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24 August 2023 — A Little Friendly Competition

The year was 1920; caught up in the spirit of the America’s Cup competition between the yachts Resolute and Shamrock IV, William H. Dennis of the Halifax Herald and Evening Mail proposed a race of fishing vessels. The New York Times opined that it was a splendid idea, leading with a headline that “Fishermen May Show Us How To Conduct A Yacht Race.” Whereas a 23-knot wind had led to the cancellation of the final race of the America’s Cup competition, in an event staged for fishing schooners, “a 23-mile southwester such as caused cancellation of one America’s Cup race would be ignored.” Haligonians (folks who call Halifax home), led by Dennis and his newspapers, established the International Fishermen’s Race, and threw down the gauntlet to the denizens of their rival fishing port, Gloucester, for a competition for the bragging rights of the fastest vessel in the fishing fleet. The course would be 35 to 40 nautical miles, it had to be completed within nine hours, and the competing vessels had to have spent at least one season in commercial deep-sea fishing trade. 

The schooner Esperanto took home the International Fishermen's Cup for the Americans in 1920. Photo: PD

Representing the Canadians was Delawana, which had bested seven other vessels in elimination races; her captain was Thomas Himmelman. The official challenge to the town of Gloucester had been sent by telegram; according to Terry Welch’s Wooden Ships, Iron Men, Gloucester Ladies, and Man's Best Friend, the limitations on the invitation put the Gloucester community in a bit of a spot:

Gloucester had to reply to the challenge in one week, select a fishing schooner to sail in the race (the ship had to be a working fishing schooner, propelled by sails only—with no auxiliary engine), and it had to arrive in Halifax within another 10 days to start the race.

When the challenge was received by telegram in Gloucester there were no suitable vessels in port. The fishing fleet was where it should be ... at sea ... fishing.



Then, as luck would have it, the Gloucester Fishing Schooner Esperanto sailed into port after being at sea for over two months. The Esperanto was not in the best of shape, and in fact was fourteen years old, but the old-timers in Gloucester remembered that Esperanto was an excellent vessel, on all sailing points to the wind, but especially so when going to windward.

The schooner Bluenose, “Queen of the North Atlantic.” Photo by W. R. MacAskill, PD

The Gloucester fishing community decided to throw in their lot with Esperanto. Designed by Tom McManus and built at Tarr and James Shipbuilders in Essex, Massachusetts, the schooner was commanded by Captain Martin “Marty” Welch. Esperanto won the first race by nearly 20 minutes and the second race by just over seven minutes; there was no need for a third race to settle the contest. 

The International Fishing Vessel Championship Trophy had barely reached Gloucester when the Canadian racing community began planning its comeback, building the schooner Bluenose, which would become the “Queen of the North Atlantic.” Designed by William James Roué and built in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, by Smith and Rhuland, Bluenose was specifically designed for speed, as well as performance as a working fishing vessel. The Americans had planned on sending Esperanto back to Halifax, but she sank off of Sable Island in May of 1921. So representing the Americans this time was the schooner Elsie, again under the command of Capt. Welch. Bluenose took the trophy, winning two races in a row. 

Capt. Angus Walters sits with the trophy aboard Bluenose. Photo: PD

There were subsequent International Fishermen’s Cup races in 1922, ’23, ’31, and ’38; Bluenose won each competition except for 1923, In that year, Bluenose won the first race against challenger Columbia, but in the second race Columbia (despite reaching the finish line behind the Bluenose) was declared the winner when Bluenose passed a buoy improperly. The overall competition was declared a tie, with bad feelings all around. In 1938, Bluenose squared off with the schooner Gertrude L. Thebaud in a best-of-five swan song event for the International Fishermen’s Cup. Bluenose prevailed.

Enthusiasm for fishing schooners and a fierce competitive spirit within the fleet have continued to this day, and in that spirit the City of Gloucester celebrates them this time every year. The 39^th Gloucester Schooner Festival will take place 31 August–4 September. The schooner race on Sunday, 3 September, will offer the thousands of visitors the opportunity to experience some of the excitement we associate with the competitions of yesteryear. It should be lots of fun! We wish everyone—organizers, competitors, and spectators—a wonderful weekend of schooner appreciation.

Extra Credit

“The Fishermen's Race” – Popular Mechanics, 1930

Color footage of race between Bluenose and Gertrude L. Thebaud

Sea History Today is written by Shelley Reid, NMHS senior staff writer. Past issues can be read online by clicking here.