The America's Cup: The Power of Sail

The Yachts that have raced for the America's Cup have always been special. They embody the spirit of yachting and yacht racing, powered by huge amounts of Sail handled only by the manpower of vast numbers of crew, without modern technology.The early yachts were larger than those of the modern era. They were up to 200 ft. long with beams of 26 ft. and a Sail area of up to 16,000 ft2 , with up to 64 crewmembers. They were characterised by the gaff rig and three headsails, with long, low displacement hulls to give them the maximum speed. They were powerful and majestic to see, and their power has inspired the paintings in the book.