Rates & Information

Charter Rates & Options:

Stars & Stripes USA-11, the 1992 America's Cup racing yacht, offers 3 hour public charters several times a week and private charters with a minimum of 12 guests. Our maximum guest capacity is 24. The venue is for those interested in an interactive and exciting adventure aboard one of the fastest and famous sailboats in the world. Grind the winches to help raise and trim the sails, take your turn at the helm, or just hang on as we zip around San Diego Bay at twice the speed of the average sailboat. We provide complimentary water, soft drinks, and light snacks (peanuts and/or pretzels). You're welcome to bring your own camera, but we take photos and videos for viewing after the sail in our office while enjoying complimentary beer and wine in our gift shop. The pictures will then be posted on Picasa Web Albums and Facebook for you to use as you wish. The only thing required to hold a reservation is an email address for providing detailed directions on how to find us and a cell phone number or local contact information. You can pay after the sail with cash, check, or credit card.

Public Charters:

$100 per person for 3 hours – best bargain on San Diego Bay!
Kids 12 and under sail for half-price.
Active duty military receive a 20% discount.

Private Charters:

Have the whole boat for the exclusive use of your group! $1,200 minimum for a 3 hour sail for the first 12 guests, $100 for each additional guest. Call for more information or special requests.

Call (619) 255-4705 or toll free (866) 250-3568 for Reservations Today! Or fill out a request form on our "book a trip" page.

See San Diego from a unique perspective!

There is no more beautiful a place to sail than San Diego Bay, with our outstanding weather, smooth water and a huge variety of nautical, military and marine sights. We share the bay with historic sailing vessels like the Star of India and the California, the latest and most advanced naval vessels, including aircraft carriers, guided missile cruisers, destroyers and even high speed, experimental military craft like the M80 Stiletto, which has a carbon-fiber composite hull, much like USA-11. America’s Finest City is on display with our glittering downtown, the nautically inspired convention center and the soaring Coronado Bridge. The landscape is even more striking with Point Loma and the Cabrillo National Monument capturing your attention. Don’t forget to look for the sea lions that love to sun themselves on our buoys!

Refreshments

We provide soft drinks and bottled water free of charge. You are welcome to bring your own food, however we recommend pre-made, easy to eat meals because of the constant wind and activity aboard.

Build a team!

Teambuilding may be boring at work, but on Stars & Stripes, it is FUN! America’s Cup Class race boats, because of their size, power and complexity, demand a level of teamwork rarely seen anywhere else. Every maneuver from raising a sail to tacking or jibing, requires communication, cooperation and teamwork from every member of the crew. There is no better training platform on which to learn the skills necessary to work together towards a common goal.

If teambuilding is your priority, we can create a custom program for your group. This can include:

VIP Captains, like Annie Gardner, who skippered for the 1995 America3 Women’s America’s Cup team
Dockside instruction
Rotation through all the crew positions on the boat
Personalized custom team apparel – Jackets, Polo shirts, T-shirts and Caps are available
Catered meals

Celebrate your event afterwards with beer and wine

For more information on teambuilding visit our sister site: www.teamusa11.com

The America’s Cup

The America’s Cup is the most famous and the most prestigious sailing regatta. It is also the oldest active trophy in international sport, predating the Modern Olympics by 45 years, and is considered the “Holy Grail” of yachting.

The cup was originally known as the Royal Yacht Squadron cup and it, along with a sum of 100 Sovereigns was the prize for the 1851 Annual Regatta around the Isle of Wight. Though she started last, the schooner America won the race against 15 British yachts by 20 minutes. When America emerged alone from a fog near the finish, Queen Victoria asked who was second; the famous answer: “There is no second, your Majesty.”

In 1857 the American syndicate donated the cup to the New York Yacht Club to be held in trust as a challenge trophy to “promote friendly competition among nations.” Despite a succession of British (and other) attempts to win back the cup, the New York Yacht Club prevailed in 25 challenges over 113 years, the longest winning streak in the history of sport. Finally, in 1983, Australian businessman Alan Bond beat Dennis Conner and the cup left the United States for the first time in 132 years. But Dennis Conner refused to quit and in 1987 he challenged Australia for the San Diego Yacht club and became the first and only skipper to win, lose and win back the America’s Cup.

Stars & Stripes, USA-11

In 1992 the International America’s Cup Class (IACC) of yachts was introduced, replacing the 12-meter class that had been used since 1958. Designed by David Pedrick and Bruce Nelson and built by Eric Goetz in Rhode Island, Stars & Stripes, USA-11 was Dennis Conner’s first IACC boat. Conner was outspent nearly 10 to 1 by billionaire businessman Bill Koch and lost in the finals of the Defense Series (the Citizens Cup) to America3. Bill Koch then went on to compete against the Italians with their boat Il Moro and won.

USA-11 was used by Dennis Conner in his 1995 campaign as a trial horse and then sold to the US Virgin Islands America’s Cup Challenge to be used in the 2000 America’s Cup races. After surviving several hurricanes, including one that sunk her, USA-11 was purchased in 2002, shipped to Miami to be completely refurbished and then sent across the country to be part of the San Francisco Challenge Series fleet. In 2006, Steve Pattison and Mark Niblack bought her and brought her home to San Diego.

What to Bring

The weather on the water can be surprisingly different from that on land, therefore it's always best to dress in layers. Regardless of what the weather appears to be or what is predicted for your sailing charter, we recommend that our guests bring the following in a soft bag.

Sailing In Winter, Spring and Fall:

Sunscreen
A warm jacket or preferably sweater and windbreaker
A pair of long pants if you are wearing shorts
Rubber-soled deck shoes or sneakers and warm socks (no black-soled jogging shoes please!)
Sunglasses with croakies

Sailing In July and August:

Sunglasses with croakies
Sunscreen
Rubber-soled deck shoes or sneakers. (no black-soled jogging shoes please!)
A light sweater or windbreaker
Don't forget your camera!
Sailing gloves are a good idea, though not essential.

Prepare for the sail of your life!

No longer do you have to be a billionaire or an elite, professional sailor to experience the thrill of sailing an authentic America’s Cup Class racing yacht! Take the helm of Stars & Stripes, USA-11, and live the dream for yourself. Feel the power of 3500 square feet of Kevlar sails on one of the fastest mono-hull sailboats in the world. You’ll be amazed at how responsive this all carbon-fiber racing machine can be. And, with more than 80% of her weight at the bottom of the keel, she slices through the water like a knife. No sailing experience is necessary to be a part of this unique and exciting adventure.

Once we leave the dock, we go into high gear because there is a lot to do! Stars & Stripes, USA-11 raced to be the defender in the 1992 America’s Cup with a crew of 16. We will have only 5 regular crewmembers, so your help and participation are crucial! We need your help to raise the sails, take the helm and steer the boat, assist with navigation and tactics, tack and jibe, grind the winches to trim the sails, and most importantly, enjoy the ride! Of course, if you’d like, you can just sit back and enjoy the action.

About Seasickness

You will not get seasick on this boat. Period. We have done many hundreds of charters with many thousands of passengers and have never seen anyone get seasick. But if you would like to take something before the trip for piece of mind you are more certainly welcome.