America's Cup at the Twin Lights

During the 1800s and early 1900s, the Americas Cup races were held off Sandy Hook. The Twin Lights provided an ideal vantage point for following the action. It was during the 1899 race between the Columbia (USA) and Shamrock (Great Britain) that Marconi sent his historic wireless report from an observation ship to his groundbreaking radar array set up in front of the lighthouse.

Two years later, Columbia became the first ship to win the Americas Cup twice. The 1903 race featured the Reliance—still the largest racing sloop ever constructed. The competition moved north to Newport, RI after 1920.

In all, 13 Americas Cup events were run off the Jersey Coast. The United States won every one of them. The losing skipper in each of the last four Americas Cup was Sir Thomas Lipton of Lipton Tea fame.