America's Cup: The History, Rules, and Evolution of Sailing's Premier Competition

America’s Cup refers to sailing’s most important competition. It is not only one of the oldest and most enduring contests of this sport, but its rules also reflect the changing traditions in yachting. The regulations of this competition have changed over the years, and its growing popularity has spurred additional events determining the cup holder’s challenger. Unfortunately, like most professional sports, the America’s Cup has attracted wealthy individuals and corporate sponsorships that sometimes resulted in costly lawsuits detracting from the spirit of the competition.

Yachting or pleasure sailing, including for competitive purposes, has had a long history. For instance, barges meant for pleasure cruising have been found in Egyptian pyramids and the tombs of Chinese emperors. Commoners started to join in this activity in the seventeenth century when the Dutch began to construct fast jaht ships (speedy or hunting vessels) acquired by royalty and wealthy merchants throughout Europe. In England, the name of such ships became Anglicized as “yacht,” and clubs dedicated to this purpose started to emerge along European seashores. It was in the nineteenth century, however, that a more prominent and very affluent public entered this sport.

The oldest yacht club emerged in 1815 in Cowes on the Isle of Wight, later receiving the title of Royal Yacht Club. By 1850, more than thirty such clubs had established themselves worldwide. In the same year, to challenge the hegemony of the Royal Yacht Club, wealthy Americans started construction on a new vessel with a radically changed design that affected, among other things, its hull. In 1851, the newly designed America crossed the Atlantic to challenge the Royal Yacht Squad. The crew of America took the trophy, a silver ewer, now referred to as the “Auld Mug,” across the Atlantic to New York. In 1857, the New York Yacht Club renamed the trophy after the winning vessel and called for competition between foreign countries over the America’s Cup. However, the events leading up to the American Civil War prevented the execution of this race until 1870. With the thirty-seventh iteration of this race emerging in 2024 in Barcelona, the America’s Cup is the world’s longest continuously held sailing event.

Alinghi Red Bull Racing’s AC75 racing yacht sails, with the Sagrada Familia basilica in the background, during a training session ahead of the thirty-seventh America’s Cup sailing race on March 23, 2023 (Lluis Gene/Getty Images)

The rules of the competition are relatively straightforward but also heavily contested. The race of this event involved just two vessels: The Yacht Club that won the trophy competed against another from a different country. The winners get to decide where the race will take place. Ships have to be conforming to an agreed-upon design and length. Both competing teams agree on the type of boat (limited to sailboats) to be used and the total number of races (generally the best-of-odd number of races) to be held. Over the years, a run-off event among different ships developed to decide which nation would challenge the team holding the cup.

The Americans dominated the races until 1983 and held the trophy for 132 years. For almost 100 years, the challengers to the American hold hailed from the UK and Canada. The first Australian challenge emerged in 1962. A little over twenty years later, the Australia II finally broke the New York Yacht Club’s winning streak and moved the competition outside American waters by the end of the twentieth century. In the late twentieth century, races coincided with an increasing number of television or, more recently, streaming events, which provided additional revenue and interest in this competition. Following the Australian feat, other nations rose to the challenge. In 2003, the Swiss crew of the Alinghi won the trophy for the first time for a country without access to the sea. As the Swiss opted to move the competition to Valencia, Spain, the America’s Cup was carried out for the first time in European waters since America’s first win in 1851. The thirty-seventh race in 2024 will return the event to Spanish waters. Emirates Team New Zealand will face a challenge from a yet-to-be-determined nation in this competition.

The increasing number of challengers from many nations forced the organizers of the America’s Cup by the early 1980s to hold run-off events to determine which team could face the cup’s holders. The French luxury fashion house Louis Vuitton gave the trophy and name to this particular sailing event. Racing for the Louis Vuitton Cup enhances the chances of winning the America’s award. While the holders of the “Auld Mug” generally face more gentle practice runs, the participants in the Louis Vuitton event face grueling competition from multiple opponents that often positively affect crew morale and tactics. When Louis Vuitton withdrew sponsorship of this race, the Italian luxury producer Prada sponsored the 2021 event that determined the challenger.

Since its inception, yachting has been a playground for the rich and famous. Much like any other professional sport, it has seen an influx of interest among billionaire investors since the beginning of the twenty-first century. What makes the America’s Cup different is that from its origin in the second half of the nineteenth century, wealthy individuals took part in the race, including such illustrious names as Vanderbilt and Lipton. The participating sailing vessels were and still are at the forefront of technological design, and developments are guarded with great secrecy. The last four decades, however, have been characterized by increasing legal challenges over boat length and design that had both parties spending more time in the courtroom than on the water. Lawsuits tend to result in rule changes governing the competition. While in the past, financiers served as skippers and crewmembers on the actual racing teams, current team owners are likely to follow the event from the safety of the shore. Rainer F. Buschmann.

FURTHER READING:“America’s Cup Official Website.” https://www.americascup.com/. Accessed March 13, 2023. Boswell, Charles. 1967. The “America”: The Story of the World’s Most Famous Yacht. New York: David McKay.

Conner, Dennis and Michael Levitt. 1998. The America’s Cup: The History of Sailing’s Greatest Competition in the Twentieth Century. New York: St. Martin’s Press.

Sefton, Alan and Larry Keating. 2017. Exposed: The Dark Side of the America’s Cup. New York, NY: Bloomsbury.