Canada's Cup

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[5]) – 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.

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.

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.

[9] 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.

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.