RMS Lusitania by fog. On her second voyage in better weather, "Lusitania" arrived at Sandy Hook on 11 October 1907 in the Blue Riband record time of 4 days, 19 hours and 53 minutes. She had to wait for the tide to enter harbour where news had preceded her and she was met by a fleet of small craft, whistles blaring. "Lusitania" averaged westbound and eastbound. In December 1907, "Mauretania" entered service and took the record for the fastest eastbound crossing. "Lusitania" made her fastest westbound crossing in 1909 after her propellers were changed, averaging . She briefly recovered the record in
West with the Night west in a solo non-stop flight (a westbound flight requires more endurance, fuel, and time than the eastward journey, because the craft must travel against the prevailing Atlantic winds). When Markham decided to take on the Atlantic crossing, no pilot had yet flown non-stop from Europe to New York, and no woman had made the westward flight solo, though several had died trying. Markham hoped to claim both records. On 4 September 1936, she took off from Abingdon, England. After a 20-hour flight, her Vega Gull, "The Messenger", suffered fuel starvation due to icing of the fuel tank vents, and