As we countdown to the 35th America’s Cup The Royal Gazette will bring you one fun fact a day about the boats, the sailors, the crew, or the history of this illustrious competition. There are now 22 days until the month-long sporting spectacle gets under way.

On August 22, 1851 the 100 Guineas Cup or Hundred Guinea Cup (£100 Cup) regatta was the first competition for the America’s Cup trophy. Originally called the Cup of One Hundred Sovereigns, the race was won by the yacht America, leading to the trophy being renamed “America’s Cup”.

The 1851 competition was the first to compete for the trophy, the event The America’s Cup would not be founded until 1857, when the deed of gift established the America’s Cup racing regattas. The 1851 edition was a fleet race, unlike modern America’s Cups finals, which are match races.

The regatta was raced clockwise around the Isle of Wight on The Queen’s Course.

The course was near Cowes Castle, where the Royal Yacht Squadron headquarters are located. The race took place as part of the 1851 Royal Yacht Squadron Regatta.

The race originated with an invitation for the Great Exhibition of 1851 by the Earl of Winton, then Commodore of the Royal Yacht Squadron, inviting the recently formed New York Yacht Club to enjoy the facilities of the clubhouse of the RYS. John Cox Stevens, Commodore of the NYYC responded positively, and anticipated racing. Due to the rules of the time, other races in the 1851 RYS Regatta were restricted to RYS members and their self-owned yachts, so the RYS £100 Cup was established, open to anyone to enter.