America (yacht)
The yacht America
| |
History | |
---|---|
United States | |
Owner |
|
Operator | Richard "Dick" Brown |
Builder | William H. Brown |
Cost | $30,000 |
Laid down | November 1850 |
Launched | May 3, 1851 |
Christened | America |
Renamed | Camilla (1856), America (1862) |
Honors and awards | R.Y.S. £100 Cup, 1851 |
Fate | Scrapped, 1945 |
Confederate States of America | |
Renamed | Memphis (1860) |
Fate | Scuttled (Jacksonville, 1862) |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Gaff schooner |
Tonnage | 100; 208 Thames Measurement[1] |
Length |
|
Beam | 22 ft 10 in (6.96 m) |
Depth | 10 ft 11 in (3.33 m) |
Propulsion | Sail |
Sail plan | 5,296 sq ft (492.0 m2) Upwind sail area |
Armament | Two 24-pounder & one 12-pounder[2] |
Notes | Hull material: Wood ( cedar, and chestnut ) |
America was a 19th-century racing yacht and first winner of the America's Cup international sailing trophy.
On August 22, 1851, America won the
America's origins
A syndicate of
Designer
America was designed by James Rich Steers and George Steers (1820–1856) (See George Steers and Co). Traditional "cod-head-and-mackerel-tail" design gave boats a blunt bow and a sharp stern with the widest point (the beam) placed one-third of the length aft of the bow. George Steers' pilot boat designs, however, had a concave clipper-bow with the beam of the vessel at midships. She was designed along the lines of the pilot boat Mary Taylor.[7] As a result, his schooner-rigged pilot boats were among the fastest and most seaworthy of their day. They had to be seaworthy, for they met inbound and outbound vessels in any kind of weather. These vessels also had to be fast, for harbor pilots competed with each other for business. In addition to pilot boats, Steers designed and built 17 yachts, some which were favorites with the New York Yacht Club.[8]
Captain
America was captained by
Events leading to the race
Crewed by Brown and eight professional sailors, with George Steers, his older brother James, and James' son George as passengers, America left New York on June 21, 1851, and arrived at Le Havre on July 11. They were joined there by Commodore Stevens. After drydocking and repainting America left for Cowes, Isle of Wight, on July 30. While there the crew enjoyed the hospitality of the Royal Yacht Squadron while Stevens searched for someone who would race against his yacht.[11]
The British yachting community had been following the construction of America with interest and perhaps some trepidation. When America arrived on the
The race
The race was held on August 22, 1851, with a 10:00 AM start for a line of seven schooners and another line of eight
The eastern shoals of the Isle of Wight are called the Nab Rocks. Traditionally, races would sail around the east (seaward) side of the lightship that marked the edge of the shoal, but one could sail between the lightship and the mainland if they had a knowledgeable pilot. America had such a pilot and he took her down the west (landward) side of the lightship. After the race a contestant protested this action, but was overruled because the official race rules did not specify on which side of the lightship a boat had to pass.[12]
This tactic put America in the lead, which she held throughout the rest of the race. At one point the jib boom broke due to a crew error, but it was replaced in fifteen minutes. On the final leg of the race the yacht Aurora closed but was 18 minutes behind when America finished shortly after 6:00 PM. Legend has it that while watching the race, Queen Victoria asked who was second, and received the famous reply: "There is no second, your Majesty."[12]
Subsequent owners
John Cox Stevens and the syndicate from the New York Yacht Club owned the America from the time that she was launched on May 3, 1851, until ten days after she won the regatta that made her famous. On September 1, 1851, the yacht was sold to John de Blaquiere, 4th Baron de Blaquiere. In late July 1852, America ran aground at
In 1862, she was scuttled in Dunns Creek, north of
America remained in the Navy until 1873, when she was sold to
America was sold to a company headed by Charles Foster in 1917, and in 1921 was sold to the America Restoration Fund, which donated her to the
Fate
In 1923 America was given the hull designation of IX-41 by the US Navy. ("IX" being the designation for "unclassified miscellaneous".) She was not maintained at the Naval Academy either and became seriously decayed by 1940. The shed which housed America collapsed during a heavy snowstorm on March 29, 1942. The remains of the shed and ship were scrapped and burned in 1945.
America was one of only four ships in service in the U.S. Navy in both the Civil War and World War II, along with the USS Constitution, USS Constellation and USS Hartford.
Legacy
The New York Yacht Club acquired several relics from America after her destruction. These include her transom eagle, rudder post and one of her masts. The mast serves as the flag pole for the club's summer station in Newport, Rhode Island.
Replicas
This section's factual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information. (November 2019) |
The first replica of America was built by Goudy & Stevens Shipyard in Boothbay, Maine, and launched in 1967. She was built for Rudolph Schaefer, Jr., owner of F. & M. Schaefer Brewing Co. Construction was supervised by her first skipper, Newfoundland born Capt. Lester G. Hollett.[18][19]
A second replica of America was built in 1995 by Scarano Boatbuilding of Albany, NY for Ray Giovanni and was operated by him for commercial events until his death. It had several modifications from the original design including widening the beam by 4 feet to accommodate interior layouts. The original design had only one lantern (skylight) so three were added to bring light into the interior of the yacht. The yacht spent several years in Key West Florida and operated between Key West and New York City seasonally for the company Classic Harbor Line. In 2006 she was purchased by Troy Sears' company, Next Level Sailing, and her home port was moved to San Diego, California. In 2007 America was invited to Spain to help promote America's Cup racing and she was exhibited in June 2011 in
In 2015 and 2016 she toured both US coasts and the Caribbean, again to promote America's Cup racing. During the interim and since then she has run whale watching and charter trips out of San Diego.A third replica was built in Varna, Bulgaria in 2005. Christened Skythia, the boat's home port later was Rostock, Germany, where she was used for commercial charter.[22]
References
- ^ a b c d Memphis, Confederate Ships Afloat. Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Naval History and Heritage Command
- ^ a b c Bruzek, Joseph C. (November 1967). "The U. S. Schooner Yacht AMERICA". Proceedings. United States Naval Institute. pp. 174–176.
- ^ "America's Cup Held Here Since 1851" (PDF), The New York Times, February 22, 1920
- ^ "The Yacht America – Royal Yacht Squadron". Archived from the original on June 13, 2018.
- ^ "Launches". New-York Tribune. New York, New York. May 6, 1851. p. 3. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
- OCLC 3804485.
- ISBN 9781604627183.
- ^ Chapelle, Howard (1949). The History of the American Sailing Ships. W.W. Norton. pp. 307–316.
- ^ "Death of the Oldest Sandy Hook Pilot". The Sun. New York, New York. June 19, 1885. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
He went to England with the yacht America in 1851, and piloted her to the victory by which she captured the Queen's cup.
- ISBN 9781574091878. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
- ^ Coffin, Roland Folger (1885). The America's Cup: How it was Won by the Yacht America in 1851 and Has Been Since Defended. Charles Scribner's Sons Press. pp. 9–10. Retrieved April 26, 2012.
- ^ ISBN 0-939510-04-9.
- ^ "Miscellaneous". The Blackburn Standard. No. 916. Blackburn. August 4, 1852.
- ^ Spence, Dr. E. Lee (1995). Treasures of the Confederate Coast: The Real Rhett Butler & Other Revelations. Narwhal Press. pp. 62, 63, 221–225.
- ^ a b "Shipwreck 1863 "Georgiana"". Archived from the original on April 14, 2012. Retrieved April 26, 2012.
- ^ "The Old America". Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. July 14, 1895. p. 10. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
- ^ "Annapolis gets famous yacht". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). June 18, 1921. p. 8.
- ^ Sparkman & Stephens. "Sailboats over 100ft LOA". Retrieved February 21, 2013.
- ^ "Capt. Hollett Going Home After 56 Years Of Service". Bangor Daily News. January 31, 1973. Retrieved February 21, 2013.
- ^ Oliva, Paul V. (May 28, 2011), "Historic America's Cup-design boats dock in bay", San Francisco Chronicle
- ^ Tafur, Vittorio (June 16, 2011), "S.F. Bay a danger zone for America's Cup yachts", San Francisco Chronicle
- ^ Die Skythia (in German)
External links
- Tom Cunliffe (2001). Pilot Schooners of North America and Great Britain. Woodenboat publications. ISBN 978-0-937822-69-2. - accurate lines of the America (1851)
- Jacques Taglang. "AC-clopedia – Americaʼs history". americascup.com.
- "History from Schooner Man". March 15, 2022.
- "AMERICA Cup 1851 AMERICA" (in German). Klaus Kramern.
- "Replica Schooner AMERICA". Next Level Sailing.