This week we received a very exciting donation from Oracle TeamUSA! It includes a J-foil daggerboard, T-foil rudder, replacement bow sections, and crew gear from winning AC27. Getting the crate open to unveil the pieces was quite a task and took over two hours, but was well worth it.
![](https://www.marinersmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/OracleDonationUnpacking_17-1.jpg?w=1024)
For those who aren’t familiar with America’s Cup, it dates back to 1851 and the schooner America, who beat the British in a race around Isle of Wight and gave its name to the race. More history on the America’s Cup can be found on the official website. Last year’s race was quite a nail biter and a huge victory for the Americans. The final races were between Oracle Team USA, the defenders of the cup, and challenger Emirates Team New Zealand.
![](https://www.marinersmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/2013_Americas_Cup_race_1_mark_1-1.jpg?w=1024)
The two battled it out in 19 races with things looking up for New Zealand who, at the end of race 11, was well in the lead with 8 points to USA’s 3. This meant that all New Zealand needed was one more point to win the cup. In a very surprising and heart-racing turn, USA won the next race, and the next, and the next, and the next. USA managed to take it all the way home and won the final 8 races, allowing them to hold onto the cup! This race was a truly amazing thing to watch and it definitely stirred up patriotism at the museum. We are all greatly looking forward to the next one!
USA! USA! USA!