1893 Christopher Columbus Smith drives the first speedboat. With the new petrol engine, he makes it to 9mph on the St Claire River, Michigan.

1897 During Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee celebrations, the steam powered Turbinia breaks the water speed record, reaching 39mph.

1903 Hoping to raise public status of the sport, Sir Alfred Harmsworth, proprietor of Daily Mail, introduces the first international speedboat challenge, the British International Harmsworth Trophy. At 19mph, Dorothy Levitt wins the first, in the steel-hulled Napier.

1915 By this time, speedboating had become a favourite pastime of America's fashionable elite. The American Power Boat Association's Gold Challenge Cup is the most prestigious event; it is dominated by racers from the east coast. The Miss Detroit Speedboat Association is set up to wrest the cup away from the east coast and Miss Detroit I, the first hydroplane, succeeds with a speed of 49.7mph.

1917 Industrialist Gar Wood buys Miss Detroit II and wins the Gold Challenge Cup. He had made his fortune with his hydraulic hoist invention.

1918 Gar Wood wins the Gold Challenge Cup for a second time with Miss Detroit III having fitted her with K12 aeroengines.

1919 Re-fitted with Liberty engines, both Miss Detroit II and Miss Detroit III enter the Gold Challenge Cup and dominate the event.

1920 With the APBA trying to change the rules in order to handicap him, Wood turns his attention to the British Harmsworth Trophy. Gar arrives in the Isle of Wight with his massive new Miss America on 20 August. He steals the trophy from the British and takes it back to the Detroit Yacht Club.

1928 Founder of the British Speedboat Company, Hubert Scott-Paine aims to win back the Harmsworth Trophy for Britain. He convinces motor racing driver Henry Segrave to drive the boat, patriotically named Miss England.

1929 Segrave breaks the land speed record at Daytona, Florida with an average speed of 231mph. At Miami, he competes in the World Motor Boat Championships with Miss England. In the second heat, Segrave beats Gar Wood's Miss America VII – Wood's first defeat for nine years.

1930 Segrave is tragically killed during a water speed world record attempt at Lake Windermere. Miss England II sinks to the bottom of the lake.

1930 Betty Carstairs takes up the British reigns and challenges for the Harmsworth Trophy. Unfortunately her Estelle IV breaks down and Gar Wood wins in Miss America VIII.

1930 Although no longer involved with the Miss England boats, Hubert Scott-Paine is still designing challengers for Gar Wood. He takes his latest bullet-shaped boat, Miss Britain I to compete in the Detroit News Trophy. Meanwhile, back in England, Miss England II is recovered from Lake Windermere and new Rolls Royce engines are fitted.

1931 Kaye Don, another motor racing driver, is chosen to drive Miss England II. Whilst preparing for the race, Gar Wood becomes the first man to break the 100mph limit on water. Three days later, Kaye Don snatches back the record, beating it by 1.25mph.

1931 500,000 people gather on the banks of the Detroit River to watch the Harmsworth Trophy challenge. Miss England II wins on the first run. On the second run, she flips. However both Miss England II and Wood's Miss America IX are disqualified for jumping the start gun. George Wood, Gar's brother, wins in Miss America VIII. It's rumoured that Gar Wood tricked Kaye Don over the line.

1932 Kaye Don repeats his challenge in Miss England III, but his engines fail and Gar Wood finishes the race alone.

1933 Hubert Scott-Paine enters the challenge with the revolutionary Miss Britain III, against Gar Wood's giant Miss America X. Although faster on the turns, Miss Britain III is not up to the might of Wood's massive boat.

1933 Scott-Paine breaks the world speed record for a single engine speedboat at 100.1mph.

1934-39 There are no Harmsworth Trophy challenges following Scott-Paine's attempt in 1933.

1939 Both Gar Wood and Hubert Scott-Paine turn their attention to the war effort. Using the technology developed through their racing, they build the military torpedo boats for the British and US Navy. Their boats greatly aid the war effort, performing many duties, including rescuing air force pilots and tracking U-boats.

1949 The Harmsworth Trophy is re-instated and America holds on to the trophy when Stan Dollar's Skip-a-Long wins.

1950 Lou Fageol wins the Harmsworth Trophy for America in Slo-Mo-Shun IV.

1956 American Russ Shleeh wins in Shanty I.

1959-61 Canadian Bob Hayward dominates for three years with Miss Supertest III.

1977 Britain finally regains the Harmsworth Trophy when Micheal Doxford wins in Limit Up.

1978 Australia's first win, as Doug Bricker drives Taurus to victory.

1979 British again – Derek Pobjoy wins in Uno Mint.

1980-83 The trophy returns to America.

1984-85 British competitors, J Hill, J Jones, T Williams and M Wilson win back the trophy.

1986 The transantlantic rivalry continues and Mike Seebold wins the challenge for the USA.

2003 The centenary of the British Harmsworth Trophy challenge. The trophy is now awarded to the winner of an offshore endurance test. Britain is represented by Lord Normanton. Unfortunately, his boat, Premier Cru, breaks down mid challenge. The Austrian Hannes Bohinc is the winner.