Kaiser's Cup


Kaiser's Cup was a yachting race across the Atlantic between Sandy Hook, New Jersey and The Lizard. This was a famous sailing race of the day, and was won by the yacht Atlantic which held the record for nearly a century
In 1905 out of eleven contenders, it was won by the yacht Atlantic, which set a time record for the crossing the Atlantic ocean. The race was the subject of the 1905 silent film Start of Ocean Race for Kaiser's Cup, and the book, Atlantic: The Last Great Race of Princes. Second place was won by the yacht Hamburg. Third place went to the RSY Valhalla who despite being by far the largest participant, came in a respectable ‘’easy third’’. She crossed the Atlantic under sail in 14 days and 2 hours.
The yacht Atlantic won the race with a time of 12 days and 4 hours. News of the race was published in the New York Times and the London Times newspapers. A report of the race was also published in the Los Angeles Herald newspaper.
The Imperial German cruiser Pfeil greeted the competitors at the end of the race, and the yachts crossed between land and the ship. The Atlantic was captained by Charlie Barr and directed by navigator and tactician Frederick Maxfield Hoyt, who also helped design her and was sailed to victory with a clear lead and the next contender did not come in for another day. This was roughly a 3000 nautical mile race, and Atlantic had averaged about 10 knots across the ocean. The record for sailing monohull on this route stood until 2002.
Some of the back history of this type of racing go back to the 1860s, when some sailing yacht clubs raced across the Atlantic ocean. So this kind of thing had some popularity, and yacht racing was also popular among European heads of state. In this case, the Kaiser of Germany wanted to sponsor a race of this type and his entry would be the yacht Hamburg. He put no restrictions size, rigging, and there was no handicap either. In this type of racing, it was done by a yacht and crew sponsored by the patron and they did not necessarily go on the voyage, rather their boats and ship crews were competed against each other. The yachts were not necessarily stripped down racers, but they were racing their yachts; one contender had amenities such as a grand piano with a dining room for 30, and fireplaces. Even the Atlantic, which was commissioned in 1903 was intended for taking the owner for trips around Europe- fast but also well equipped with steam heating and refrigeration, steam-powered winches, a mahogany interior, and three interior bathrooms supporting a crew of about 40.
The race had 11 contenders with different types of sailing vessels.
Contenders:
The 2005 Rolex Transatlantic Challenge celebrated the 100th year anniversary of the race, and a new record was set by the Mari-Cha IV.