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

Garfield Wood holding the Harmsworth Trophy

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[1] 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 (Queenstown) to the marina in Cork, Ireland. 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, 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 8+1⁄2-mile course than Thornycroft[2][3] England won the trophy in 1903 with Dorothy Levitt driving a Napier-powered, 40-foot steel-hulled boat at 19.53 mph at Queenstown in Cork harbour. It was owned and entered by Selwyn Edge a director of Napier Motors. France won in 1904. In 1907, it was won by Americans for the first time.[4] The US and England traded it back and forth until 1920. From 1920 to 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."[5]

The Harmsworth was reinstated in 1949[1] and remained in American hands until 1959. In 1959, Canadians won the award.[6] 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.[7]

In 1989 it was awarded to Stefano Casiraghi, husband of Princess Caroline of Monaco.

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

Trophy winners

Napier motor yacht, 1903
Miss America II
Doug Bricker
YearVenueBoatOwnerCountryDriver(s)Ave. speed (mph)
1903Queenstown (now Cobh), IrelandNapier ISelwyn EdgeUKE. Campbell Muir/Dorothy Levitt19.53
1904Solent, UKTrefle-à-Quatre[8]Emile ThubronFranceCharles-Henri ("Hemri") Brasier26.63
1905Arcachon, FranceNapier IISelwyn EdgeUKLord Montagu26.03
1906Solent, UKYarrow-NapierLord MontaguUKLord Montagu15.48
1907Solent, UKDixie IEdward J. SchroederUSBarkley Pearce31.78
1908Huntington Bay, United StatesDixie IIEdward J. SchroederUnited StatesBarkley Pearce31.35
1910Huntington Bay, USDixie IIIFrederick K. BurnhamUSFrederick K. Burnham36.04
1911Huntington Bay, USDixie IVFrederick K. BurnhamUSFrederick K. Burnham40.28
1912Huntington Bay, USMaple Leaf IVSir E. Mackay EdgarUKThomas Sopwith Sr43.18
1913Osborne Bay, UKMaple Leaf IVSir E. Mackay EdgarUKThomas Sopwith Sr57.45
1920Osborne Bay, UKMiss America IGarfield WoodUSGarfield Wood61.51
1921Detroit, USMiss America IIGarfield WoodUSGarfield Wood59.75
1926Detroit, USMiss America VGarfield WoodUSGarfield Wood61.12
1928Detroit, USMiss America VIIGarfield WoodUSGarfield Wood59.33
1929Detroit, USMiss America VIIIGarfield WoodUSGarfield Wood75.29
1930Detroit, USMiss America IXGarfield WoodUSGarfield Wood77.23
1931Detroit, USMiss America VIIIGarfield WoodUSGeorge Wood85.86
1932Detroit, USMiss America XGarfield WoodUSGarfield Wood78.49
1933Detroit, USMiss America XGarfield WoodUSGarfield Wood86.94
1949Detroit, USSkip-a-longUSStan Dollar94.1
1950Detroit, USSlo-Mo-Shun IVUSLou Fageol100.6
1956Detroit, USShanty IUSRuss Schleeh90.2
1959Detroit, USMiss Supertest IIIJ. Gordon ThompsonCanadaBob Hayward104.0
1960Picton, CanadaMiss Supertest IIIJ. Gordon ThompsonCanadaBob Hayward116.3
1961Picton, CanadaMiss Supertest IIIJ. Gordon ThompsonCanadaBob Hayward100.2
1977Limit UpUKMichael Doxford
1978TaurusAustraliaDoug Bricker
1979Uno MintUKDerek Pobjoy
1980USBill Elswick
1981Dania, FLSatisfactionUSPaul Clauser & Errol Lanier78.6
1982PopeyesUSAl Copeland
1983Fayva ShoesUSGeorge Morales
1984UK/BahamasUKHill, Jones & Wilson
1985UK/BahamasUKHill, Jones, Wilson & Williams
1986St. Louis, US/UKUSSeebold/ Seebold, Thornton
1989Atlantic City, USGancia Dei GanciaMonacoStefano Casiraghi
1993Cowes, UKLa NuevaArgentinaDaniel Scioli91.6[9]
1994Cowes, UKBP MarineNorwayAndreas Ugland51.3
1995Cowes, UKAdmiral Casino TivoliAustriaHannes Bohinc86.56
2002Cowes, UKSuper Classic 40ItalyBuonomo/De Simone52.40
2003Cowes, UKWettpunkt.comAustriaHannes Bohinc78.00
2004Cowes, UKGrand Argentina SonyItalyFabio Buzzi/Lord Beaverbrook75.93
2010Cowes, UKRed FPTItalyFabio Buzzi59.58
2011Cowes, UKCinzanoGermanyMarkus Hendricks65.26

See also

References

  1. 1 2 1949 Race of the Giants
  2. ↑ Cork Examiner 13 July 1903
  3. ↑ 1904 Harmsworth Trophy
  4. ↑ 1907 Harmsworth Trophy
  5. ↑ "Harmsworth Trophy", September 9, 1929, Time.
  6. ↑ 1959 Harmsworth Trophy
  7. ↑ All Harsmworth races
  8. ↑ (the four-leaf clover was the french symbol of Brasier, automobile manufacturer)
  9. ↑ "Cowes Winners 1961-2018". Archived from the original on 2019-01-20. Retrieved 2018-08-30.
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