From The New York Times:
THE BOATING REPORT; Big Splash in England For 150th America's Cup

By HERB MCCORMICK

Published: February 25, 2001

On Aug. 22, 1851, a stealthy black schooner named America bested a fleet of Britain's finest ships in a race around England's Isle of Wight. For this mighty upset, America's crew earned a strange, ornate jug that, on looks alone, might have better been left forgotten.

But the trophy, soon renamed for the conquering vessel, took on a life of its own. And in the intervening decades, untold fortunes were spent and squandered in pursuit of the America's Cup. Now, the funny old ewer represents the pinnacle of excellence in the sport of yacht racing.

To commemorate the schooner America's victory and the rich sailing history that followed, this August an international gathering of restored classic yachts, vintage and recent cup contenders, and contemporary racing boats more than 45 feet long will descend on Cowes, England, for the America's Cup Jubilee.

Scheduled for the week of Aug. 18-25 and jointly hosted by the New York Yacht Club and Great Britain's Royal Yacht Squadron -- with participation and support from 47 other yacht clubs around the world -- the event is being heralded as one of the most extravagant, spectacular regattas ever.

''There'll be 400 to 600 sailors from our club alone,'' the the New York club's John Bockstoce, one of the Jubilee's co-chairman, said after an organizational meeting last Thursday at the club's Manhattan headquarters. ''I know we're going to have some of the greatest racing ever seen.''

The event's co-chairman, Antony Matusch of the Royal Yacht Squadron, said: ''We undertake a big regatta every year, Cowes Week, with over 900 boats. But we've been working at this for four years now and have never done anything on this scale.''

Matusch said one of the regatta's most exciting aspects will be the assemblage of 12-Meter yachts, a class that originated in 1906 and were employed in cup competition from 1958 to 1987. Upwards of 30 Twelves, competing in separate classes based on the era in which they were built, are expected to participate.

''It will be one of the real spectacles on the water,'' Matusch said. ''The oldest is a wonderfully restored boat from 1909. When you put them all together, it will be like having a history of yachting right before your eyes.''

While Twelves from France, Germany, Norway and Sweden are all planning to race at the Jubilee, the largest single contingent may be en route from Newport, R.I., which has become a Mecca for the sleek, sloop-rigged yachts. Along with dozens of other boats of varying size and design, the Newport-based 12-Meters will be transported across the Atlantic to Cowes, fully rigged, on the deck of a semi-submersible freighter in early August.

''There'll be about 40 boats on board,'' said Herb Marshall, the skipper/owner of the 12-Meter American Eagle, a Bill Luders design built in 1964 that is based in Newport. ''Gleam, Intrepid, Columbia, Valiant, Freedom, Nefertiti and Eagle will be among them. It'll be interesting.''

Even though American Eagle twice participated in the America's Cup trials, the boat never advanced to the cup finals. Its greatest successes may have come while under the ownership of the former cup winner Ted Turner, who reconfigured the boat for offshore sailing and used it in the Fastnet Race, the Sydney-Hobart, and other long-distance classics. For the Jubilee, Marshall has chartered the boat to Marvin Green, the former owner of the successful 1980's-era maxi Nirvana.

But while competition will be stiff in the 12-Meter class, all eyes will also be on the three immaculately restored J-Class boats still in existence -- Endeavour, Shamrock V, and Velsheda -- which will be in attendance in Cowes.

On the race course, the highlight of the week will come on Aug. 21, when the roughly 90-mile race around the Isle of Wight will be contested, and the New Yorkers will try to emulate their triumphs of 150 years ago.