''Cambria'' was the first, though unsuccessful, challenger attempting to lift the

America's Cup The America's Cup, informally known as the Auld Mug, is a trophy awarded in the sport of sailing. It is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one f ...

from the

New York Yacht Club The New York Yacht Club (NYYC) is a private social club and yacht club based in New York City and Newport, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1844 by nine prominent sportsmen. The members have contributed to the sport of yachting and yacht design. ...

Design

In 1868,

James Lloyd Ashbury James Lloyd Ashbury (1834 – 3 September 1895) was a British yachtsman and Conservative Party politician. Early life The son of John Ashbury, founder of the Ashbury Railway Carriage and Iron Company Ltd of Manchester, James trained as an engine ...

commissioned Michael Ratsey of

Cowes Cowes () is an English seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina, facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east bank. The two towns are linked by the Cowes Floa ...

to build a 188-ton

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...

, ''Cambria''.

Career

''Cambria'' had a highly successful racing season in 1869, winning the Round the Isle of Wight Race. Ashbury was encouraged by ''Cambria''s success in the Isle of Wight race, particularly because the champion American schooner ''Sappho'' had finished last. In October 1868 Ashbury wrote to the New York Yacht Club offering to be the first challenger for the

. He subsequently exchanged letters with Gordon Bennett, sportsman and owner of the

New York Herald The ''New York Herald'' was a large-distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between 1835 and 1924. At that point it was acquired by its smaller rival the ''New-York Tribune'' to form the '' New York Herald Tribune''. His ...

, challenging him to a trans-Atlantic race, prior to competing for the cup on behalf of the

Royal Thames Yacht Club The Royal Thames Yacht Club (RTYC) is the oldest continuously operating yacht club in the world, and the oldest yacht club in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters are located at 60 Knightsbridge, London, England, overlooking Hyde Park. The club ...

. In July 1870 Ashbury raced ''Cambria'' across the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

from Ireland to New York in challenge against Bennett's yacht, ''Dauntless''. ''Cambria'' won the race by arriving first off

Sandy Hook Sandy Hook is a barrier spit in Middletown Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The barrier spit, approximately in length and varying from wide, is located at the north end of the Jersey Shore. It encloses the southern en ...

lightship in 23 days 5 hours and 17 minutes; 1 hour 43 minutes ahead of ''Dauntless''. The race for the America's Cup was held on 8 August, with ''Cambria'' facing 14 yachts of the New York Yacht Club. The race was won by ''Magic'', with ''Cambria'' finishing eighth.

References

External links

* America's Cup challengers Individual sailing vessels {{boat-stub