RMS Mauretania (1906) and launched with passengers. When "Britannic", working as a hospital ship during World War I, sank in 1916 after hitting a mine in the Kea channel the already davited boats were swiftly lowered saving nearly all on board, but the ship took nearly three times as long to sink as "Lusitania" and thus the crew had more time to evacuate passengers. "Mauretania" departed Liverpool on her maiden voyage on 16 November 1907 under the command of Captain John Pritchard, and on the return voyage captured the record for the fastest eastbound crossing of the Atlantic, with an average speed of
Atlantic (yacht) "Hamburg" and the schooner "Atlantic" skippered by Charlie Barr took part. The competitors encountered strong winds and gales which ensured a fast passage time and all eleven boats finished the race. "Atlantic" won, breaking the existing record with a time of 12 days, 4 hours, 1 minute and 19 seconds. The record stood for 75 years until broken by Eric Tabarly sailing the trimaran "Paul Ricard". However "Atlantic"'s monohull record stood for nearly 100 years until was broken in 1997 by the yacht "Nicorette" completing the crossing in 11 days 13 hours 22 minutes. Following the United States declaration of