A view of the racing yacht 'America' starting the race of the Royal Yacht Squadron's 53-mile regatta around the Isle of Wight, which she completed ahead second place by 18 minutes. 'America' was built for a syndicate of American yachtsmen as a response to The Great Exhibition of 1851, which was an exhibition showcasing to the world British cutting-edge science and technology. The yacht attracted enormous attention from yachtsmen, shipbuilders, and boatmen as her new design influenced international yacht building.