While there is a choice in San Diego of companies that offer sailing on authentic Stars & Stripes America's Cup IACC yachts, we believe our boat and experience are the best.

It is true that all the boats are certified and inspected by the U.S. Coast Guard but there are many differences…

Our mission is to maintain the boat and give you a fantastic sailing experience. Sailing this boat is our passion, not our livelihood. Charter income merely pays some of our expenses and gives us the opportunity to sail these great boats.

Stars & Stripes USA-11 was the first IACC yacht Dennis Conner had built. It is not a 12-Meter yacht, those ended in 1987. Being the first IACC yacht Dennis built, it was really overbuilt. Because of this we are able to sail safely using our headsail and mainsail in higher wind conditions when other America's Cup IACC yachts cannot.

Our boat was recently completely restored, completed in December 2009, so you'll find it looks like new.

Here are some other points to consider:

1. With SAIL USA-11 your initial phone call goes to our Captain with the experience of over 1,000 charters on the 3 modern day America's Cup yachts here in San Diego. Many of our crew also have years of experience on all three of these boats as well.

2. We do not require upfront payments unless it's for a private charter. No issues with changes in plans, weather, etc. and your Credit Card info is completely confidential since it is scanned at our office.

3. Our yacht is located at Kona Kai Resort & Marina. Kona Kai is the top of the line for the San Diego boating community. We have plenty of free street parking as well as a paid lot right at our marina. We also have our dockside office, and clean restrooms all well away from the congested tourist area.

4. "It's really not about where we're going as long as we're going fast". We sail the boat to give you the real feel of an America's Cup yacht. We push the boat to achieve maximum speeds for the conditions. We constantly tack and jibe because we know you didn't come just for a boat ride. We want everyone to experience steering through tacks and jibes, grinding the winches and going fast. That's what makes it fun. Our route varies but generally covers San Diego Bay from Pt. Loma to Coronado landing cove.

5. Be prepared to be a fully involved crew member if you want: i.e. take the helm, grind the winches or just sit back, hold on and enjoy. Experienced sailors are sometimes even allowed to help us trim the sails if we think it is safe.

6. Return to our "USA-11 Yacht Club" for shopping and final payment where we have our marina office that doubles as our gift shop with lots of great Stars & Stripes USA-11 souvenirs. It is a great place to sit and relax before and after your sail.

7. Stars & Stripes USA-11 is certified for 25 passengers which means our boat is roomier and easier to move around during your sail. We do not have tracks,control lines or support bars (deck clutter) to step over or trip you inside the cockpit and we have a solid Navtec Vang that keep the boom up above your heads at all times so no ducking your head or worrying about being hit.

8. We have an extremely comfortable seating area that is wider and deeper than other America's Cup IACC yachts. The seating is at the right height so you can actually sit and be comfortable if you choose not to be actively involved. Also, we don't have lifelines to cage you in the boat and restrict your movement. The Coast Guard only asked us to install small handles in the back of the boat on each side. It makes it more fun and you won't feel like you are falling over the side.

9. We use traditional methods to raise our mainsail just like the America's Cup teams, no tracks and cars on the mast and we employ a fully functional mainsail halyard lock for safety. In fact we redesigned our halyard lock ourselves to make it functional and reliable.

10. All of our hardware is maintained and working properly. We have spent tens of thousands of dollars on purchasing replacement parts when available or have had many parts custom made by local machine shops to ensure everything works on our boat. We also spent a lot of time and money having the new sail custom fit to our boat AND proudly put our USA11 logo on it. Our team works to maintain the boats just about every day, whether we are sailing or not, to ensure the safest possible experience.