The Blue Riband
How to win the Riband
Now that the Blue
Riband competition had been made official, a committee was set up
to judge it. Ships claiming to have beaten the record had to hand
over their logs for inspection. The rules only said that the prize
should go to the fastest vessel making a surface transatlantic
crossing. They did not describe the route vessels should take. In the days of
sail, journeys from Britain to America would be slower than in the
opposite direction because ships had to sail into the oncoming
wind. This meant that there were two Blue Riband records – one for
a westbound crossing from Britain and one for an eastbound crossing
(usually slightly faster). However, with the arrival of regular
liner services between the two, it was common for one ship to hold
both records at the same time. With many
different lines sailing between different ports, how could the
committee decide a winner? The record could not be judged by a
ships sailing time – that would depend on the route. In
1841, Columbia crossed in 10 days 19 hours. Two years
later, Great Western crossed in 12 days 18 hours but still
took the record – her route was longer and average speed
higher. Instead, the Hales
Committee measured the average speed of a ship in knots (nautical
miles per hour). One knot is equivalent to 1.15 mph (1.85 kph) on
land. Over time, the best route for a record attempt was found to
be from Ambrose lightship, New York to Bishop’s Rock, Cornwall – a
distance of around 3000 nautical miles (5500 km).
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