THE RIBBON AND THE TROPHY/ The Blue Riband and the Hales Trophy were

The battle for the title of fastest ship on the Atlantic goes back to 1838, when the Great Western surpassed the Sirius' record crossing. Top average speed: 8 knots - just under 10 miles per hour on land.

By the late 19th century, the fastest ship was generally said to hold "the Blue Riband," though no such pennant actually existed. Ships that set records would sometimes fashion a "blue ribbon" to fly from their mast or stern.

Though there were no official rules, there were many unofficial ones, Arnold Kludas writes in his book "Record Breakers of the North Atlantic: Blue Riband Liners 1838-1952."

To prevent multiple Blue Riband winners, the designation was given only to the ship with the fastest time east to west.

As ships had different starting points - Southampton, England; Cherbourg, France; Bremerhaven, Germany; or Genoa, Italy - the measure was the average speed, found by dividing the distance by the time elapsed.

The time also took into account only the period in the open sea, when the ship could run at top speed.

For example, the record for Southampton, England, to New York City was actually the time it took from Bishop Rock Lighthouse in the English Channel to the Ambrose Light-Ship marking the beginning of the maneuvers into New York Harbor.

Though shipping companies would use the times in their advertisements, getting into and out of harbors added several hours to the journey.

Among early Blue Riband holders were Brittanic, City of Paris, Majestic, Deutschland, Lusitania and the legendary Mauretania, which held the award from 1909 to 1929, longer than any other ship.

As the Blue Riband had no set rules and only a blue pennant for the winner, some thought a more tangible award was needed.

British businessman and parliamentarian Harold K. Hales stepped in with the North Atlantic Blue Riband Challenger Trophy. The solid- silver trophy, topping 4 feet and weighing nearly 100 pounds, had busy iconography that included a winged messenger carrying a ship astride a globe above Poseidan, the Greek god of the seas.

The award was first given to the Rex in 1934, then almost immediately transferred to the Normandie. But the rules for the award, universally known as the Hales Trophy, kept changing, so that sometimes the trophy holder wasn't the fastest ship on the seas. Cunard for a time refused to have anything to do with the trophy, and it was lost for a while, only to be discovered in 1952 when it was awarded to the United States.

When United States Lines went into bankruptcy, it donated the trophy to the American Merchant Marine Museum at Kings Point, N.Y.

However, in 1990 a high-speed ferry, the hovercraft Great Britain, set a new record and claimed the trophy and the Blue Riband. After a court battle, the museum reluctantly surrendered the cup. Two high- speed catamaran ferries have since claimed the cup - and the riband.

Kludas, the "Blue Riband" author, dismisses any claims since the United States won - noting that none of the "winners" carried passengers. All the claimants made the trip west to east - not the eastto-west trip deemed necessary to win the Blue Riband.

Possessing the Hales Trophy doesn't mean a ship is the winner of the Blue Riband, Kludas writes.

"Common sense and fairness must surely prevent us from equating the winning of this trophy with the gaining of the Blue Riband, if for no other reason than out of respect for the wonderful achievements of the express liners and the unwritten rules of the Blue Riband competition."

When the American Merchant Marine Museum learned that Carnival Cruise Lines was constructing a replica of the Hales Trophy, it asked if the cruise line would build two and donate one to the museum. Carnival did so, presenting the $40,000 copy in 1998.

- Sources: "Record Breakers of the North Atlantic: Blue Riband Liners," by Arnold Kludas; Miami Herald; Travel Section files

Some westbound trans-Atlantic speed records average speed in knots (undisputed winners of the Blue Riband)

1838 Sirius 8.03

1838 Great Western 8.66

1876 Brittanic 15.43

1889 City of Paris 20.01

1908 Lusitania 25.01

1935 Normandie 29.98

1938 Queen Mary 30.99

1952 United States 34.51

Some eastbound trans-Atlantic speed records average speed in knots

1838 Sirius 7.31

1838 Great Western 9.14

1873 Baltic 15.09

1889 City of Paris 20.03

1907 Lusitania 23.61

1929 Bremen 27.91

1938 Queen Mary 31.69

1952 United States 35.59

1990 Great Britain 36.65*

1998 Catalonia 38.85*

1998 Cat-Link V 41*

*claimed Blue Riband, disputed

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