1907 Harmsworth Trophy
Southampton Water, August 3, 1907
Dixie Wins British International Trophy
The splendid Harmsworth Cup, now called the British International trophy, will repose quietly in the clubhouse of the Motor Boat Club of America. It was won by Commodore E. J. Schroeder, of that club, with the Dixie, on Friday, August 2, at Southampton, Eng. Two other boats competed. They were Daimler I and Daimler II, both owned by Lord Howard de Walden, one of the foremost yachtsmen in Great Britain, a man who has devoted himself to the evolution of the motorboat and has always had a number of fast ones. In this race the Dixie covered the 35-mile course in i hr. 15 min. 44 3-5 sec., showing an average speed of 27.5 nautical or 31.8 statute miles an hour. This is the best record ever made by Dixie. In all her previous races in this country she was handicapped by conditions of water, weather or some other factor. One of the boats, Daimler II, is said to have made 28 knots in a recent trial.
Dixie was three-quarters of a mile ahead of her nearest competitor at the finish. Daimler II's time was 1 hr. 17 min. 25 2-5 sec., while Daimler I followed well in the rear. The Dixie is 39 feet 11 inches in length with a 5-foot beam. She was built by Smith & Mabley in 1905, from designs by Tams, Lemoine & Crane, for E. R. Thomas of New York City. She was purchased last year by Commodore Schroeder. Since then she has appeared in a number of races on the Hudson, and last Winter was a conspicuous figure in Florida waters. Her equipment consists of a four-cycle, eight-cylinder Simplex engine of 132.7-hp. She was steered in the international race by Capt. S. B. Pierce, of Brooklyn.
Of course, the most notable racing boat in this country is the Standard, on account of her great speed and bravura look, but, outside of the Standard, which has not appeared in a race meet in two years, being used privately by Price Mckinney, the premier boat is Dixie. Ever since she was built her owners, Messrs. Thomas and Schroeder, have put her in all the local regattas, in which she has always been the star. She has always made a uniformly good record. Dixie will not compete in any other foreign races; she will be immediately shipped back here by the Minnehaha, and arrive in time for the Jamestown Carnival.
This is the first time that American and British motorboats have met in contest. If the history of yachting and of other boats shall repeat itself in motorboat racing, Dixie will, in years to come, hold a niche in the temple of fame side by side with the dauntless America, which sailed to English waters in 1851 and won the cup which has never been recovered.
(Transcribed from The Motor Boat, Aug. 10, 1907, p. 27.)
[An American boat did unsuccessfully compete in England for the Harmsworth Trophy in 1904, when W. Gould Brokaw campaigned his Challenger, also a Crane-designed speedster. - GWC]
[Thanks to Greg Calkins for help in preparing this page --LF]
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