USS Nautilus (SSN-571) USS Nautilus (SSN-571) USS "Nautilus" (SSN-571) was the world's first operational nuclear-powered submarine and the first submarine to complete a submerged transit of the North Pole on 3 August 1958. Sharing names with Captain Nemo's fictional submarine in Jules Verne's classic 1870 science fiction novel "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea", and named after another that served with distinction in World War II, the new atomic powered "Nautilus" was authorized in 1951, with laying down for construction in 1952 and launched in January 1954, attended by Mamie Eisenhower, First Lady of the United States, wife of 34th President Dwight D.
Jules Verne Trophy holder of the trophy, Francis Joyon, also holds the around the world sailing record, this has not always been the case. In 2004 Steve Fossett broke the world record with the catamaran "Cheyenne" but was not awarded the trophy. According to reports, the trophy organizers requested a higher entrance fee from Fossett than from the other competitors, the difference which he refused to pay. The winner of the trophy that year was Olivier de Kersauson on "Geronimo", with a time which was five days slower than Fossett's world record. The "Trophy Jules Verne" was the subject of a public order