ineteenth Century yacht racing, over the Inner Harbor New York Yacht Club course on Sept. 27, 1887 matched General Paine's American Sloop VOLUNTEER against the Scottish Cutter Challenger owned by James Bell, representing the Royal Clyde Yacht Club, THISTLE. The prize? Nothing less than the America's Cup.
Anticipating taking the lead in this first match of the ? challenge for the Cup, VOLUNTEER begins to overtake THISTLE. Moments prior to the start the Scottish and British sailors were wagering prematurely on how just how large their margin of victory would be, as Captain Hank Haff purposely held back VOLUNTEER as they approached the line in the morning doldrums. Fog delayed the match until past noon, and the starting whistle saw VOLUNTEER almost two minutes behind. Fifteen minutes later she passed the Scottish challenger and ended up winning the 32.6 mile race by more than 19 minutes. Before the race was over, the gap would grow so large that the spectator ships crowded THISTLE a couple of times just to be able to keep watch on VOLUNTEER.</p The headland of New York City stars alongside the racing yachts, sea and sky in this great composition by Shane Couch. With views of The Battery and South Street, the prominent buildings of the Washington Building, Aldricht Court, Standard Oil, Trinity Church and the Cotton Exchange are all identifiable. Couch's attention to detail is to be marveled at, and his artistic vision does homage to the city, the ships and the grand tradition of yacht racing.
