Hoboken in 1845, the Gothic cottage first stood on the water in Elysian Fields, near the bluff where the Stevens Institute of Technology is located. John Cox Stevens, the club’s first commodore, donated the land at the foot of 11th Street. His brother, Edwin Augustus Stevens, founded the university. Both were involved in the creation of the first America’s Cup winner, a yacht named America.
The founders of the America’s Cup
The brothers came from one of the most distinguished families in US history. Their grandfather served in the Continental Congress and their father, John Stevens, was a colonel in the Revolutionary War and later a pioneering entrepreneur and inventor of steam engines and boats.
From their estate overlooking the Hudson River and Manhattan Island, the Colonel and his sons developed the first steam ferry to cross the Hudson. When Robert Fulton secured a monopoly on steam navigation on the Hudson River, the Stevens family shifted its focus to other lucrative ventures. In 1809, their ship Phoenix became the first steamer to operate on the high seas when it began service in Philadelphia.
Five years earlier, in 1804, 19-year-old John Cox Stevens piloted the first propeller boat. Shortly thereafter, he built a sailing yacht called Diver and raced it against fishing boats and ferry boats in New York Harbor to make bets. In 1844, he and his friends founded the New York Yacht Club on board his yacht Gimcrack.
The modest clubhouse, compared to the club’s current Beaux-Arts landmark in New York City, served as the center of club activities for 23 years, according to club records, during which time the design, construction and testing of the yacht America were carried out.
The America’s Cup has its origins in North Jersey
America was designed by George Steers, a self-taught innovator of yacht design, to challenge the best in the United Kingdom. When the yacht reached the Isle of Wight, the Royal Yacht Squadron organized a fleet race on 22 August 1851. The winner received a silver trophy worth £100. They called it the Hundred Guinea Cup. Today it is known as the America’s Cup, after the yacht that won it.
Within two months, John Cox Stevens and the syndicate that owned America had sold the Cup and gifted it to the club. The Cup came with conditions. According to the formal deed of gift, it had to serve as a perpetual prize for “friendly competition between foreign countries.” The Cup holder had to welcome challengers.
The first challenger was the Royal Thames Yacht Club with a yacht named Cambria. The contest, held on August 8, 1870 in New York Harbor, was won by the New York Yacht Club. After that, the club won every America’s Cup match until 1983.
By this time, the clubhouse was long gone. It survived demolition demands in the early 20th century and was moved from its location north of Castle Point in Hoboken to Glen Cove, Long Island, in 1904 to serve as “Station 10.” At the time, there were 11 stations along the club’s racing and cruising route where members could dock and load up.
The clubhouse moves from New Jersey to Long Island
During the latter half of the 20th century, the clubhouse was on display on loan at Mystic Seaport, the maritime museum in Connecticut. Since the beginning of this century, it has stood on the grounds of the club’s racing base, Harbor Court, in Newport, Rhode Island. The club’s America’s Cup yacht, named Patriot, was built and designed in Rhode Island.
A far cry from America, the 75-foot Patriot, a 101-foot schooner used by the U.S. Navy during the Civil War, relies on a pair of hydraulic hydrofoils on either side of the hull to seemingly fly across the ocean’s surface at speeds of more than 50 miles per hour. Because of this technology, the modern America’s Cup is a very different competition than it was 20 years ago. At its core, however, the Cup remains an event in which wind-powered ships must chart an ocean course to victory.
The last Cup was a disaster for the New York Yacht Club, which entered the American Magic team against one of three challengers for the title, the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron. The Cup’s Patriot capsized in the qualifying round and, after major repairs, ended up in last place.
America’s Cup 2024
This year, five challenger teams will compete against the New Zealand Cup holders. They include American Magic and the new Patriot, captained by Olympic gold medallists Tom Slingsby (AUS) and Paul Goodison (GBR). The first glimpse of the team in action will be during the final preliminary round of the America’s Cup from August 22-25. The match racing event will feature four races a day, with the top two yachts, technically classified as AC75s, advancing to a winner-takes-all final.
The results of the preliminary regatta have no influence on the ranking in the America’s Cup. Nevertheless, they are crucial for shaping the team strategy.
As defending champions, the New Zealand team has a direct path to the America’s Cup from October 12 to 21. However, the five defending champions must compete in the Challenger Selection Series from August 29 to October 7 to compete in the best-of-13 match race final of the America’s Cup.
The races will be streamed live and free of charge on the event website as well as on YouTube and Facebook.
Challenger teams for the 37th America’s Cup
- INEOS Britannia (GBR)
- Alinghi Red Bull Racing (SUI)
- Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team (ITA)
- NYYC American Magic (USA)
- Orient Express Racing Team (FRA)
Remaining provisional regattas
- August 22 – 25, 2024: Barcelona, Spain
Challenger Selection Series 2024
- 29 August – 8 September: Double Round Robin
- 14 – 19 September: Semifinals (Best of 9)
- 26 September – 7 October: Final (Best of 13)
America’s Cup 2024
- October 12th – 21st: 37th game (Best of 13)
