USA (E-1) 12 US 49

Design & America’s Cup Context

USA (E-1), later designated US-49, was a Third Rule International Twelve Metre built as the initial entry and experimental platform for the Golden Gate Challenge in preparation for the 1987 America’s Cup in Fremantle. She was conceived as an “evolutionary” test yacht, intended to explore new design directions and performance concepts ahead of selecting an official challenger.

The nickname “E-1” stood for “Evolutionary”, reflecting her role as the first of two Twelves commissioned by the Challenge to evaluate competing ideas under the International Third Rule.

Testing & Development Role

USA (E-1) was actively sailed on San Francisco Bay as a test boat, with:

  • Tom Blackaller as skipper

  • Paul Cayard as tactician

  • An experienced professional crew drawn from the West Coast racing scene

Her test program provided critical performance data and sailing feedback during the early phase of the campaign.

Relation to USA-61

While USA (E-1) was undergoing testing, designer Gary Mull developed a more radical design, USA-61 (sail number 12 USA 61). This later yacht incorporated advanced features including:

  • A slim keel fin

  • An attached torpedo-shaped bulb

  • A forward canard rudder positioned close to the bow

Following comparative evaluation, USA-61 was selected as the official challenger of the St. Francis Yacht Club for the 1987 America’s Cup, while USA (E-1) remained a development and test platform.

Ownership History

  • 1985–1987:
    Golden Gate Challenge

    • Name: USA (E-1)

    • Home port: San Francisco, California (USA)

    • Role: Evolutionary test yacht for the 1987 America’s Cup

  • 1988–1998:
    Robert B. Cole

    • Home port: Woodside, California (USA)

  • 1999–2008:
    Geoff Miller

    • Home port: Molnar Marine, Richmond, California (USA)

Construction & Class

  • Class: International Third Rule Twelve Metre

  • Purpose: America’s Cup development and testing yacht

  • Designation: US-49

End of Career

After a prolonged post-Cup private ownership period, USA (E-1) / US-49 was scrapped in the summer of 2008, bringing to an end the life of one of the key development yachts of the Golden Gate Challenge.

Historical Significance

USA (E-1) occupies an important place in Twelve Metre and America’s Cup history as:

  • The first evolutionary test yacht of the Golden Gate Challenge

  • A critical development platform that informed the design of USA-61

  • A rare example of a Twelve built explicitly for experimental evaluation rather than direct Cup competition

Her story illustrates the increasingly technical and iterative nature of late Third Rule America’s Cup campaigns, where multiple yachts were built to refine performance before committing to a final challenger.

If you’d like, I can next:

  • Condense this into a short ITMA registry-table entry

  • Add a comparison sidebar: USA (E-1) vs USA-61

  • Or help you draft a development-boat classification note consistent with other ITMA America’s Cup entries