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Rh eastward the “America” went inside the Nab, a course which was contrary to the printed programme, but an objection afterwards made on this score against her was not persisted in. Off Sandown Bay the “America” obtained a long lead and in a freshening wind carried away her jibboom. Here the “Aurora” was second boat. The “Volante” sprung her bowsprit and gave up. The “Arrow” ran ashore and the “Alarm” went to her assistance, so both were out of the race. Abreast of Ventnor the American schooner was a mile ahead of “Aurora,” which was the last British craft to keep her in sight in a thick haze that blew up from the S.W. late in the afternoon. At the Needles the wind dropped until it was very light, and the “America” was then some 6 m. ahead of “Aurora,” the time being about 6 p.m. The finish was:—

The “America” was built at New York by the firm of George & James R. Steers for the special purpose of competing with British yachts at Cowes. George Steers, who was born in New York, designed her, the designer being a son of Henry Steers, a shipwright at Dartmouth. The registered owners of the vessel were Mr J. C. Stevens, the commodore of the New York Yacht Club, Mr C. A. Stevens, Mr H. Wilkes and Mr J. B. Finlay. Her crew consisted of thirteen all told, seven seamen before the mast, two mates, cook, steward, boy and master. The cost of building was set down at £24 per ton, and her builder was to receive one-third more should she succeed “in out-sailing any competitors of the same tonnage in England.” The vessel had a long lean hollow entrance and rather short but fine run, but her lines were graceful and clean and the transverse sections amidships very gentle and shapely. She had a clipper bow and elliptical stern. Her sails particularly were superior in cut to those of the English vessels. Her masts raked, and she carried a mainsail laced to the boom, which in those days was almost unknown in England, a foresail, and a jib, also set on a boom and on an immensely heavy forestay which was the chief support of the foremast. She carried a small main topsail with a short yard and small jackyard. Occasionally she set also a flying jib on a jibboom, but this was not regarded as of much account. The principal dimensions of the “America” were: tonnage 171; length over all 94 ft.; on the keel 82 ft.; beam 22 ft. 6 in.; foremast 79 ft. 6 in.; mainmast 81 ft. (with a rake of 2⅞ in. to the foot in each mast); hollow bowsprit 17 ft. out board only; foregaff 24 ft.; maingaff 28 ft.; mainboom 56 ft. She was ballasted with pig-iron; 21 tons of the iron were permanently built into the vessel and the rest stowed inside. Below deck she was comfortably fitted for the living accommodation of the owner, guests and crew, and a cockpit on deck was a feature that few English yachts of the period possessed.

The cup won at Cowes by the “America,” although not originally intended as a challenge cup, was afterwards given to the New York Yacht Club by the owner of the “America” as a challenge trophy and named the “America's cup.” In 1887 the sole surviving owner of the cup, George L. S. Schuyler, attached to the trophy a deed of gift which sets forth the conditions under which all races for the cup must take place. In brief the conditions are: (1) That the races must be between one yacht built in the country of the challenging club and one yacht built in the country of the club holding the cup. (2) That the size of the yachts, if of one mast, must be not less than 65 ft. L.W.L. and not more than 90 ft. L.W.L. If of two-masted rig not less than 80 ft. L.W.L. and not more than 115 ft. L.W.L. (3) The challenging club must give ten months' notice of the race, and accompanying the challenge must be sent the name, rig and the following dimensions: length L.W.L.; beam and draught of water of the challenging vessel (which dimensions shall not be exceeded), and as soon as possible a custom-house registry of the vessel. (4) The vessel must proceed under sail on her own bottom to the place where the contest is to take place.

The deed of gift, however, is an elastic document, for it contains the following clause which is known as the Mutual Agreement Clause: “The club challenging for the cup and the club holding the same may by mutual consent make any arrangement satisfactory to both as to the dates, courses, number of trials, rules and sailing regulations, and any and all other conditions of the match, in which case also the ten months' notice may be waived.”

In 1870 Mr James Ashbury of Brighton challenged with the schooner “Cambria,” and in 1871 with another schooner the “Livonia.” In both cases the event was a test of rival types, “Cambria” and “Livonia” being old-fashioned British schooners while the vessels they met were the pick of the American broader and shallower types. “Cambria” had to meet fourteen opponents, but in 1871 the “Livonia” raced against one opponent only. The Americans, however, although they agreed to race one vessel only against the “Livonia,” brought several yachts up to the line and only selected their defender at the last moment. The first defender which “Livonia” had to meet was the “Columbia,” which won the first and second events. In the third meeting, however, in a very strong wind the British schooner hammered the “Columbia” severely, and eventually the American yacht, having carried away some gear, was beaten by a quarter of an hour. In the two remaining races of the series the Americans were represented by the “Sappho,” which easily defeated the “Livonia.”

The next challenges came from Canada in 1876 and 1881, but neither the schooner “Countess of Dufferin” nor the sloop “Atalanta” met with any success.

The races of 1885 and 1886, when Sir Richard Sutton challenged with “Genesta” and Lieutenant Henn, R.N., with “Galatea,” were interesting chiefly because they were of the nature of trials between the heavy plank-on-edge type of cutter and the prevailing American type of broad light-draught sloop. The contests proved the superiority of the American sloops.

In 1886 the plank-on-edge type was abandoned in England, and when the Scottish yacht “Thistle” was built in 1887 to challenge for the cup it was hoped that she would meet with success. “Thistle,” however, although of greater beam and proportionately lighter displacement than such vessels as “Genesta” and “Galatea,” was quite easily defeated by the centre-board sloop “Volunteer.” Thus once again did the lighter American type prevail even against the modified form of the “Thistle.”

The race between the “Thistle” and “Volunteer” of 1887 may be said to have been the last race for the cup wherein there was any marked difference between the type of the boats contesting. In all subsequent races the form of the challenger and defender became approximately similar, but while the types were gradually converging the American yachts were still usually somewhat lighter in displacement than the challengers. The “Thistle” was the first vessel built in Great Britain expressly for the match, and after her race in 1887 the types in fashion on both sides of the Atlantic rapidly converged, and deep-draught fin-keeled vessels with deep fins and light shallow hulls took the place of the former types of the shallow American sloops and deep-keeled wall-sided British cutters. In 1892 some splendid semi-fin-keeled cutters of the new pattern were built in the 40-rating class for the ordinary English coast regattas, and in 1893 the fin-keel type in England was even more successful. The first class cutters “Britannia,” “Valkyrie II.,” “Satanita” and “Calluna," built in 1893, handsomely defeated a Herreshoff yacht, the “Navahoe,” which went over from America to race against them. On the strength of the victories of “Valkyrie II.” and “Britannia” many British yachtsmen anticipated success for Lord Dunraven when he raced for the America's cup with his cutter "Valkyrie II.” in the autumn of 1893. The Americans, however, had built a fine fleet of defenders, “Colonia,” “Pilgrim,” “Jubilee” and “Vigilant,” and the latter beat “Valkyrie II.” In the following season the “Vigilant” crossed the Atlantic and raced in British waters in 1894 against the “Britannia,” and was frequently beaten. G. L. Watson, who had designed “Thistle” and “Valkyrie II.” as well as “Britannia,” was commissioned by Lord Dunraven to design “Valkyrie III.” specially for an “America's cup” race in 1895. “Valkyrie III.” was a very extreme fin-keeled boat, and for the first time the challenger appeared to have outbuilt the defending designer. “Valkyrie III.” carried 13,027 sq. ft. of sail to the American “Defender's” 12,602. It was said that the Watson boat actually had less displacement. Both were 90 ft. L.W.L., “Valkyrie III.” being 129 ft. over all against “Defender's” 123, and “Valkyrie III.” 26.2 ft. beam against “Defender's” 23.03 ft. The races were unsatisfactory. In the first race Lord Dunraven claimed that “Valkyrie III.” was hampered by the wash of steamers following the race, and his yacht was 8 m. 49 sec. astern. In the second race “Valkyrie” beat “Defender” by 49 seconds on the corrected time and actually by 1 m. 14 sec., but there was a foul at the start in which “Defender” was partially disabled. On protest the English yacht was disqualified, so that both events counted to “Defender.” In the third race Lord Dunraven objected that ballast had been added to the American yacht since measurement, and the “Valkyrie III.” merely crossed the line and retired, giving the “Defender” the match.

In 1899, 1901 and 1903 Sir Thomas Lipton tried to win the cup