The Cutter Genesta, R. Y. S.

Period1885

MediumChromolithograph on paper

Dimensions18.5 × 23.75 in. (47 × 60.3 cm)

InscribedInscribed in the lower center margin, "Copyright 1885 by Currier & Ives, N. Y." Titled in large letters in the lower center margin, "Cutter Genesta, R. Y. S." The vessel's statistics, such as "Length Over All, 96 Feet," appear left and right of the title.

SignedSigned in script lower right in the image, "C. R. Parsons."

ClassificationsPrints

Credit LineMuseum Collection

Object number1994.588

DescriptionView of a fully rigged racing yacht sailing from left to right in a choppy sea. The hull is painted black, and nine crew members appear on deck. Another racing yacht is shown in the left distance, with two others in the extreme left far distance and in the extreme right far distance. A light ship is depicted in the right distance.The race is taking place under a cloudy sky.
NotesShown off New Jersey with the Sandy Hook light ship in the right distance, the cutter Genesta of the Royal Yacht Squadron was the unsuccessful English challenger in the fifth America's Cup race held in 1885 against the American defender Puritan. It was designed by John Beavor-Webb and built by the D. &W. Henderson shipyard on the River Clyde in 1884, for owner Sir Richard Sutton, 5th Baronet, of the Royal Yacht Squadron, Cowes, Isle of Wight, England. She was constructed of oak planking on a steel frame. Genesta was skippered by John Carter. After a strong showing in the British yacht races in 1884, Sutton crossed the Atlantic Ocean to New York during the summer 1885 aboard Genesta. Upon arrival, designer Beavor-Webb refused to let anyone see his yacht before the America's Cup race, beginning a tradition of secrecy which remained in place until 2017. After the America's Cup races, Sutton and Genesta won the Brenton Reef Cup, the Cape May Challenge Cup, and, upon returning to Britain, the first Round Britain Race in 1887. Genesta, sold and converted to a yawl by the 1890s, was finally broken up in 1900.

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