The Blue Riband- An Elusive Pearl of Achievement in the Great Days of Ocean Travel

摘要

The Blue Riband-a mythical ￡ prize for speed that was avidlyrnsought by transatlantic liners in the golden age of passenger travel by sea. Just thinking of the names of great ships that held this distinction also evokes pictures of an age of tasteful elegance that won't be seen again-liners like the Queen Mary, Normandie, Bremen, Rex, Mauretania, and finally, the ultimate record-holder, the United States.rnThe Blue Riband began as a loosely defined award for transatlantic speed in the mid-1800s, and one without hard rules. Understandably, there were disputesrnand part of the problem lay with the fact that ships sailed to and from different ports. For ships that traveled between New York and British ports it was easy enough to establish the measuring points -more recently Ambrose Lightship at the entrance to New York Harbor and Bishop Rock adjacent to Britain's Scilly Islands. But what about an Italian vessel sailing from Genoa or a German liner from Bremerhaven?