The ''Atlantic'' was built in 1903 by
Townsend and Downey shipyard, and designed by
William Gardner, and Frederick Maxfield Hoyt
(yacht designer) for
Wilson Marshall. The three-masted
schooner
A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...
was skippered by
Charlie Barr
Charles Barr (11 July 1864 – 24 January 1911), was an accomplished sailing skipper who three times captained winning America's Cup yachts.
Early life
Charlie Barr was born in Gourock, Scotland in 1864 and first apprenticed as a grocer before ...
who was accompanied by navigator and tactician Frederick Maxfield Hoyt
when it set the record for
fastest transatlantic passage by a
monohull
right
A monohull is a type of boat having only one hull, unlike multihulled boats which can have two or more individual hulls connected to one another.
Fundamental concept
Among the earliest hulls were simple logs, but these were generally unstab ...
in the 1905
Kaiser's Cup
Kaiser's Cup was a yachting race across the Atlantic between Sandy Hook, New Jersey (USA) and The Lizard (Cornwall, England). This was a famous sailing race of the day, and was won by the yacht '' Atlantic'' which held the record for nearly a centu ...
race. The record remained unbroken for nearly 100 years.
Her speed and elegance have made her the subject of a book.
Trans-Atlantic sailing record
In 1905,
Kaiser Wilhelm II
Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor (german: Kaiser) and King of Prussia, reigning from 15 June 1888 until his abdication on 9 November 1918. Despite strengthening the German Empir ...
of Germany proposed a race across the North Atlantic and put forward a solid gold cup to be presented to the winner. Eleven boats including the Kaiser's yacht ''Hamburg'',
George Lauder Jr's schooner the
Endymion which was the record holder going into the race, and the schooner ''Atlantic'' skippered by Charlie Barr, with navigator and tactician Frederick Maxfield Hoyt
took part.
The competitors encountered strong winds and gales which ensured a fast passage time and all eleven boats finished the race. ''Atlantic'' won, breaking the existing record with a time of 12 days, 4 hours, 1 minute and 19 seconds. The record stood for 75 years until broken by
Eric Tabarly sailing the
trimaran
A trimaran (or double-outrigger) is a multihull boat that comprises a main hull and two smaller outrigger hulls (or "floats") which are attached to the main hull with lateral beams. Most modern trimarans are sailing yachts designed for recreat ...
''Paul Ricard''. However ''Atlantics
monohull
right
A monohull is a type of boat having only one hull, unlike multihulled boats which can have two or more individual hulls connected to one another.
Fundamental concept
Among the earliest hulls were simple logs, but these were generally unstab ...
record stood for nearly 100 years until was broken in 1997 by the yacht ''
Nicorette
Nicorette is the brand name of a number of products for nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) that contain nicotine polacrilex. Developed in the late 1970s in Sweden by in the form of a chewing gum, Nicorette was the first nicotine replacement ...
'' completing the crossing in 11 days 13 hours 22 minutes. For ships sailing in an organised regatta (as opposed to solo crossings, where the ship can wait for optimal sailing conditions), the record held for nearly 100 years and was only broken by
Mari-Cha IV, crossing during the
2005 Rolex Transatlantic Challenge.
United States Navy Service
Following the United States declaration of war on Germany in April 1917, ''Atlantic'' was acquired by the Navy on 10 June 1917 and commissioned as USS ''Atlantic II'' (SP 651) on 28 July 1917.
She was assigned to Patrol Force, Atlantic Fleet, and cruised along the east coast until November 1917 when she was assigned duty as a guard ship at Yorktown, Va., and tender to a squadron of submarine chasers. In January 1919 she was assigned to the 5th Naval District.
She was decommissioned on 11 June 1919 at the
Norfolk Navy Yard
The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships. It is the oldest and largest industrial facility tha ...
in
Portsmouth, Virginia
Portsmouth is an independent city in southeast Virginia and across the Elizabeth River from Norfolk. As of the 2020 census, the population was 97,915. It is part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area.
The Norfolk Naval Shipyard and Naval M ...
. She was sold to a private owner on 24 July 1919.
Coast Guard Service
''Atlantic'' was acquired by the Coast Guard and commissioned on 1 April 1941. She was assigned hull number WIX-271. She was assigned to Coast Guard Headquarters but was stationed at the
United States Coast Guard Academy
The United States Coast Guard Academy (USCGA) is a service academy of the United States Coast Guard in New London, Connecticut. Founded in 1876, it is the smallest of the five U.S. service academies and provides education to future Coast Gu ...
in
New London, Connecticut
New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decades ...
where she was used for cadet training. She was decommissioned on 27 October 1947 and sold to a private owner on 10 September 1948.
Later Years
In 1953, the ship was towed to Wildwood, New Jersey where it was a kept as a floating tea room, museum, and tourist attraction. She was neglected and sank in 1963 during a storm but was refloated in 1970. She deteriorated and sank at the dock in
Norfolk
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North ...
,
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...
. In 1982, the wreckage was removed for the installation of a floating dry dock at Metro Machine Shipyard.
Her rudder is located at the Museum of Yachting in
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New Y ...
.
Honors and awards
*
Kaiser's Cup
Kaiser's Cup was a yachting race across the Atlantic between Sandy Hook, New Jersey (USA) and The Lizard (Cornwall, England). This was a famous sailing race of the day, and was won by the yacht '' Atlantic'' which held the record for nearly a centu ...
*
World War I Victory Medal
*
American Defense Service Medal
The American Defense Service Medal was a military award of the United States Armed Forces, established by , by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, on June 28, 1941.
The medal was intended to recognize those military service members who had served ...
*
American Campaign Medal
The American Campaign Medal is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was first created on November 6, 1942, by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The medal was intended to recognize those military members who had perfo ...
*
World War II Victory Medal
The World War II Victory Medal is a service medal of the United States military which was established by an Act of Congress on 6 July 1945 (Public Law 135, 79th Congress) and promulgated by Section V, War Department Bulletin 12, 1945.
The Wor ...
Replica
Ed Kastelein commissioned a full-sized replica of ''Atlantic'', built at the ''Van der Graaf BV'' shipyard (consulting engineer: Doug Peterson) in
Hardinxveld-Giessendam
Hardinxveld-Giessendam () is a municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. It is located about 10 km east of Dordrecht, on the river Beneden-Merwede. The municipality had a population of in and covers an a ...
(Netherlands). The initial
launch took place in March 2008, and the schooner was completed in June 2010.
Sophie Kastelein-Bouakel contributor, designed and built the interior of the Atlantic replica
Michael Vedder designed and built the interior of the Atlantic replica.
See also
*
Yacht racing
Yacht racing is a sailing sport involving sailing yachts and larger sailboats, as distinguished from dinghy racing, which involves open boats. It is composed of multiple yachts, in direct competition, racing around a course marked by buoys or o ...
*
2005 Rolex Transatlantic Challenge
*
List of large sailing yachts
*
List of schooners
__TOC__
The following are notable schooner-rigged vessels.
Active schooners
Historical schooners
* '' A. W. Greely'', originally named ''Donald II''
* '' Ada K. Damon''
* ''Albatross''
*
* '' Alvin Clark''
* ''America''
* '' American Spir ...
References
External links
Original New York Times notice of Atlantic's victory in the race for the Kaiser's CupThe Schooner Atlantic replica
{{DEFAULTSORT:Atlantic (Yacht)
Individual sailing vessels
Schooners of the United States
1900s sailing yachts
Lost sailing vessels
1903 ships
Maritime incidents in 1982
Ships built on the River Thames