Atlantic Challenge Cup

THE 1997
ATLANTIC
CHALLENGE
CUP

THE GREATEST FLEET IN THE
GREATEST RACE AGAINST TIME.

Twelve days, four hours, one minute, and nineteen seconds.
That is the Goal. The Prize? A modest crystal bowl.
That, and a place in yachting history.

The proud racing tradition of the New York Yacht Club begins in 1845 with a "trial of speed" on the Hudson River. Through the years, NYYC has hosted the most significant racing yachts in the world for events as far-ranging as the America's Cup and the Bermuda Race. The club's burgee has flown from such famous yachts as America, Corsair, Ranger and Belvedere.

Exactly 92 years ago, at the invitation of Kaiser Wilhelm II, eleven large, well-found yachts crossed a starting line off Sandy Hook, New Jersey, on a race for England. This was a golden era of yachting before rating rules and stripped-out interiors, a time when owners prided themselves as much on their yachts' fine finish as on their turn of speed. The race was sailed without handicap or sail restrictions. The only rules, apparently, were that propellers had to be removed for the duration of the race and that steam power could not be used to hoist sails.

The magnificent 185-foot schooner Atlantic under full sail

One of the yachts answering the call was the three-masted schooner Atlantic, measuring 185 feet in length and weighing 206 tons. Her finish time of 12 days, four hours, one minute, and 19 seconds indicates an average of well over 200 miles per day for the entire trip. It is a record so remarkable that in the past two decades numerous owners and syndicates have sent their purpose-built lightweight racing yachts over the course, and while a few have bested the time -- Eric Taberly in his hydrofoil trimaran in 10 days (1980), Phocea in eight days, three hours (1988) and most recently Nicorette in 11 days, 13 hours and 22 minutes -- Atlantic's time still stands as the fastest transatlantic fleet racing passage for displacement sailing yachts.

In the 19th Century, the rich and powerful on both sides of the Atlantic enjoyed the sport of yacht racing as their summer social event of choice, much to the delight of spectators on shore. One such regular participant was Wilhelm II of Germany. His schooner Meteor having been soundly beaten on a number of occasions by Britannia, owned by his uncle King Edward VII, Wilhelm II sought to improve his standing among the international yachting fraternity by reinstating transatlantic racing.

His 1905 Ocean Cup was open to all cruising yachts of at least 80 tons Net Custom House Measurement. The yachts would race boat-for-boat from Sandy Hook to The Lizard, where the Imperial German cruiser Pfiel would be on station, the winner to receive a golden cup from the emperor.

Charging along in the North Atlantic

The start of the 1905 race off Sandy Hook

In addition to Atlantic, the fleet included seven schooners, one yawl, and two square-rigged barques. Fog delayed the race until the afternoon of May 17 when the fleet was towed to the starting line. The yachts received a rousing send-off, particularly from younger members of the Yacht Club who had chartered a tug and, with a band on board, followed the racers down the course.

At far left is a portrait of Charlie Barr, Atlantic's skipper. The man with his eyes on the 1997 prize is Paul Goss of Adix, who originally proposed the Atlantic Challenge Cup.

Soon the lighter boats were racing fast in the stiffening breeze. The sqare riggers paid off to the south while Fleur de Lys and others rushed close-hauled to Newfoundland. The logs revealed a trend of increasing wind speeds and shortening sail over the next few days as the yawl Ailsa, Atlantic and the 143-ton schooner Hamburg -- thought to be the yacht to beat -- established themselves in the lead.

Atlantic, designed by William Gardner and built in steel by Townsend and Downey, carried 18,500 square feet of sail. She was pressed every inch by Charlie Barr, her hired skipper, who also drove Columbia and Reliance to America's Cup victories.

According to legend, Atlantic's owner, who had invited a number of guests along for the ride, was moved by fear of catastrophe to venture on deck at the height of a storm to ask Barr to shorten sail. The robust Scotsman would have nothing of it.

"You hired me, sir, to win this race, and, by God, thats what I am going to do," shouted Barr before ordering Wilson Marshall below. In one 24-hour run Atlantic clocked 341 nautical miles. Marshall and his guests were, indeed, experiencing the ride of their lives. Barr stood his ground through two gales and would have posted an even better time had not the wind failed during the last miles to the finish. The German entry Hamburg finished second in 13 days, two hours and six minutes.

By modern standards, the fleet of yachts gathered for the 1997 Atlantic Challenge Cup, presented by Rolex represents an extraordinary gathering of luxury cruising yachts. It has been 153 years since John Cox Stevens invited eight yachting friends aboard his 51-footer Gimcrack to organise the Yacht Club. One cannot help thinking that Commodore Stevens would be pleased with the Club's latest Corinthian event.

Analyses of the competing yachts

Charts of current yacht positions

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