The Virgin Atlantic Challenge Trophy is an award for the fastest trans-Atlantic crossing by a surface vessel, one of several such awards that have grown out of the contest for the prestigious Blue Riband of the Atlantic. The trophy was created following Richard Branson's record-breaking Atlantic crossing in 1986 and the refusal by the American Merchant Marine Museum to surrender the Hales Trophy, the then only official award for the Atlantic crossing record. The Virgin Atlantic Challenge Trophy is currently held by the Aga Khan's vessel, Destriero .
The Blue Riband of the Atlantic was a contest between Atlantic passenger shipping companies and their express liners to achieve the fastest average speed on a commercial crossing. The contest was unofficial, involving no set rules or tangible award, and was undertaken for the prestige the accolade brought. In 1935 British businessman Harold Hales created the Hales Trophy. It passed to the owners of several express liners, though not to Cunard, owner of the record-breaking Queen Mary , and was won in 1952 by the American Lines liner United States . Thereafter the competition lapsed due to the rapid rise of transatlantic air travel, and United States herself was laid up in 1969.
In 1985 British entrepreneur Richard Branson's attempt to break the United States's record and win the Blue Riband led to the building of Virgin Atlantic Challenger, which failed in a crossing in July of that year. In 1986. a second attempt by Branson, in Virgin Atlantic Challenger II, set a new speed record, but the American Merchant Marine Museum refused to surrender the Hales Trophy, claiming Challenger was not a commercial passenger ship. Undaunted, Branson had a new trophy made, making it a challenge trophy open to any who could beat Virgin Atlantic Challenger's record.
The Virgin Atlantic Challenge Trophy is a three-foot silver sculpture, modelled on the Bishop Rock Lighthouse, chosen as the finishing line for many of the Blue Riband crossings, and of the successful 1986 voyage. The model depicts the lighthouse and the rock itself.
Branson's first attempt on the record, in 65 ft twin-hull Virgin Atlantic Challenger, departed New York in June 1985. After surviving rough weather and the threat of late icebergs Challenger was fatally damaged by striking a submerged object 100 miles from Bishops Rock, the intended finishing line, and sank in heavy seas. [1] All the crew were saved. The following year, in a new craft, the 72 ft monohull Virgin Atlantic Challenger II, Branson completed the crossing in three days, eight hours and 31 minutes, averaging just under 36 knots; he thus shaved two hours and nine minutes off the time set by United States in 1952. Branson had unfurled a six-foot blue pennant to mark the achievement, and announced “we are throwing down the gauntlet for anyone else to make a transatlantic challenge and beat it”, [2] but the AMMM later derided his achievement, referring to Challenger as “a little toy boat”. In response to this Branson decided to commission the new trophy, open to all challengers.
In 1988 a new challenge was planned by Paolo Vitelli, in a 100 ft monohull, Azimut Atlantic Challenger, but this attempt came to nothing. [3]
That same year American businessman Tom Gentry made an attempt in his 110 ft powerboat Gentry Eagle, (which cost $7 million in 1988 [4] ($13.3 million in 2019 dollars [5] ) and was fitted with twin 3,480 hp MTU V396 TB94s turbocharged marine diesel engines, in addition to a single 4,500-horsepower Textron Lycoming TF40 marine turbine engine for a total of 11,500 horsepower) [6] but she was damaged by heavy seas off Newfoundland and forced to turn back. Gentry's aim was to “bring blue riband home”, which he achieved the following year. His second attempt in July 1989 saw Gentry Eagle cross the line in 62 hours 7 minutes, at an average speed of 47.4 knots (54.5 mph), exceeding Branson's record by almost a quarter. [7] Gentry was met at St. Mary's, Isles of Scilly, by Branson and warmly congratulated; he subsequently received the trophy to mark his achievement.
In 1991 it was reported that three challengers were under construction; a new boat, Eagle II from Gentry, North East Spirit from Richard Noble, the land speed record holder, and Destriero , from the Aga Khan. [8] In the event, only Destriero made the crossing, setting a new record with an average speed of 53 knots (the time was not comparable, as the route taken, from Tarifa, Spain to New York, was longer).
Despite rumours of new challengers with radical hull designs Destriero's record remains unbroken.
Cunard Line is a British cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard and its three ships have been registered in Hamilton, Bermuda.
The Blue Riband is an unofficial accolade given to the passenger liner crossing the Atlantic Ocean in regular service with the record highest average speed. The term was borrowed from horse racing and was not widely used until after 1910. The record is based on average speed rather than passage time because ships follow different routes. Also, eastbound and westbound speed records are reckoned separately, as the more difficult westbound record voyage, against the Gulf Stream and the prevailing weather systems, typically results in lower average speeds.
The Hales Trophy is an award for the fastest Atlantic crossing by a commercial passenger vessel.
Transatlantic crossings are passages of passengers and cargo across the Atlantic Ocean between Europe or Africa and the Americas. The majority of passenger traffic is across the North Atlantic between Western Europe and North America. Centuries after the dwindling of sporadic Viking trade with Markland, a regular and lasting transatlantic trade route was established in 1566 with the Spanish West Indies fleets, following the Voyages of Christopher Columbus.
An ocean liner is a passenger ship primarily used as a form of transportation across seas or oceans. Liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes.
SS United States is a retired ocean liner built in 1950–51 for the United States Lines at a cost of US$79.4 million . The ship is the largest ocean liner constructed entirely in the United States and the fastest ocean liner to cross the Atlantic in either direction, retaining the Blue Riband for the highest average speed since her maiden voyage in 1952. She was designed by American naval architect William Francis Gibbs and could be converted into a troopship if required by the Navy in time of war. The United States maintained an uninterrupted schedule of transatlantic passenger service until 1969 and was never used as a troopship.
The Jules Verne Trophy is a prize for the fastest circumnavigation of the world by any type of yacht with no restrictions on the size of the crew provided the vessel has registered with the organization and paid an entry fee. A vessel holding the Jules Verne trophy will not necessarily hold the absolute round the world record. The trophy was first awarded to the first yacht which sailed around the world in less than 80 days. The name of the award is a reference to the Jules Verne novel Around the World in Eighty Days in which Phileas Fogg traverses the planet in 80 days. The current holder is IDEC Sport skippered by Francis Joyon in 40 days 23 hours 30 minutes 30 seconds.
LÉ Aoife (P22) of the Irish Naval Service, now known as P62 of the Maritime Squadron of the Armed Forces of Malta, was built as an offshore patrol vessel in 1978.
The 2005 Rolex Transatlantic Challenge was celebrated at the 100th anniversary of the 1905 race for the Kaiser's Cup also known as "The Great Ocean Race". In this race, there was a skipper named Charlie Barr who raced the 3-masted schooner called Atlantic across the ocean for nearly 3,000 nautical miles (6,000 km) of the North Atlantic to set a monohull unbeaten record for the 1905 course of exactly only 12 days, 4 hours, 1 minute and 19 seconds.
The Atlantic was built in 1903 by Townsend and Downey shipyard, and designed by William Gardner, and Frederick Maxfield Hoyt for Wilson Marshall. The three-masted schooner was skippered by Charlie Barr who was accompanied by navigator and tactician Frederick Maxfield Hoyt when it set the record for fastest transatlantic passage by a monohull in the 1905 Kaiser's Cup race. The record remained unbroken for nearly 100 years.
Destriero is a 67-metre (220 ft) long, 13-metre (43 ft) wide, 400-ton displacement, yacht built by Fincantieri in their Muggiano yard at La Spezia in 1991. She is fitted with three GE Aviation LM1600 gas turbines totalling 60,000-horsepower (45,000 kW), providing her with a maximum speed of 110 kilometres per hour. Destriero was built with the sponsorship of the Aga Khan IV and others specifically to cross the Atlantic Ocean in record time of 3 days and secure the Blue Riband.
Harold Keates Hales was a British shipping magnate, politician and founder of the Hales Trophy for the Blue Riband award for the ship with the record for the fastest transatlantic crossing. Known for his eccentricity, he was the inspiration for the title character of Arnold Bennett's The Card. He was the sole proprietor of Hales Brothers, an export and import shipping line.
Persia was a British passenger liner operated by the Cunard Line that won the Blue Riband in 1856 for the fastest westbound transatlantic voyage. She was the first Atlantic record breaker constructed of iron and was the largest ship in the world at the time of her launch. However, the inefficiencies of paddle wheel propulsion rendered Persia obsolete and she was taken out of service in 1868 after only twelve years. Attempts to convert Persia to sail were unsuccessful and the former pride of the British merchant marine was scrapped in 1872.
The Britannia-class was the Cunard Line's initial fleet of wooden paddlers that established the first year round scheduled Atlantic steamship service in 1840. By 1845, steamships carried half of the transatlantic saloon passengers and Cunard dominated this trade. While the units of the Britannia class were solid performers, they were not superior to many of the other steamers being placed on the Atlantic at that time. What made the Britannia-class successful is that it was the first homogeneous class of transatlantic steamships to provide a frequent and uniform service. Britannia, Acadia and Caledonia were commissioned in 1840 and Columbia in 1841 enabling Cunard to provide the dependable schedule of sailings required under his mail contracts with the Admiralty. It was these mail contracts that enabled Cunard to survive when all of his early competitors failed.
IDEC SPORT is a racing sailing trimaran designed for transoceanic record-setting. She is one of the world's fastest ocean-going sailing vessels and the current holder of the Jules Verne Trophy for circumnavigation of the world. She was originally skippered by French yachtsman Franck Cammas, with a crew of ten and sponsored by the French insurance company Groupama. She is currently skippered by Françis Joyon.
Banque Populaire V is an offshore-racing trimaran and Team Banque Populaire's fifth boat designed to set oceanic records. She was launched on 4 October 2008 in Nantes, France. She holds multiple records for sailing over set courses, as well as the record for distance sailed in 24 hours by any class of sailing boat, 908.2 nm.
Since the five-week voyage of Christopher Columbus in 1492, crossing the Atlantic Ocean, quickly and safely, between Europe and the Americas has always been an important issue. Today, the route has become a classic one among skippers. The record is one of the most prestigious, next to the Jules Verne Trophy, for which it is often a good preparation.
The first RMS Saxonia was a passenger ship of the British Cunard Line. Between 1900 and 1925, Saxonia operated on North Atlantic and Mediterranean passenger routes, and she saw military service during World War I (1914–1918).
The 'Sara G' is an ocean rowing boat which holds multiple world records.
The Columbus Atlantic Trophy is an award for the fastest non-stop two way crossing of the Atlantic Ocean within a given time period. It was inaugurated in 1992 by New York Yacht Club in concert with Costa Smeralda Yacht Club of Sardinia,
Gentry Eagle is powered by 11,500 horses... Gentry met with the renowned performance boat engineer Peter Birkett, who actually designed Virgin Challenger, Branson’s Blue Riband winning boat. Together they came up with an aluminum deep-V hull, an engine room packed with two MTU 16V396 TB94s sequentially turbocharged marine diesel engines and a 4,500 horsepower Textron Lycoming marine turbine, and an Arneson surface drive strapped on the back. All that marine jargon has a simple translation: burning speed. To deal with the horrific beating the hull would take during a high-speed crossing, Gentry employed Vosper Thornycroft LTD, a company known for building destroyers, frigates, and fast attack craft. The boat was welded using a meta-lax sub-harmonic stress relieving process.