Harmsworth Cup

The Harmsworth Trophy is the popular name of the historically important British International Trophy for Motorboats.

Garfield Wood holding the Harmsworth Trophy

The Harmsworth was the first annual international award for motorboat racing. Officially, it is a contest not between boats or individuals but between nations. The boats were originally to be designed and built entirely by residents of the country represented, using materials and units built wholly within that country. The rules were somewhat relaxed in 1949[1] and may have been relaxed further since.

It was founded by Alfred Charles William Harmsworth in 1903.

In the beginning, it was a very primitive affair, with many boats failing even to start.[2] England won the trophy in 1903 with Dorothy Levitt driving a Napier powered, steel hulled, boat at 19.53 mph at Queenstown (now Cobh) in Cork harbour, Ireland. It was owned and entered by Selwyn Edge the owner of Napier Motors. France won in 1904. In 1907, it was won by Americans for the first time.[3] The US and England traded it back and forth until 1920. From 1920-1933, Americans had an unbroken winning streak. Gar Wood won this race eight times as a driver and nine times as an owner between 1920 and 1933.

Time Magazine said of the 1920 race: "Many a race between shadowy contraband-carrying rumrunners and swift, searchlight playing patrol boats has been run on the narrow Detroit river. Last week 400,000 persons lined the river's edge to watch millionaires race millionaires."[4]

The Harmsworth was reinstated in 1949[1] and remained in American hands until 1959. In 1959, Canadians won the award.[5] The driver, Bob Hayward, won the Harmsworth again in 1960 and 1961. He died in another race in 1961. The Harmsworth was not run again until 1977, and continued to be run until 1986.[6]

The trophy has been awarded sporadically from 1986 through to 2010. In 1989 it was awarded to Stefano Casiraghi, husband of Princess Caroline of Monaco.

Trophy Winners

Napier motor yacht, 1903
right Dixie III as US Naval vessel
Miss America II
YearVenueBoatOwnerCountryDriverAve. Speed (mph)
1903Queenstown (now Cobh), IrelandNapier ISelwyn EdgeUKE. Campbell Muir/Dorothy Levitt19.53
1904Solent, EnglandTrefle-à-Quatre[7]Emile ThubronFranceCharles-Henri ("Hemri") Brasier26.63
1905Arcachon, FranceNapier IISelwyn EdgeUKLord Montagu26.03
1906Solent, EnglandYarrow-NapierLord MontaguUKLord Montagu15.48
1907Solent, EnglandDixie IEdward J. SchroederUSABarkley Pearce31.78
1908Huntington Bay, New YorkDixie IIEdward J. SchroederUSABarkley Pearce31.35
1910Huntington Bay, New YorkDixie IIIFrederick K. BurnhamUSAFrederick K. Burnham36.04
1911Huntington Bay, New YorkDixie IVFrederick K. BurnhamUSAFrederick K. Burnham40.28
1912Huntington Bay, New YorkMaple Leaf IVSir E. Mackay EdgarUKThomas Sopwith Sr43.18
1913Osborne Bay, EnglandMaple Leaf IVSir E. Mackay EdgarUKThomas Sopwith Sr57.45
1920Osborne Bay, EnglandMiss America IGarfield WoodUSAGarfield Wood61.51
1921Detroit, USAMiss America IIGarfield WoodUSAGarfield Wood59.75
1926Detroit, USAMiss America VGarfield WoodUSAGarfield Wood61.12
1928Detroit, USAMiss America VIIGarfield WoodUSAGarfield Wood59.33
1929Detroit, USAMiss America VIIIGarfield WoodUSAGarfield Wood75.29
1930Detroit, USAMiss America IXGarfield WoodUSAGarfield Wood77.23
1931Detroit, USAMiss America VIIIGarfield WoodUSAGeorge Wood85.86
1932Detroit, USAMiss America XGarfield WoodUSAGarfield Wood78.49
1933Detroit, USAMiss America XGarfield WoodUSAGarfield Wood86.94
1949Detroit, USASkip-a-longUSAStan Dollar94.1
1950DetroitSlo-Mo-Shun IVUSALou Fageol100.6
1956Detroit, USAShanty IUSARuss Schleeh90.2
1959Detroit, USAMiss Supertest IIIJ. Gordon ThompsonCanadaBob Hayward104.0
1960Picton, Lake OntarioMiss Supertest IIIJ. Gordon ThompsonCanadaBob Hayward116.3
1961Picton, Lake OntarioMiss Supertest IIIJ. Gordon ThompsonCanadaBob Hayward100.2
1977Limit UpEnglandMichael Doxford
1978TaurusAustraliaDoug Bricker
1979Uno MintEnglandDerek Pobjoy
1980Long ShotUSABill Elswick
1981SatisfactionUSABill Clauser
1982PopeyesUSAAl Copeland
1983Fayva ShoesUSAGeorge Morales
1984UK/BahamasUKHill, Jones & Wilson
1985UK/BahamasUKHill, Jones, Wilson & Williams
1986St.Louis,USA/UKUSASeebold/ Seebold, Thornton
1989Atlantic City, USAGancia Dei GanciaMonacoStefano Casiraghi
1993Cowes, UKLa NuevaArgentinaDaniel Sciolli
1994Cowes, UKBP MarineNorwayAndreas Ove Ugland
1995Cowes, UKAdmiral Casino TivoliAustriaHannes Bohinc
2002Cowes, UKSuper Classic 40ItalyBuonomo/De Simone
2003Poole/Cowes,UKWettpunkt.comAustriaHannes Bohinc
2004Cowes, UKGrand Argentina SonyItalyFabio Buzzi/Lord Beaverbrook
2010Cowes, UKRed FPTFabio Buzzi

See also

References

  1. 1 2 1949 Race of the Giants
  2. ↑ 1904 Harmsworth Trophy
  3. ↑ 1907 Harmsworth Trophy
  4. ↑ Time Magazine
  5. ↑ 1959 Harmsworth Trophy
  6. ↑ All Harsmworth races
  7. ↑ (the four-leaf clover was the french symbol of Brasier, automobile manufacturer)

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/2/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.