People

By Sara C. Medina

In 1952 the 52,000-ton ocean liner United States broke the transatlantic speed record previously held by Britain's Queen Mary. Time: 3 days 10 hr. 40 min. Last week a 72-ft. racing craft owned and captained by British Airline and Record Magnate Richard Branson clipped 2 hr. 9 min. off the record, earning the "blue riband" traditionally awarded for top speed, and, presumably, the Hales Trophy glorifying it. But the ocean-liner fraternity cried foul. The curator of the U.S. Merchant Marine Museum, where the trophy is housed, refused to yield it to "a toy boat," as he called Branson's $2.3 / million Virgin Atlantic Challenger II, with its two turbocharged, 2,000-h.p. diesel engines. Retorted Branson: "To say (the award) has only to do with passenger liners is a lot of codswallop." To back his claim, he has decided to create his own trophy for the next successful Atlantic challenger. Branson will probably not go after his own record, however; the V.A.C. II will soon be up for sale.