HOW 7 INCHES LED TO A REVISION OF THE DEED OF GIFT

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The 24th October marks the anniversary of the 1887 revision of the Deed of Gift, the document which governs the America’s Cup.

The 1887 Deed of Gift replaced the 1882 revision, which in turn replaced the original 1857 America’s Cup gifting document. As is always the case in the America’s Cup, it was controversial, and some would say anti-competitive and not in the spirit of the of the original Deed of Gift. A popular accusation which will continue to be thrown around at almost every edition of the Cup from then on.

Why was the 1887 revision made? 

The Defender at the time, the New York Yacht Club, wanted greater information on a challenging yacht's measurement and more time to prepare than the seven months stated in the current Deed.

They had just been surprised by the Royal Clyde Yacht Club and Thistle, which was longer on her waterline than the NYYC had been advised when the challenge was issued. The New York Yacht Club had built Volunteer to be longer than Thistle based on those documents, but now instead of being 10 inches longer, Volunteer was now 7 inches shorter.

While Thistles theoretical advantage was just 0.05 knots, the NYYC wanted to make sure such surprises would not happen again.

Further revisions were made by NYYC in 1956 to permit the smaller 12-Meter Class to race for the Cup and to remove the requirement that competitors had to sail to the match venue, which made competitive challenges from the southern hemisphere all but impossible.

It was amended again in 1985, after the Cup was won by Australia II in 1983 and brought down under. The Royal Perth Yacht Club of Western Australia applied to the New York Supreme Court to permit racing in a Southern Hemisphere summer so the match could be conducted in Fremantle in 1987. 

Will we see further changes at some point in the future? More than likely, as the drama in the court room is never too far away from the drama on the sea.

HOW 7 INCHES LED TO A REVISION OF THE DEED OF GIFT

Published on

The 24th October marks the anniversary of the 1887 revision of the Deed of Gift, the document which governs the America’s Cup.

The 1887 Deed of Gift replaced the 1882 revision, which in turn replaced the original 1857 America’s Cup gifting document. As is always the case in the America’s Cup, it was controversial, and some would say anti-competitive and not in the spirit of the of the original Deed of Gift. A popular accusation which will continue to be thrown around at almost every edition of the Cup from then on.

Why was the 1887 revision made? 

The Defender at the time, the New York Yacht Club, wanted greater information on a challenging yacht's measurement and more time to prepare than the seven months stated in the current Deed.

They had just been surprised by the Royal Clyde Yacht Club and Thistle, which was longer on her waterline than the NYYC had been advised when the challenge was issued. The New York Yacht Club had built Volunteer to be longer than Thistle based on those documents, but now instead of being 10 inches longer, Volunteer was now 7 inches shorter.

While Thistles theoretical advantage was just 0.05 knots, the NYYC wanted to make sure such surprises would not happen again.

Further revisions were made by NYYC in 1956 to permit the smaller 12-Meter Class to race for the Cup and to remove the requirement that competitors had to sail to the match venue, which made competitive challenges from the southern hemisphere all but impossible.

It was amended again in 1985, after the Cup was won by Australia II in 1983 and brought down under. The Royal Perth Yacht Club of Western Australia applied to the New York Supreme Court to permit racing in a Southern Hemisphere summer so the match could be conducted in Fremantle in 1987. 

Will we see further changes at some point in the future? More than likely, as the drama in the court room is never too far away from the drama on the sea.