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The Canada’s Cup is a silver trophy, deeded in perpetuity in 1896, to be awarded to the winner of a series of
match race A match race is a race between two competitors, going head-to-head. In sailboat racing it is differentiated from a fleet race, which almost always involves three or more competitors competing against each other, and team racing where teams consis ...
s between a
yacht A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...
representing a Canadian yacht club and one representing an American yacht club, both to be located on the
Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...
. The Cup matches were intended to be a test of the challenger’s and the defender’s abilities to design and build a yacht to the prevailing measurement rule, and to sail that yacht to victory. In a departure from the original goal of the Cup to encourage racing yacht design the 2001-2011 Cup challenge races were sailed in the
Farr 40 The Farr 40 is a 40-foot one-design sailboat designed by Farr Yacht Design in 1996 following after the Mumm 30. It was originally designed as a one design class but had some compromises in design to rate under the International Measurement Syst ...
, and subsequently in the 2021 and 2022 Cup challenges in the Melges IC37, both one-design class yachts. The Cup is a unique trophy, approximately 30 cm (12 inches) high excluding base, specifically crafted for a cross-border sailing competition in 1896, and is an engraved bowl, gilt inside, whose richly embellished supporting pedestal depicts a lion (symbolising the British Empire of which Canada was a part at that time) and an eagle (symbolising the American Republic).


Origin

In 1895, the
Lincoln Park Lincoln Park is a park along Lake Michigan on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. Named after US President Abraham Lincoln, it is the city's largest public park and stretches for seven miles (11 km) from Grand Avenue (500 N), on the south, ...
Yacht Club of Chicago challenged the
Royal Canadian Yacht Club The Royal Canadian Yacht Club (RCYC) is a private yacht club in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1852, it is one of the world's older and larger yacht clubs. Its summer home is on a trio of islands (RCYC Island, South Island and North Chip ...
of Toronto (RCYC) to a series of races, to be held on “neutral” waters in the summer of 1896. As yacht racing was then a popular spectator sport, several cities competed to have the competition held in their waters; the winner was Toledo, Ohio, which put up a silver trophy made by Tiffany & Co. along with a cash prize of $1,500 (over $31,000 in 2012 purchasing power) – a customary practice in those days. The American yacht, ''Vencedor'', already in build at the time of the challenge, was a 63-foot cutter drawn by Thorwald S. Poekel, the former chief draughtsman at the renowned
Herreshoff Manufacturing Company Nathanael Greene Herreshoff (March 18, 1848 – June 2, 1938) was an American naval architect, mechanical engineer, and yacht design innovator. He produced a succession of undefeated America's Cup defenders between 1893 and 1920. Biography Her ...
. The Canadian response was a 57-foot cutter designed by
William Fife William Fife Jr. (15 June 1857 – 11 August 1944), also known as William Fife III, was the third generation of a family of Scottish yacht designers and builders. In his time, William Fife designed around 600 yachts, including two contend ...
and named ''Canada''. In the summer of 1896, both yachts sailed in company to Toledo, racing against other yachts along the way and building excitement along their respective voyages. ''Canada'' won the first race in moderate weather. The following day brought high winds and rain; not wanting to expose a prized mainsail to high wind and rain, ''Vencedor's'' skipper asked for a lay day. Realizing how disadvantaged his vessel would be in heavy weather, ''Canada's'' skipper, Aemilius Jarvis, agreed to the postponement. The following day, the weather moderated and ''Canada'' took the series with two straight wins, collecting the cash and the trophy. Jarvis and his syndicate then deeded the Cup to RCYC “as a perpetual challenge cup for friendly competition between representatives of yacht clubs of the two nations bordering on the Great Lakes.” Jarvis would sail for the Cup four more times, as defender and challenger before relinquishing the helm to another RCYC member.


Conditions For Competition

A challenge must be cross-border (a US club may not challenge a US club nor a Canadian club another Canadian club), but other than that restriction, any yacht club on the
Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...
may issue a challenge to the current holder. Once the challenge has been accepted, the defending club must select a defender from within the club. The challenger, however, must open its selection to any yacht from its own side of the border. In some years, the result has been an intense round of races on both sides to select the boats for the final series. In theory, choice of the type of yacht is the sole prerogative of the challenger; in practice, it is the subject of negotiation, not only to accord with the current appreciation of what constitutes an appropriate vessel for competition at this level, but to leaven the considerable expense with a design that would have a respectable service life after the contest. Accordingly, yachts have been designed to whatever leading-edge but acceptably stable rating rule was in force at the time. ''Canada'' and ''Vencedor'' were designed to the
Seawanhaka The Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club is one of the older yacht clubs in the Western Hemisphere, ranking 18th after the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron, New York Yacht Club, Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, Mobile Yacht Club, Pass Christian Yacht Cl ...
rule. Subsequent vessels have been built to the Universal Rule, Girth Rule, The International Rule and
Cruising Club of America The Cruising Club of America (CCA) is an international organization of cruisers whose objects are to promote cruising and racing by amateurs, to encourage the development of suitable types of cruising craft, to stimulate interest in seamanship, navi ...
Rule, then the
International Offshore Rule The International Offshore Rule (IOR) was a measurement rule for racing sailboats. The IOR evolved from the Cruising Club of America (CCA) rule for racer/cruisers and the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) rule. Rule context - past and present rating ...
and MORC.


One Design vs Development Class

From 2001 until 2011, the
Farr 40 The Farr 40 is a 40-foot one-design sailboat designed by Farr Yacht Design in 1996 following after the Mumm 30. It was originally designed as a one design class but had some compromises in design to rate under the International Measurement Syst ...
one-design yacht was used. Choice of this design not only assured owners of having a useful boat at the end of the series, it had the effect of focussing the competition on crew and tactical skills. For the 2016 challenge, the committee decided against one design yachts and reverted to the original approach of one off yachts built to a design standard/rule. The 8-Metre yacht an International Rule type class, used in the 1930, 1932, and 1934 challenges and last sailed in the 1954 Canada's Cup, was chosen. Three boats sailed for the right to challenge and three boats sailed to be chosen as defender for the 2016 Cup. The 2016 8-Metre World Championship held in Toronto three weeks before the 2016 Canada's Cup competition helped generate significant media interest for both events. For the 2020 challenge the Canada’s Cup Committee selected the Melges IC37, a strict one-design class, for the 2020, 2022 and 2024 Canada's Cup events. The 2020 Canada's Cup event was cancelled due to the Covid 19 epidemic and deferred to 2021 when it was held at the Royal Canadian Yacht Club.


Competitors

* Merged with Chicago Yacht Club, 1920


References


External links


sailingscuttlebutt.com: "Scuttlebutt News: When Canvas was King - by Robert B. Townsend - A History of the Canada's Cup"sailingscuttlebutt.com: "Canada's Cup History"


External links

{{authority control Match racing competitions Recurring events established in 1896 Yachting races