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24-472: The award was created in 1935 when Harold K. Hales , a British politician and owner of Hales Brothers shipping company, donated the trophy to be a permanent, tangible expression of the Blue Riband , the unofficial accolade then given for this feat. Hales also wished to formalize the rules regarding the contest, which up to then had no official form, though they were, by tradition, widely recognized. The rules for

48-401: A 1998 delivery voyage at 41.3 knots (76.5 km/h). The trophy resided on the premises of the owners of Cat-Link V , Scandlines, until 2010 when they opted to put it on display in the lobby of The Danish Shipowners' Association, Amaliegade 33, Copenhagen. The Association, of which Scandlines is a member, then had it for a couple of years. An interactive screen was created and installed, telling

72-759: A duplicate made, for permanent loan to the Merchant Marine Academy Museum. INCAT, the builders of the last three winners of the Hales Trophy, are in possession of a museum quality replica which is displayed at their Fast Ferry Museum in Hobart, Tasmania . The formal records of the Hales Trophy Trustees are now lodged with Lloyds Register in London. Anyone wishing to access the formal records should contact Lloyds Register regarding obtaining permission to inspect

96-700: A globe and topped by a figure called Speed urging a liner into the face of a figure called the Force of the Atlantic. An enameled blue ribbon surrounds the middle of the prize, and there are memorials to past record-holders, with Harold Hales's name at the base. He died on 7 November 1942 aged 74, accidentally drowning in the River Thames , near Shepperton . His body was recovered on 8 December in Weybridge . He married Ethel King. Their only son, Ormonde Keates Hales (1915–1979)

120-474: A member of the UK Parliament and owner of a shipping company, commissioned a Sheffield goldsmith to produce a large trophy to be presented to the fastest ship crossing the Atlantic. The four-foot-tall, nearly 100-pound Hales Trophy is made of solid silver and heavy gilt fashioned with a globe resting on two winged figures of Victory standing on a base of carved green onyx, with an enamelled blue ribbon encircling

144-467: The Stoke-on-Trent area, founding "Hales Brothers", an export and import shipping line, of which he was the sole proprietor. He first owned a car in 1897, and later bragged that he had never blown his horn, and tried to make it illegal for anyone else to blow theirs. In 1904, he drove the first non-stop car from London to Edinburgh. He flew an airship around St. Paul's Cathedral in 1908. In 1910, he

168-532: The United States record, even though the ship would not actually carry passengers on the trip. The trustees ruled that the ship still met the criteria. After Hoverspeed Great Britain's successful voyage, the Maritime Museum considered challenging the decision on the grounds that Hales donated the award for ships providing Atlantic passenger service, but decided not to because of the cost of legal fees. In 1992,

192-555: The Atlantic, or in blue ribands, or trophies and the like." Hales again changed the rules so that the trophy could only be won by a "non-British ship". Hales died in 1942 and the location of the trophy was unknown when the United States Lines (USL) started planning the maiden voyage of its new record breaker, the United States . The trophy was found at the Sheffield goldsmith where it had been originally made. In 1952, USL accepted

216-464: The Hales Trophy Trust records. Harold Hales Harold Keates Hales (22 April 1868 – 7 November 1942) was a British shipping magnate, politician and founder of the Hales Trophy for the Blue Riband award for the ship with the record for the fastest transatlantic crossing . Known for his eccentricity, he was the inspiration for the title character of Arnold Bennett 's The Card . He

240-720: The Hales Trophy were different from the traditional rules for the Blue Riband, and changed several times. For example, the Hales Trophy was originally only awarded for westbound records. The trophy was awarded to just three Blue Riband holders during the express liner era; to the Italian liner Rex in 1935, the French Normandie in 1936, and the American United States in 1952. Cunard's Queen Mary , Blue Riband holder in 1936 and again from 1938 until 1952, did not receive

264-413: The Italian powerboat Destriero made a voyage at 53.09 knots (98.32 km/h), breaking Challenger II's record, though she was not awarded the Hales Trophy either. In June 1998 the trophy was won by Catalonia on her delivery voyage (without passengers) at 38.9 knots (72.0 km/h), followed a month later by the current holder of the Hales Trophy, the catamaran Cat-Link V (now Skane Jet ) for

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288-495: The award for various reasons . Following the retirement of United States in 1969 the award languished, until revived in 1990 for the Incat built passenger/car ferry Hoverspeed Great Britain when she established a new speed record for a commercial vessel on her eastbound delivery voyage without passengers that year. The trophy has been won twice since then, each time by an Incat built vessel. In 1935, Harold K. Hales (1868–1942),

312-474: The highlights of the trophy's history, and a longer printed version with illustrations was placed next to the trophy case for all interested to take home. The trophy was subsequently returned to Scandlines' main office in Copenhagen, where it still stands. Several replicas of the Hales Trophy exist. In 1998 Carnival Cruise Lines commissioned a replica for display on its cruise ship MS Paradise . They also had

336-562: The meantime, Normandie took the record and Hales changed the rules so that any new claimant must wait three months to give the current holder a chance to beat the new record. In August 1935, the trophy was presented to the Rex , and then transferred to the Normandie two months later. Cunard White Star's Queen Mary was the next winner, but Cunard White Star refused to accept the trophy. The Queen' s captain explained that, "We don't believe in racing on

360-409: The middle, and decorated with models of galleons , modern ocean liners and statues of Neptune and Amphitrite , god and goddess of the sea. The trophy is surmounted by a figure depicting speed pushing a three-stacked liner against a figure symbolizing the forces of the Atlantic, which is represented in blue enamel with the traditional ocean liner route indicated by a red enamelled line. The rules for

384-598: The record time of 58 hours, 34 minutes and 5 seconds, Destriero was denied the Hales Trophy , because she was classed as a " private yacht " and not a "commercial passenger vessel ". Destriero did, however receive the Virgin Atlantic Challenge Trophy , awarded by former record-holder Richard Branson for the fastest crossing by any vessel, and the Columbus Atlantic Trophy sponsored by

408-460: The ship with the record for the fastest transatlantic crossing. It was commissioned in 1933 and designed by Charles Holliday, designer for the firm of James Dixon and Sons, silversmiths of Cornish Place Sheffield , working to very specific instructions supplied by Hales. The trophy is almost four feet (1.2 m) tall, almost one hundred pounds (45 kg), made of solid silver, onyx and heavy gilt, showing Victory, Neptune and Amphitrite upholding

432-452: The trophy at a ceremony attended by 400 guests. It was displayed in USL's New York City headquarters until after the United States was taken out of service in 1969. Ten years later, the trophy was transferred to the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy's museum as a relic. In 1986, Richard Branson was successful in setting a new eastbound transatlantic speed record in the powerboat Challenger II . He

456-401: The trophy did not correspond to the traditional rules for the Blue Riband, in that the trophy was to be awarded only to a passenger ship achieving the fastest speed in the westbound direction. Other rule changes further complicated the situation. For example, before the trophy was finished, Hales made arrangements to present the trophy to the owners of Rex , the then Blue Riband record-holder. In

480-445: Was a businessman and archaeologist. Destriero Destriero was a 67-metre (220 ft) long, 13-metre (43 ft) wide, 400-ton displacement , yacht built by Fincantieri in their Muggiano yard at La Spezia in 1991. She was fitted with three GE Aviation LM1600 gas turbines totalling 60,000-horsepower (45,000 kW), providing her with a maximum speed of 110 kilometres per hour (68 mph; 59 kn). Destriero

504-675: Was built with the sponsorship of the Aga Khan IV and others specifically to cross the Atlantic Ocean in record time of 3 days and secure the Blue Riband . In 1992 Destriero crossed the Atlantic, without refuelling, twice, firstly westbound from Tarifa Point , Spain to Ambrose Light , New York . Her eastbound voyage was from the Ambrose Light to Bishop Rock, Isles of Scilly , a distance of 3,106 nautical miles (5,752 km), at an average speed of 53.09 knots (98.32 km/h). Despite

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528-494: Was not awarded the Hales trophy because his boat was not a commercial vessel. In 1990, the 242-foot (74 m) catamaran passenger/car ferry Hoverspeed Great Britain was scheduled to take a delivery voyage from her Australian builders to begin cross channel operations. Her owners confirmed with the Hales trophy trustees in the UK that their vessel would be eligible for the trophy if they beat

552-451: Was one of the first people to survive an airplane crash. After serving in Turkey during World War I , he travelled the world promoting British industry. He was Conservative MP for Hanley from 1931 to 1935. He enlivened a House of Commons debate on the herring industry by gesturing with a dead herring as he argued. In 1935, he inaugurated the Hales Trophy for the Blue Riband award for

576-573: Was the sole proprietor of Hales Brothers, an export and import shipping line. He was born in Manchester in 1868, to Lewis George Hales, a draper, and Sarah Elizabeth Keates. Hales was educated in Manchester and Burslem , where his schoolmate was Arnold Bennett . Bennett later admitted that Hales was the inspiration for the title character in The Card . Hales worked in the pottery and china business in

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