Yacht - L 70 x H 72,5 wood with white bottom

Hunting with fine cloth sails.
length 70 cm - height 72,5 cm

In the 1800s, Britain was a great power, largely by virtue of its navy, the "pride of England". In 1851, a boat from the colonies entered one of the proudest races in Britain, the 100 Guinea Cup. Her Majesty Queen Victoria was aboard the finishing vessel when the black-painted schooner America crossed the finish line and saluted the Queen by tipping her flag three times. The Queen is said to have asked "Who came second?" and the famous reply was "Your Majesty, there is no second place."

The boat's then owner John Cox Stevens, president of the New York Yacht Club, chose to sell his vessel in England and returned to his home club a hero with the proud trophy. The trophy was then donated to the New York Yacht Club and a deed of gift was written, specifying that future races should be conducted as a "recurring challengers' championship for friendly competition between nations". Thus was born the America's Cup, named not for the country but for the ship that won the proudest trophy of the English Empire.

There have been breaks in racing over the years, including from 1851 to 1870, when no races were held because no one dared challenge the Americans. From time to time there have been long breaks between editions of the America's Cup, for example there were no races in the periods 1902-1920 and 1937-1958, but since 1958 the races have been held regularly, about every 4 years.

The trophy remained in American hands until 1983, when a challenger finally broke the Americans' winning streak. The winner was the Australia II from Australia, ending the longest known winning streak in the history of the sport. For the first time in 132 years, the Americans had lost their "cup" to another country. The skipper of Australia II, John Bertrand, was quoted as saying "This puts yacht racing back on the map!"