They designed and built the schooner America to be the last word in American shipbuilding. The history of naval architecture as it applies to sail craft is reflected in the America's Cup. In 1851, the schooner America measured just less than 102 feet in overall length and carried 5,263 square feet of sail on two masts and a single jib. These technologically advanced carbon-fiber hulls are 78 feet overall with over 7,800 square feet of sail area. They are sailed by a crew of 16.
Corporate sponsorship is the wind in the sails of the modern America's Cup.
Dennis Conner, skipper of San Diego's Cortez Racing Association Team Dennis Conner, is sailing in his seventh America's Cup series. He has won four and lost two. Russell Couts, skipper and helmsman for defender Team New Zealand, won the 1995 America's Cup and has won three Match Racing World Championships. Cayard skippers for San Francisco's St. Francis Yacht Club AmericaOne syndicate. National loyalties can become confused in pursuit of America's Cup victory.