America Yacht Model Boat (1851 USA)

America was a 19th-century racing yacht and first winner of the eponymous America's Cup international sailing trophy. In 1851 the trophy, known variously as the Royal Yacht Squadron's "One Hundred Guinea Cup", "One Hundred Sovereign Cup", or "£100 Cup", was later renamed after the original winning yacht.

On August 22, 1851, America won the Royal Yacht Squadron's 53-mile (85 km) regatta around the Isle of Wight by eighteen minutes. America was designed by James Rich Steers and George Steers (1820–1856) (See George Steers and Co). Traditional "cod-head-and-mackerel-tail" design gave boats a blunt bow and a sharp stern with the widest point (the beam) placed one-third of the length aft of the bow. George Steers' pilot boat designs, however, had a concave clipper-bow with the beam of the vessel at midships. As a result, his schooner-rigged pilot boats were among the fastest and most seaworthy of their day. They had to be seaworthy, for they had to meet inbound and outbound vessels in any kind of weather. These vessels also had to be fast, for harbour pilots competed with each other for business.