Fisherman's Cup

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Fisherman's Cup (also known as Fisherman's Race or Fisherman's Trophy) is a historic sailing regatta for fishermen.
It took place annually from 1920 to 1937.

Held in the inhospitable seas of the North Atlantic, between Gloucester (Massachusetts) and Boston , this race was also called "the race for real sailors" by its participants after a race of the America's Cup was postponed in 1919 due to wind speeds of 23 mph . Weather conditions that couldn't frighten a Grand Banks fisherman. The news had inspired the Halifax Herald newspaper publisher and other local businesspeople to stage a regatta initially called The Halifax Herald North Atlantic Fisherman's International Competition . Only schooners that were actually used in everyday fishing were eligible. The first race took place in October 1920. Competitors were the Canadian schooner “Delawana” and the American “Esperanto”, which after winning two of three races, was able to take the Fisherman's Trophy with it to Gloucester. But it should also be the last time. The following year the new schooner " Bluenose " was launched in Lunenburg (Nova Scotia) and after a successful fishing season it took part in the qualifying races for the "Fisherman's Cup" in October 1921. The Bluenose won these races against other Canadian schooners with ease. At the cup itself, she then competed against the American "Elsie". When she lost her foremast during the race , the foresail on the Bluenose was also taken down as an act of fairness . Even so, she won by 13 minutes and brought the trophy back to Canada forever. Captain Angus Walters said at the time: “The wood for the ship that beats the Bluenose has not grown yet!” The Americans tried for 17 years with a total of 5 ships to defeat the Bluenose - without success. In 1929 a schooner was launched in Gloucester, which should finally stop the successful Canadians streak. The "Gertrude L. Thebaud" remained the toughest competitor of the Bluenose until the very end, but she never managed to bring the trophy back to America either.

swell

  1. ↑ Heritage Post 1995, Issue 17 (article by Dennis Smith)

Web links