THE BOSTON TEAPOT TROPHY
The story of the Boston Teapot started in 1964, after the transatlantic Tall Ships’ Race to America. Two vessels were sailing back from Boston to Europe, and one of them would benefit financially from their sponsors if she were taking part in a race, or other competition. It was decided that some form of trophy should be awarded for the fastest passage, greatest noon to noon run, or other feat. The details were not worked out until after the vessels had sailed, but it was decided that the trophy should be called “The Boston Teapot”.
Brooke Bond Tea obtained permission from the Boston Fine Arts Museum to copy a silver teapot which was in use at Boston at the time of “The Tea Party”. The Tea Party was the act of renunciation that presaged the American War of Independence and was described as “bold, daring, firm, intrepid and inflexible by the second President of the United States. The trophy now serves as a testament to the principles on which the Sail Training Association was founded.
The trophy is awarded to the sail training vessel which has covered the greatest distance in any period of 124 hours. How the period of 124 hours was established can only be described as something curiously British, but it has not stopped vessels vigorously competing for the trophy since its inception.
