Yacht America Visits Morro Bay

She sailed into Morro Bay Harbor with the grace of a thoroughbred racehorse, proudly flying the red, white and blue flag of the United States. The Yacht America, a replica of the famous original schooner, America, that in 1851 won the Royal Yacht Squadron’s Isle of Wight yachting race. That trophy was renamed the America’s Cup and was donated to the New York Yacht Club on the condition that it become a perpetual trophy for yachting. This America, built in 1990, is on a West Coast tour traveling from its homeport in San Diego, visiting ports and harbors in California, Oregon, Washington and Canada, before sailing to the Caribbean for more tours in advance of the 2017 America’s Cup races in Bermuda. She spans 139 feet, weighs 226,000 pounds, has a 105-foot main mast and hangs 5,000 square feet of sails. Hundreds of folks turned out at the Morro Bay Yacht Club for dockside tours and the boat was packed for an afternoon sail Friday in Estero Bay. Photos by Neil Farrell