Americas Cup

BMW retires from Oracle and America’s Cup

Dec 242010

BWW Oracle Era Draws to a close at end of 2010

At the end of 2010 BMW will bring to a close its longstanding partnership with ORACLE Racing and thereby end its involvement in the America’s Cup. This is by mutual agreement of both partners. Both parties set ambitious goals and achieved the ultimate objective: winning the America’s Cup.
BMW has partnered BMW ORACLE Racing since 2002. Technology and skills have transferred freely between the automaker and sailing team, most notably in the fields of structural engineering and high-modulus composite construction. The result was celebrated in the February when the yacht USA 17, the fastest yacht in the history of the America’s Cup, won the 33rd Match with a resounding 2:0 victory off Valencia, Spain.

“On the design and engineering front, BMW engineers set new benchmarks in terms of intelligent lightweight design,” said Ralf Hussmann, General Manager BMW Sports Marketing and Brand Cooperation. “In winning the 33rd America’s Cup, we achieved all of our ambitious goals. We will continue to be involved in the sport on a national level.”

“The America’s Cup combines a technological challenge with a sporting one and success is measured by the result on the race course,” added Russell Coutts CEO of BMW ORACLE Racing. “In that sense, both the team and BMW are proud that our collaboration resulted in victory.”

5:34 am Yachts

Americas Cup Trophy

Aug 292008

Americas Cup-Trophy

In 1851, the schooner America, funded by a group of businessmen from New York City, sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to race against a fleet of British yachts considered the best of their time.

America was a radically designed pilot boat with low topsides and raked masts, much different than anything that plied British waters at the time.

On August 22, 1851, America took on and beat the fleet of British boats in a race around the Isle of Wight to win the trophy that would come to bear its name.

In 1887 the syndicate of owners donated the trophy to the New York Yacht Club under a Deed of Gift that set out the conditions for future challenges and still governs the competition today:

The America’s Cup is without a doubt the most difficult trophy to win in sport.

In over 150 years since that first race off England, only three nations other than the United States have won what is often called the oldest trophy in international sport. For some perspective, consider that there had been nine contests for the America’s Cup before the first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens in 1896.

The America’s Cup is a challenge-based competition where the previous winning Yacht Club makes the rules and hosts the event, often making it difficult for the challenging Club(s) to take the Cup home.

Early in the history of the Cup, these obstacles were completely insurmountable and the Defender was never threatened. In fact, despite a couple of close calls, it would take 132-years for a foreign challenger to beat the American Defender and win the Cup.

Challengers are the teams representing Yacht Clubs who have challenged the SNG in an attempt to win the Cup.

Thirteen challengers from six countries competed in Australia in 1987, the first time the America’s Cup was held outside the United States. Eleven challengers were in Auckland for Team New Zealand’s first defence.

The 2010 America’s Cup was raced in 90 ft (27 m) multihull yachts in a one-on-one, best-of-three race regatta in Valencia, Spain in February 2010. The challenger BMW Oracle Racing beat the defender Alinghi 2-0 and won the Cup for the Golden Gate Yacht Club.

Since the original fleet race around the Isle of Wight in 1851, there have been 33 matches for the America’s Cup in its 159-year history.

The America Cup Documents:

* The Deed of Gift, the original document that created the America’s Cup, was signed on October 14, 1878. It stipulated that the trophy, won by the yacht America in 1851, was to be “a perpetual challenge cup for friendly competition between nations.” The deed with a few amendments still governs the event today.
* Each America’s Cup regatta is conducted by a protocol that outlines the rules and format of the regatta. The protocol is drawn up by the defender and the challenger of record – in the case of the 32nd America’s Cup the Société Nautique de Genève and the Golden Gate Yacht Club.
* The Terms of Challenge detail the rights and obligations of the participants and organisers of the 32nd America’s Cup.
* The America’s Cup Class Rule which stipulates design parameters. Yachts must comply with the rule to compete.
* The rules of racing, with general amendments for match racing, and some further amendments specifically for the America’s Cup.

http://www.americascup.com/en

11:29 am Yachts

New York Yacht Club – History and America’s Cup

Mar 282006

First known photo of America - the Yacht that started it all

Poster Advertising the £100 Cup - forerunner to America's Cup

The New York Yacht Club (NYYC) was established on July 30, 1844, when John Cox Stevens invited eight friends to his yacht Gimcrack, anchored in New York Harbor.
The nine who met resolved to form the NYYC and named Stevens as commodore. The theme of the club was to race sailing yachts.

Three days later, members would depart on a yacht-club cruise to Newport. Thus, began the historical connection between the NYYC and Newport, RI.

At that time, The Isle of Wight in the Solent had been the epicenter of yachting in England. In 1851, a schooner painted black and called America, arrived there looking to win races. That yacht was owned by John Cox Stevens of the New York Yacht Club (NYYC), and other club members.

America challenged all English yachts to a match race but no yacht were willing to race her.

Finally, America joined a free-for-all on Friday, August 22, around the Isle of Wight.
Watching the race, which included 15 English yachts and America, was Queen Victoria, who supposedly inquired, “Which is first?” Told it was America she asked, “Which is second?”

“Ah, Your Majesty, there is no second,” was the reply.

America won what was then called the Royal Yacht Squadron’s “Hundred Guinea Cup.”

On July 12, 1857, surviving members of the America syndicate donated the silver trophy they won in England, the “Hundred Guinea Cup,” to the NYYC.

They called it the America’s Cup, in honor of the yacht that won it.

They invited yacht clubs around the world to compete and promised, “friendly competition between foreign countries.”

Boats flying the NYYC club flag held onto that trophy for 132 years, or until 1983. During that stewardship, NYYC boats won 81 of 93 races. The win in 1851 in England and then 24 defenses, from 1870 to 1980, has been described by journalists as the “longest winning streak in sports.”

http://www.nyyc.org

3:49 pm Yachts