first skipper, Newfoundland born Capt. Lester G. Hollett. A second replica of America was built in 1995 by Scarano Boatbuilding of Albany, NY for Ray Giovanni and was operated by him for commercial events until his death. It had several modifications from the original design including widening the beam by 4 feet to accommodate interior layouts. The original design had only one lantern (skylight) so three were added to bring light into the interior of the yacht. The yacht spent several years in Key West Florida and operated between Key West and New York City seasonally for the company Classic Harbor Line. In 2006 she was purchased by Troy Sears' company, Next Level Sailing, and her home port was moved to San Diego, California. In 2007 America was invited to Spain to help promote America's Cup racing and she was exhibited in June 2011 in San Francisco Bay in concert with exploratory preparations by the Oracle Racing team for the 2013 America's Cup race, which was held within the bay. In 2015 and 2016 she toured both US coasts and the Caribbean, again to promote America's Cup racing. During the interim and since then she has run whale watching and charter trips out of San Diego. A third replica was built in Varna, Bulgaria in 2005. Christened Skythia, the boat's home port later was Rostock, Germany, where she was used for commercial charter. References External links - accurate lines of the America (1851) 1851 in sports 1851 ships America's Cup challengers Individual sailing vessels Schooners of the United States Yachts of New York Yacht Club members Maritime incidents in March 1852 Scuttled vessels Shipwrecks in rivers Maritime incidents in March 1862 Ships built in New York City Former yachts of New York City