The America’s Cup Comes to San Francisco Bay

The Golden Gate Yacht Club is home to one of the greatest underdog stories in sports history — the subject of Julian Guthrie’s New York Times bestselling book, The Billionaire and the Mechanic. When Oracle Corporation co-founder Larry Ellison was turned away by San Francisco’s more established yacht clubs, it was Golden Gate’s newly elected Commodore, Norbert Bajurin, who stepped forward with a bold proposition. Their unlikely alliance would transform GGYC from a financially struggling, blue-collar sailing club on San Francisco Bay into the official home of Oracle Team USA and one of the most celebrated yacht clubs in the world.

The book chronicles the decade-long journey of Oracle Team USA competing under the Golden Gate Yacht Club burgee — through heartbreaking defeats at the 2003 and 2007 America’s Cup campaigns — to ultimate triumph in 2010. The partnership put GGYC on the global sailing map, proving that a club defined by its passionate, working-class membership and love of the sport could compete at the highest levels of international racing. San Francisco Bay, the club’s home waters, became the backdrop for some of the most dramatic moments in America’s Cup history.

The story of the Golden Gate Yacht Club and its role in Oracle Team USA’s America’s Cup victories is a testament to what this club stands for: inclusivity, determination, and an unshakeable love of sailing. Whether you’re a lifelong sailor or new to the sport, GGYC welcomes those who share that same passion. Come discover the club that helped bring the oldest trophy in international sport back to American shores — and made San Francisco Bay the center of the sailing world