by Laurie Fullerton
New York City – While Manhattan island offers unsurpassed theater on famed Broadway,
New York Harbour will steal the show on May 21st when the grandest dames of the yachting
world set out on a 3,000 nautical mile race to England in an attempt to beat the oldest
standing record in the history of yacht racing.
The Rolex Transatlantic Challenge 2005 has set the stage for a dramatic contest featuring
a fleet of 21 classic and state-of-the art yachts whose main goal is to rewrite history and
break this century-old record. In 1905, the 184-foot three-masted schooner Atlantic established
the monohull transatlantic racing record of 12 days, 4 hours, 1 minute and 19 seconds from
Ambrose Light at the mouth of New York Harbour to Lizard’s Point off Cowes, England. Modern day
attempts have shaved a few days off this record, yet never in an organized race.
The home of America’s Cup racing from the 1850s to the 1920s, New York City has waited a long
time to host a yacht race of this caliber and importance. The wait will be worthwhile when the
tremendous fleet gathers together to race.
“Spectators will get a look at the largest and finest yachts sailing today as they parade past
the Statue of Liberty under full sail. It is a 21st century event that many have never seen,”
said A. Robert Towbin, a native of Brooklyn who will race aboard his 94-foot (28.7m) Fife ketch
Sumurun built in 1914. “New York City was once the center of yachting but it has been nearly
100 years since we have seen such a display. This is an opportunity for New York to re-visit a
time when the grandest yachts of sailing came and went from this port.”
The 3,000-mile race, last held in 1997 as the Atlantic Cup Challenge and won by the venerable
Sumurun, has again paired the New York Yacht Club with the Royal Yacht Squadron of Cowes, England,
the oldest and most historic yacht club in the world.
The long history between the two host clubs goes back to 1851 when the New York Yacht Club (NYYC)
took a boat to England to compete in a race against the Royal Yacht Squadron (RYS) that became what
is known today as the America’s Cup.
“The two clubs have a relationship that began with the America’s Cup and continues to this day,”
said Michael Levitt, Communications Director of the NYYC. “The Rolex Transatlantic marks the eleventh
race the clubs have hosted together.”
The NYYC staged their first transatlantic race in 1866 when three yachtsmen each wagered $30,000 on
a winner-take-all race. James Gordon Bennett Jr., the 21-year old son of the publisher of the influential
New York Herald newspaper and only owner to take part in the actual race, won aboard his 107-foot
Henrietta. Bennett later became the publisher of the New York Herald and at age 30, the youngest
commodore of the NYYC and its only two-term commodore.
The transatlantic race of 1905 originated when Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany issued a challenge to anyone
willing to race against his 158-foot (48.1m) yacht, Hamburg. The call was heard by both the NYYC and the
RYS with member Lord Thomas Brassi II of England signing on. The NYYC’s Wilson Marshall commissioned master
sailor Charlie Barr to take charge of his Atlantic. With an historic eleven entries, those who also took up
the challenge included New York’s icons of the industrial revolution - J.P. Morgan, Cornelius Vanderbilt,
and Allison Vincent Armour.
The masterful win by Barr and the Atlantic crew is an historic testimony of seamanship as “…every now and
then it all comes together on a boat and the weather and crew produce a fantastic result. This is what
happened in 1905 when Charlie Barr steered the Atlantic to its record-breaking victory,” said yachting
historian and author John Rousmaniere. “The crew, the sails and the boat itself were stretched to the
limit and beyond.”
Charlie Barr is a true yachting legend as New Zealand sailor and America’s Cup helmsman Russell Coutts
remains the only man besides Barr to win the America’s Cup three times. Transatlantic racing drew other
legends of sailing as well when two young American yacht designers and brothers, Olin and Rod Stephens,
took part in the race in the late 1920’s. They are known as two of the greatest yacht designers of their
generation.
Along with the excitement building in New York, the city of Newport, Rhode Island, has become the first
port of call for many of the yachts making last minute preparations before departing for New York City.
“The spirit of the Rolex Transatlantic Challenge hails from one hundred years ago and although I have no
doubt the record will be broken it won’t lessen Atlantic’s great achievement,” said Charlie Dana, former
NYYC Commodore and President of Newport Shipyard. “What is amazing about this fleet is that it is such a
mix of old and new. These boats, classic and modern, are beautiful to see and they will be fast and well
sailed. It is a sight not to be missed.”
Visitors will see the world’s fastest monohull Mari-Chai IV (141 feet) and the just-launched and technically
sophisticated Maximus (100 feet), both boats sporting state-of-the art canting keels.
“This race is the greatest challenge, a 100-year old record set by Charlie Barr, the greatest yachtsman in
the world. The race has everything to do with why we built the boat,” says co-owner of Maximus, Charles St
Clair Brown of New Zealand. “We are very pleased with her performance so far. She is exceeding our performance
predictions of her design features. ”
Before the start in New York, the best view of the fleet will be at the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum at 12th
Avenue and 46th Street (Piers 86 & 88). The fleet also includes the three-masted 252-foot modern clipper ship
Stad Amsterdam and the most luxurious entry, the two-masted Dutch schooner Windrose.
A parade of sail will begin at 9:30 a.m. --. a prime viewing spot will be along the new greenway at the Hudson
River Park that extends north from Battery Park. The official race start follows at 2 p.m. off Ambrose Light
Principal Race Officer and NYYC member John Mendez and the race committee will be waiting at Lizard’s Point near
the Needles, a headland at the tip of the Isle of Wight in England, to mark the time with a Rolex chronometer.
“The speed differences will be enormous and it will likely take Mari-Chai IV about half the time to finish as it
will take Sumurun,” Mendez said. “Everyone in England will be watching the timepiece to mark the finish. This will
be fascinating as it is the first opportunity that any of these yachts have had to break such a long-standing
record.”
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