The British International Harmsworth Trophy

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The British International

Harmsworth Trophy

Photos courtesy of Beken of Cowes

HISTORY

Kevin Desmond & William Pelly

Commenting on the Centennial of powerboat racing's most famous trophy, The Earl of Normanton, Chairman of the Trustees, said from his home Somerley, in Hampshire: "Here is a quote from a London newspaper in 1904. 'Had any shipbuilder been asked, say five years ago, to build a 40' launch capable of running at 20 knots and upwards he would have declared the problem an impossible one. Yet this has already been accomplished and makers are looking to even better results with improved body design and methods of construction.' This quote probably delighted Sir Alfred Harmsworth because it was for this very reason that he commissioned and donated this famous trophy to the sport. There is no doubt that during the past 100 years of racing, the Daily Mail British International Harmsworth Trophy has achieved its goal with the development of the Motor Torpedo Boat used in the war being designed as a direct result of racing for this prize. This year's competitors will be racing in monohulls, capable of speeds in excess of 100mph in rough water conditions. Today, the fastest speed ever achieved on water is an astonishing 317mph by Australian Ken Warby. We've come a long way on water since the first race in 1903."

above: Napier, winner of the first British International Harmsworth Trophy, was one of the steel-hulled motor launches using 20-guage rolled steel. The engine was identical to the original 50 bhp Napier but developed to 75 bhp pushing the rpm to 800.

The magnificent solid bronze trophy, commissioned by Sir Alfred Harmsworth, proprietor of the Daily Mail, was donated as an International Cup for motorboats intended to encourage the development of the sport. First presented in 1903 - the year that the first plane flew - the trophy has since become the powerboating equivalent of the America's Cup. But this is not just a story about a great trophy but an era of extraordinary pioneers in design and memories, which are legion.

Even in its inaugural year, when British competitors gathered at the Royal Cork Yacht Club on Sunday 12 July to race on a 8.5-mile course from the Club down to the Marina, the actual victor is steeped in mystery. The name of the owner of the steel-hulled 75hp Napier, Selwyn Francis Edge, is etched on the trophy. But some reports suggest that Campbell Muir was at the wheel but there are also references to the future women's world land speed record holder, Dorothy Levitt being at the helm, as she was certainly on board.

An article in the Cork Constitution on 13 July reported "A large number of spectators viewed the first mile from the promenade of the Yacht Club, and at Cork several thousand people collected at both side of the river to see the finishes. Owing to the starters and the judges not being in communication by telephonic or any other means, people at either end of the course could only conjecture the result."

This is a far cry from the racing of today, where in the region of 100 patrol and rescue boats will cover the course, helicopters and spotters overhead, and radio communication which keeps the commentators and spectators fully informed.

The Harmsworth quickly became the province of international competition, with France and the USA joining the fray in the Solent in 1904. As reported in Yachting World "the final was originally intended to run off immediately after the last heat, but this was deferred by Royal command. In the meantime a very pleasant luncheon party was given aboard the steamer Princess Helen. Eventually, the booming of cannon at Portsmouth announced the approach of Royalty, and the Royal Yacht, followed by the Admiralty yacht, Enchantress, slowly made here way into the Solent

Selwyn Edge dashed in a blinding cloud of rain and spray to the finish at the Royal Yacht. He ran twice round the Royal Yacht, while the King and Queen bowed their kindly acknowledgements as he lifted his cap."

But victory was short-lived for Edge as the committee judged his Napier Minor failed to comply with the regulations and the trophy was awarded to France's Henri Brasier. Arcachon hosted the 1905 series, a walkover by the British boat of Lionel Rothschild and the Hon John Scott Montagu.

Montagu successfully defended the trophy, but in 1907 American won with Edward J. Schroeder's record-breaking Dixie, with Capt. Barclay Pearce at the wheel but it was Britain's T.O.M. Sopwith who held sway until the outbreak of the First Work War and the cessation of competition.

Continuing the trophy's extraordinary history, a zeppelin raid during the war set fire to the Admiralty yacht, The Enchantress, home of the Royal Motor Yacht Club and custodians of the trophy, destroying all previous records but miraculously damaging only the wooden plinth. This was eventually restored in 1920 by the American, Gar Wood, using mahogany from his Miss America I.

Wood dominated the trophy during the 1920s, winning for an unprecedented nine times but pushed all the way by the British oil millionairess, Marion Barbara 'Joe' Carstairs, who in her quest for victory campaigned four multi aero-engined 30ft hydroplanes costing £30,000 each. Competition was suspended at the start of the Second World War but the role of honour went on after the war to include R Stanley Dollar Jr, of San Francisco, whose family owned the world famous Dollar Steam Ship Line and Bob Hayward from Canada.

above: Colonel AW Tate in his distinctive hat talks to American legend Gar Wood in America 1921

above:Miss Dorothy Levitt takes the helm of Napier

above:Baby Reliance 111 built in 1912 a 26 ft boat made from American cedar and powered by a single Sterling 150hp engine

above: Colonal AW Tate and Sir Mackay Edgar in Maple Leaf V1, built by SE Saunders and Co, Cowes, Isle of Wight, were convincingly defeated in the Solent by Gar Wood in 1920. The American drove to victory in the twin Liberty aero-engined 1000 hp 26 ft Miss America 1 at an average speed of 61.4 mph.. In 1919, Gar Wood spent $500,000 on experimental work to develop the Liberty engine at the Packard Motor Car Company. This was the first competition since the war and it was written that it was no surprise that the British boats were outclassed as England had given all of her thought and energy to winning the war. The original teak foundation of the Harmsworth Trophy which was destroyed by a zeppelin raid during the war was replaced with mahogany from Miss America 1

above: The crew of the 40ft twin 72hp-engined Napier 11. Owner Selwyn Francis Edge recalled "motorboating in those days was a very wet performance which if the wind was on one side blew over us badly. Hence the oilskins!"

above: The British duo od Colonel AW Tate and Sir Mackay Edgar made the trip to the Detroit river in 1921 with Maple Leaf V111 in an attempt to recapture the trophy, the sole English challenger. The usual three mile course was extended to five miles and the plywood British hull tore a hole on the second lap. Gar Wood easily retained the trophy in Miss America 11 which went on to set a world speed record of 80.567 mph.