The Harmsworth Cup, popularly known as the Harmsworth Trophy, is a historically important British international trophy for motorboats. Gar wood

History

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
/ref> and may have been relaxed further since. It was founded by the newspaper publisher Alfred Charles William Harmsworth (later Lord Northcliffe) in 1903. In 1903, the course was from

Cobh Cobh ( ,), known from 1849 until 1920 as Queenstown, is a seaport town on the south coast of County Cork, Ireland. With a population of around 13,000 inhabitants, Cobh is on the south side of Great Island in Cork Harbour and home to Ireland's ...

(Queenstown) to the marina in

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. It was a poorly organised affair, with many boats failing even to start due to the British organisers claiming the French boats were not completely built in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, and thus they were excluded from the race. Thus there were three entries, but the organisers insisted in running heats before the final race. Mr F Beadel was excluded from competing in the final despite putting in a better time over the -mile course than Thornycroft

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

won the trophy in 1903 with

Dorothy Levitt Dorothy Elizabeth Levitt (born Elizabeth Levi; 5 January 1882 – 17 May 1922) was a British racing driver and journalist. She was the first British woman racing driver, holder of the world's first water speed record, the women's world lan ...

driving a Napier-powered, 40-foot steel-hulled boat at 19.53 mph at Queenstown in

Cork harbour Cork Harbour () is a natural harbour and river estuary at the mouth of the River Lee in County Cork, Ireland. It is one of several which lay claim to the title of "second largest natural harbour in the world by navigational area" (after Port Ja ...

. It was owned and entered by

Selwyn Edge Selwyn Francis Edge (1868–1940) was a British businessman, racing driver, cyclist and record-breaker. He is principally associated with selling and racing De Dion-Bouton, Gladiator; Clemént-Panhard, Napier and AC cars. Personal life Edge ...

a director of Napier Motors. France won in 1904. In 1907, it was won by Americans for the first time. The US and England traded it back and forth until 1920. From 1920 to 1933, Americans had an unbroken winning streak.

Gar Wood Garfield Arthur "Gar" Wood (December 4, 1880 – June 19, 1971) was an American inventor, entrepreneur, and championship motorboat builder and racer who held the world water speed record on several occasions. He was the first man to trave ...

won this race eight times as a driver and nine times as an owner between 1920 and 1933. ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' 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." The Harmsworth was reinstated in 1949 and remained in American hands until 1959. In 1959, Canadians won the award. 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.All Harsmworth races
/ref> In 1989 it was awarded to Stefano Casiraghi, husband of

Princess Caroline of Monaco Princess Caroline of Monaco (Caroline Louise Marguerite; born 23 January 1957) is, by her marriage to Prince Ernst August, the Princess of Hanover. As the eldest child of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, and Grace Kelly, she is the elder sister ...

. The trophy has been awarded sporadically from 1986 through to 2018, with a total of eleven earned in that time.

Trophy winners

Dorothy Levitt driving the Napier motor yacht 1903

References

External links

The iconic Harmsworth Trophy will be awarded in 2018

2018 Rules
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The Speed Boat Kings
at Channel4.com

"Racing Boat Like Flying Fish Triumphs For England"
''

Popular Mechanics ''Popular Mechanics'' (sometimes PM or PopMech) is a magazine of popular science and technology, featuring automotive, home, outdoor, electronics, science, do-it-yourself, and technology topics. Military topics, aviation and transportation o ...

'', November 1930, photo and story of ''Miss Britain I'' Motorboat races Recurring events established in 1903 1903 establishments in Europe

History

Trophy winners

See also

References

External links