Point Of Fact

? Only one yacht has ever defended the cup twice. Which was it?

?Nathaniel Herreshoff's Columbia. New in 1899, she defeated his 1895 Defender in the trials. In 1901 she also defeated a new Herreshoff design for the right to defend the cup. In 1903 she lost out to Reliance, another new Herreshoff boat and the largest single-masted vessel ever built.

? Of the 54 races sailed to defend the cup, how many has the U.S. lost?

?Only five.

? How many countries have challenged for the cup?

?Actually the challenge comes from a yacht club. To date only five countries have been represented: England eight times, Ireland five times, Scotland and Canada twice and Australia once.

? The rule requiring a challenger to sail to the U.S. "on her own bottom" was recently changed. What was the first boat to be shipped over OS cargo, and why?

?Sceptre, in 1958. The expense of building large boats had made it necessary to compete in the smaller 12-meter class, and the rule was waived to eliminate undue risk and time.

? The skipper is as important as the hull or the sails. What helmsman had the longest association with the cup?

?Captain Hank Haff, who, between 1886 and 1901, took three defenders to victory and also served on two contenders. His son Harry served on Vanitie in the trials for the 1920 race. Captain Charles Barr, who started as helmsman on the 1895 trial horse, Vigilant, also had three winners, twice as skipper of Columbia and another time on Reliance in 1903.