ACROSS THE WATER.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume XXIII, 21 November 1923, Page 7

ACROSS THE WATER.

THE LONGEST RACE IN THE WORLD. LONDON, Nov. 3. The rebuilt American liner, the Leviathan. is expected at Southamptem at midday to-day on her third eastward Atlantic passage. The Olympic, with which she is wrongly supposed to be racing, is not expected in Southampton before mid-night to-night. Britain ait- present holds the Transatlantic refcOrd, though the struggle for the Blue Riband of the ocean hasbeen resumed again with the Leviathan's challenge to the British liners. On her first trip she averaged; 23.65 knots and reached Chcrbouirg in five days, seventeen hours, seven minutes. Her seccnd |rip averaged 24.28 knots and was made in five days, eleven hours and thirty minutes. AVilil her third trip, which ends to-day, bring her neuter to the British record?' The pre-war record on the New York —Queenstown route was made by the Mauretania in four days, ten hours, forty-one minutes. The post-war record i i tl: ■ New York —Cherbourg N ute (longer by 450 miles than tie other) is held by the Majestic, which made the passage in five days, six hours, thirteen minutes. Atlantic lir.crs da not ra'? against cue'll other liKe yachts. They play against “leo-rey for the aou.r.-e." it the golfing simile may be allowed, each trying, whoa oouditicns are .suitable, to chip a minute or two off the previous best. That is why th: setting up of a new record for the pa-sngc occurs soi rarely. The captain’s first duty is to bring his ship i:i safely. . l It is only wh:n he has suitable conditions such as a week of clear weather with a following wind that he can let his engineers coax every ounce out of her. It is not generally known that the Majestic on one of her homeward trips this summer was within an ace :.i beating the record.