A CENTURY OF RIVALRY

In the summer of 1921, four American sailing boats crossed the Atlantic as deck cargo on board the steamship Francesca. Their arrival in Britain heralded the start of what would later be described as “a series of contests which has no equal for keenness and sustained interest in the history of international yacht racing”.

The previous year, American yachtsman Paul Hammond had visited Britain with a view to re-establishing international yacht racing after World War One. Among the people he met was Algernon Maudsley, Rear Commodore of the Royal London YC, who had won two gold medals at the 1900 Olympics. The result was an agreement to start a new international team-racing competition – thought to be the first ever – to be called the British-American Cup. The trophy itself was donated by the Seawanhaka Corinthian YC – the only American club that has been involved in the competition throughout its history – while Britain was initially represented by the Royal Yacht Squadron and a number of other yacht clubs including the Royal Thames, the Royal London, the Royal Victoria and the Royal Albert. The Royal Northern and the Royal Clyde